Preston to London runs about 10 times a day, with the first departure around 06:33 and the last around 14:46. One passenger pays between €18.33 and €41.04, every fee included, depending on the operator and the way you travel. The fastest door to door is 3h 9m over 351 km, on services run by 4 operators across 2 modes.
What one seat costs
The spread between the cheapest and dearest typical fare on this corridor, across 4 operators and 2 ways of making the journey. The operator sets the price on the day.
Typical fares
€18.33 to €41.04
- 116%Moves across the booking window
When it runs, leaving Preston
No operator has filed a timetable for this direction yet, so the first and last departure below follow the pattern of the corridor. Read them as the shape of the service day rather than as times to turn up for.
- 06:33First departure
- 14:46Last departure
- 10Services per day
- 60%Run direct
Avanti West Coast runs this service and does not sell it here. Bookaway takes the payment.
Buying this journey
Bookaway lists departures for Preston to London on your date, and you pay on their side.
See Preston to London on Bookaway
Or compare on TrainlineOr compare on Trip.com
Partner link. We do not sell this ticket, and we earn nothing from this one.
FlixBus runs this service and does not sell it here. Bookaway takes the payment.
Buying this journey
Bookaway lists departures for Preston to London on your date, and you pay on their side.
See Preston to London on Bookaway
Or compare on TrainlineOr compare on 12Go
Partner link. We do not sell this ticket, and we earn nothing from this one.
Fares by date
What this journey usually costs, by departure date. It shows which days run dearer.
Typical fares
- about €29.33Tue15
- about €39.23Wed16
- about €33.73Thu17
- about €31.53Fri18
- about €39.78Sat19
- about €29.88Sun20
- about €22.73Mon21
- about €23.28Tue22
- about €21.63Wed23
- about €32.63Thu24
- about €23.83Fri25
- about €27.68Sat26
- about €29.88Sun27
- about €18.88Mon28
- about €18.88Tue29
- about €18.33Wed30
- about €24.38Thu1
- about €23.83Fri2
- about €22.18Sat3
- about €19.43Sun4
- about €19.98Mon5
Based on what this route has cost recently. The operator sets the price on the day, and the live fare is confirmed when you book.
The train gets you into London. It does not get you a bed, and neither do we.
A room in London for the night the train gets in
Sort by distance from London St Pancras International and you can see which places are ten minutes on foot and which are not.
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Partner links. We do not sell accommodation. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.
When to book Preston to London
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €19.4390 days
- €16.6860 days
- €22.1845 days
- €15.5830 days
- €19.9821 days
- €18.8814 days
- €22.737 days
- €33.733 days
- €29.331 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 30 days ahead, at €15.58.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and dearest lead time is 116 percent. The dearest point is €33.73, 3 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 30 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 30 days ahead. You are inside that window.
This corridor, specifically
Facts that apply to Preston to London and to no other route on the site.
Clocks
Both ends keep the same time, so the arrival is the departure plus the journey.
The shape of it
351 km
305 km as the crow flies, 15% further by the route services actually take. The bearing runs south-east.
Who lives at each end
313,332 → 8,961,989
Population at the departure city and at the arrival city, which is usually what decides how often anything runs.
How we know
0/4
4 of these connections were inferred from service-area overlap rather than observed in a timetable. We would rather say so.
The route
What the journey actually looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- Direct or connecting
- 67% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 33% involve one connection.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 351 km against 305 km in a straight line, a detour of 15 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
- Where the change is
- Connections are made at Manchester, Derby, Coventry, Leicester. The gap between arriving and leaving is 61 minutes, of which about 5 is walking.
- If the connection is missed
- The tightest connection we sell here has a 16 percent chance of not being made on the timetable alone. Part of this journey is a self transfer between separate tickets, so leave more time than the minimum and expect to check in again.
London is large, and the road in from LGW can take longer than the last hour of the flight. Cars are not our business.
A car waiting when you land in London
Settled in advance, so the ride into London costs what it said it would rather than what the rank says.
Book a transfer from LGW with Welcome PickupsOr check Daytrip
Partner links. We do not operate transfers. We earn a commission on a booking, and the fare is the same as going direct.
Who runs this route
The train gets in hours before any room is ready. Holding a bag is not what we sell.
Left luggage near London St Pancras International
Most of the points near London St Pancras International open before the first train and shut after the last one.
Check London on StasherOr try Bounce
Partner links. We do not run these networks. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.
Questions about Preston to London
The questions people actually ask about this journey, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does it take to get from Preston to London?
The fastest journey from Preston to London takes 3h 9m door to door, of which 2h 27m is spent moving, on the train. Most services take around 3h 56m, because that average includes slower stopping services and journeys with a connection. Times include reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end.
How much does it cost to travel from Preston to London?
The cheapest fare from Preston to London is €18.33, as of 14 September 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €53.69. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.
What is the cheapest way to get from Preston to London?
The cheapest way from Preston to London is by coach, at €18.88 for one passenger on 30 September 2026. That journey takes 5h 45m door to door. Cheaper is rarely faster on this corridor, and the comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs against what it saves.
What is the fastest way to get from Preston to London?
The fastest way from Preston to London is by train, at 3h 11m door to door. Only 2h 27m of that is spent moving; the remaining 44m is reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end. The cheapest fare on that mode is €39.94.
When should I book Preston to London?
Fares from Preston to London bottom out around 30 days before departure, at €15.58. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the dearest lead time is 116 percent, measured on 14 September 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Preston to London?
Monday is the cheapest day to depart from Preston to London, at €19.98. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, as of 14 September 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Preston to London?
February is the cheapest of the next 6 months to travel from Preston to London, at €15.58 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.
Who runs services from Preston to London?
4 operators sell services from Preston to London across 2 modes: Avanti West Coast, FlixBus, London North Eastern Railway, Lumo. Journey times, fares and fare conditions differ between them, and the operator table on this page compares all of them on speed, flexibility and what is provided on board.
Is there a direct service from Preston to London?
67 percent of the services we sell from Preston to London are direct. The rest connect at Manchester, Derby, Coventry, Leicester, with about 61 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.
How much CO2 does the journey from Preston to London produce?
Travelling from Preston to London by coach produces about 9.5 kg of CO2 per passenger, the lowest of any mode on this corridor. The same journey by Train produces about 11.6 kg, roughly 1 times as much for one passenger.
Which station or terminal do services from Preston to London use?
Services from Preston to London by train leave from Preston railway station and arrive at London St Pancras International. Allow about 44m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.
Can I change or refund a ticket from Preston to London?
4 of the 4 operators we sell from Preston to London allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs €5.00. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.
Where these numbers come from
Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance on this page are real and come from open data. Where a corridor has a filed timetable the departure times are real too, and ferry fares are the prices the operators publish themselves.
Derived from service area No carrier record names this exact pair. The operators listed publish a service area covering both places at a distance their mode plausibly carries people, which is evidence that the corridor is served and not evidence of a specific service. Pages state which, because presenting the two as the same thing would be dishonest.
Where no operator publishes a fare for a corridor, the price here is our own estimate, worked out from the real distance and the real operator through a fare curve that follows lead time, day of the week and season. It tells you roughly what the journey costs. It is not a seat anyone has agreed to sell, and the payment step will not take it.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Preston to London on 14 September 2026: 351 km of route against 305 km in a straight line, 12 services a day, 4 operators a cheapest fare of €18.33, and 3h 9m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
Being on the water gives London a set of days out that do not start at a station. We do not sell those either.
Day trips out of London and across United Kingdom
Day trips that leave London in the morning and cover a good part of United Kingdom by evening.
See London on GetYourGuideOr browse Viator
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The two ends, compared
Preston reaches 50 places in 1 countries on services we hold, over distances from 41 to 370 km. London reaches 520 places in 109 countries, from 17 to 11,718 km.
Other ways to make this journey
Leaving Preston
- 50Places you can leave for
- 1Countries
- 9Operators
Arriving in London
Leaving London
- 520Places you can leave for
- 109Countries
- 196Operators