Lumo review: what it's like onboard the UK's first budget train service

The first announcement aboard my Lumo train from King's Cross to Newcastle is a warning for passengers onboard who were due to travel on the cancelled 5.48am that they will be fined if they don’t get their ‘original ticket accredited first’. 

This is followed by detailed instructions about the size of luggage allowed and which pieces should be stored where. Shortly afterwards staff sweep through, manhandling larger bags into lockers at the end of the carriage. One person is told they have too much luggage and is booted off the train for further negotiation. 

If this all sounds a bit like your last budget flight, well, yes.

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What is Lumo trains?

Launched in 2021, Lumo operates trains between London King's Cross and Edinburgh, with stops in Newcastle and Morpeth (some services also stop in Stevenage). While it doesn’t explicitly advertise itself as a budget train service, there are fewer frills; apart from stricter baggage allowances, there is no first class, no buffet car (just a trolley) and no return tickets (you buy singles each way).

Lumo is cheaper than rival LNER, which runs more trains on the same route, sometimes significantly so. Some of its services are also faster. Lumo has fewer stops en route in part because it wanted to compete with budget airlines flying between Edinburgh and London.

What is it like on board Lumo trains?

It doesn’t look budget. The blue livery is smart and trains are modern. Each seat has charging ports and a reading light. The wi-fi is free, and excellent on my journey.

Perhaps they could use the wi-fi to find some cleaners. While you might overlook a few crumbs, my seat has more stains on it than a two-year-old’s bib at dinner time - and it has probably been that long since it last got a good scrub.

I search for an alternate seat, but they all look the same – filthy. 

Want tea? Bring a flask

Realistically you don’t need Gordon Ramsay sweating it out in the buffet car on a shortish train journey, but a few sandwiches are expected. So the announcement that sandwiches on our King's Cross to Edinburgh route won't be loaded until Newcastle is met with an audible groan.

 Why would you not load sandwiches until over halfway through the journey? Staff plugging packs of Pringles and Twixes as the catering trolley wobbles up and down the aisle only serves to wind up hangry passengers.

There is worse news to come. The hot drinks urn is also on the fritz as we near Newcastle. I don’t think it's an overstatement to say that not being able to get a cup of tea on a British train journey feels like a betrayal of the national consciousness. Unforgivably, this has not been fixed by the time I'm on the return journey two days later. Bring a flask is my advice

Are Lumo tickets cheap?

Yes. We looked at three returns between London King's Cross and Edinburgh; in the next few days, in a month and in two months. Lumo was cheaper than LNER in each instance. The average saving on a direct, return ticket was £44. 

The cheapest Lumo return we found between London and Edinburgh was £91. 

A bit like budget airlines, part of the reason Lumo can offer cheaper fares is its high load factor - packing as many people as possible into its seats. It runs shorter trains than LNER, and on our journeys was very busy. 

Is a Lumo train between London and Edinburgh faster than flying?

Lumo’s fastest service between London and Edinburgh is 4hr and 16min. That’s just a couple of minutes faster than the fastest LNER train, which isn't much given how many more stations LNER serves. 

Both services are faster than flying, if you factor in travel to and from the city centre to the airport at both ends of the journey and the need to be at the airport one to two hours before your flight.

Lumo review

The boarding experience with so many people and luggage being thrown around is chaotic, while dirty seats and no tea made our trip feel budget. But Lumo is fast, far better for the environment than flying and, perhaps crucially, by far the cheapest option. 

We paid for our Lumo train tickets and travelled anonymously. Get more independent advice and reviews on the best and worst travel companies with our free Travel newsletter  

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