The Scotrail Rail Network serves the major towns and cities in Scotland. A number of daily trains operate to London via the East Coast and the West Coast. Great Northern Railways (GNER) and Virgin are the main operators from London to Scotland.

From Edinburgh you can travel between Glasgow, the Lothian region, Perth, Dundee and Aberdeen. Services to Inverness run from Perth and Aberdeen. From there, services operate to Wick, Thurso and the Kyle of Lochalsh. From Glasgow you can reach the west coast and places like Oban, Fort William and Mallaig at the southern access to Skye. If you are coming from or going to Ireland go via the Stranreaer harbour.

Scotland trains travel through some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. The Western Highland Line, the Kyle line and the Far North Line are famous routes. For more information on routes, times and tickets contact ScotRail www.ScotRail.co.uk, tel. 08457 48 49 50.


- RAILWAY STATIONS
- TICKETS
- RAIL PASSES
- USEFUL LINKS


RAILWAY STATIONS

Aberdeen
Aberdeen Railway Station
Located in the city centre on Guild Street. Aberdeen connects with the Highland line including Thurso, Wick & Inverness, and services from Fife, Perth, Dundee & Edinburgh.

Edinburgh
Waverly Station
This is Edinburgh's main railway station and is located in the city centre between Princes Street and Market Street. Edinburgh connects with rail services from London and the South via Berwick upon Tweed, East Coast Services between Stirling, Perth, Kirkcaldy, Dundee, Aberdeen, Aviemore and Inverness. Trains from Edinburgh also connect to the West Coast via Glasgow.

Glasgow
Glasgow has two main line train stations and an underground railway system:

Central Station - Argyll Street
Use this station for West Coast Services to Stranraer, Ayr, Dumfries and services from London and the South via Carlisle.

Queen Street Station - corner of George Square.
Use this station for trains to the East Coast, trains from Edinburgh, Stirling, Perth, Dundee and Invernes, and travel to West Coast of Scotland to Oban, Fort William and Mallaig. Allow 10 minutes to walk between the two stations.

Underground
The Glasgow Underground is a single loop called the Circle Line that links 15 stations in the city and takes around 24 minutes for an entire circuit. Directions are indicated as "Outer Circle" (clockwise) and "Inner Circle" (anti-clockwise).
Website: Underground Travel Information

Inverness
Inverness Railway Station
Located in the city centre on Academy Street. The Highland Line for Thurso and Wick, or the scenic Kyle Line to the Kyle of Lochalsh leave from this station.

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TICKETS
Tickets can be bought from the counters or guichets (can be long queues) or at ticket vending machines. All tickets must be validated (and your reservation card) at the orange date-stamping machines. Any rail passes must also be time stamped. Journeys requiring a change of trains in big cities also need to be re-validated at the connecting station. Return tickets must be validated on the outward and return journey. Regular tickets are valid until midnight on the day after you have validated your ticket. You may make a stop-over of less than 24 hours during your journey as long as you reach your destination before your ticket expires.

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RAIL PASSES
BackpackEngland offer passes through Europrail and Rail Connection to destinations in Europe. The Eurail pass is considered by many as the best option for travelling through Europe. It is especially good for those with limited time. There are 15, 21, 30 and 60 day passes available and prices vary depending on the countries chosen for travel. Discounts are available for those under 26 years. Make sure you buy your pass before you leave for Europe. Also remember that rail passes do not guarantee seats on trains.

There are also other options for travelling on British trains. These provide unlimited access to the entire rail network in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland. You can hop on and off the train as often as you like. There are 15,000 daily departures throughout the UK from 2400 stations. The passes for Scotland include:

Britrail Classic
The original Britrail pass is valid on most train services in England, Scotland and Wales. It offers unlimited travel on participating services within the validity of the pass. Youth fares are available for those aged 16-25. There are various time passes available starting at 4 days and rising incrementally to 30 days. Britrail passes are not sold within the UK. But you can order this pass online.

Britrail Flexipass
This pass is similar to the Britrail pass, except your travel is restricted to a specified number of travel days within a two month period. It has 4 days, 8 days and 15 days options. This pass is not available within the UK. You can order this pass online.

Freedom of Scotland
This pass is good for train travel on ScotRail and Strathclyde Passenger Transport services and all scheduled GNER and Virgin Trains within Scotland, including services to Carlisle and Berwick-upon-Tweed. The pass also includes ferry travel on all Caledonian MacBrayne ferries and Strathclyde Passenger Transport ferries, selected Citylink bus services and all Glasgow underground services. The pass also entitles the holder to discounted travel on P&O ferries to the Orkney and Shetland Islands. This pass is also available in Great Britain. You can order this pass online.

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