London to Plymouth by train
London Paddington → Plymouth
Trains link London (London Paddington) and Plymouth (Plymouth) in about 2h 52m at best, with no changes needed.
- Fastest
- ≈ 2h 52m
- Typical
- ≈ 3h 10m
- Direct trains
- Yes
- Fewest changes
- 0
- Operators
- GWR, CrossCountry
How long does the train from London to Plymouth take?
The fastest trains cover London to Plymouth in about 2h 52m; a typical journey takes around 3h 10m.
Is there a direct train from London to Plymouth?
Yes: direct trains run between London Paddington and Plymouth.
Is the train or a flight faster from London to Plymouth?
Door to door, the train typically wins: about 3h 30m city centre to city centre, against roughly 3h 55m for a typical flight once airport time is counted. The train also emits about 3× less CO₂e, even on conservative official emission factors.
- Train, door to door
- ≈ 3h 30m
- Flight, door to door
- ≈ 3h 55m (est.)
- CO₂e per passenger
- ~13 kg train · ~42 kg plane
Flight time and emissions are transparent estimates, not airline schedules: method, factors and all 109 compared pairs on Train vs plane in Europe.
Legendary routes through London or Plymouth
- Eurostar London → Paris
- LNER Azuma London → Edinburgh
- Caledonian Sleeper London → Fort William
- Avanti West Coast London → Glasgow
Sleepers too: night trains from London.
More trains from London
- London → Reading ≈ 23 min · direct
- London → Cambridge ≈ 49 min · direct
- London → Oxford ≈ 50 min · direct
- London → Brighton ≈ 58 min · direct
- London → Bath ≈ 1h 13m · direct
- London → Southampton ≈ 1h 14m · direct
More train routes in United Kingdom · France.
Journey figures are typical values sampled from public European schedule data; exact times vary by day. Always check the operator when booking.