Glasgow has two airports, two mainline stations and Scotland’s busiest coach station, and it is the starting point for the West Highland Line to Oban, Fort William and Mallaig.
Routes at a glance
| From | How | Time | Rough cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glasgow Airport (GLA) | Glasgow Airport Express bus (service 500) | about 15–25 min | around £10 single |
| Prestwick Airport (PIK) | ScotRail train to Glasgow Central | about 45–50 min | around £10; discount with a flight ticket |
| Edinburgh | ScotRail train, Waverley to Queen Street | 50 min | around £15–20 |
| Edinburgh Airport | Citylink Air coach direct to Buchanan Bus Station | about 1 hour | around £15 |
| London | Train from Euston to Glasgow Central | about 4½–5 hours | from around £40–60 booked ahead |
| Inverness | ScotRail train or Citylink coach | about 3¼–4 hours | from around £15–25 booked ahead |
Times and prices are approximate and change with season and booking date — check operators for current timetables and fares.
By air
Glasgow Airport is 13 km west of the centre, beside the M8. There is no rail link; the Airport Express bus runs every 10–15 minutes to Buchanan Bus Station, close to Queen Street station. A taxi takes about 20 minutes. Prestwick, used by some low-cost flights, has its own station on the Ayr line. If you are landing at Edinburgh Airport, a direct coach reaches Glasgow in about an hour.
By train and coach
Queen Street serves Edinburgh (every 15 minutes), Stirling, Perth, Aberdeen, Inverness and the West Highland Line. Central serves London Euston, the north of England, Ayrshire and the Clyde coast. The two are ten minutes’ walk apart. Buchanan Bus Station is the hub for Citylink coaches to Glencoe, Fort William, Skye, Oban and Inverness.
By car
The M8 runs through the middle of the city, and the M74, M77 and M80 feed in from the south and north. The centre has a Low Emission Zone that bars older vehicles, and on-street parking is limited; use a multi-storey or a Subway park-and-ride such as Kelvinbridge or Shields Road. For Loch Lomond you are on the A82 within 30 minutes.
Getting around
The Subway, opened in 1896 and the third-oldest underground railway in the world, is a single circle of 15 stations linking the centre, the West End and the Southside — impossible to get lost on. Buy a ticket or tap in with contactless; an all-day ticket costs little more than two singles. Suburban trains reach the Burrell, the Riverside (Partick) and Balloch. Buses are run mainly by First Glasgow and take contactless payment.
