Train routes in Scotland
18 routes · classic 8 · night train 1 · scenic 5 · heritage 3 · luxury 1
18 routes cross Scotland in the World Train Map atlas. The longest is the CrossCountry at 1,118 km; the fastest is the LNER Azuma, running up to 201 km/h; the oldest line dates to 1842. Every route links to its facts, photo and story, and to the interactive world map.
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Classic (8)
- LNER Azuma
The Flying Scotsman’s route since 1862, and where Mallard set the never-beaten steam record of 203 km/h in 1938.
Wikipedia ↗ - Avanti West Coast
Tilting Pendolinos sway through the Lune Gorge and over Shap summit on Britain’s busiest mixed-traffic artery.
Wikipedia ↗ - Aberdeen–Inverness Line
Scotland the other way round, coast to coast across the whin and barley of Aberdeenshire and Moray by way of Huntly, Keith, Elgin and Nairn, on a single track finished in 1858 and still mostly single today.
Wikipedia ↗ - CrossCountry
Britain’s longest direct train: one Voyager grinding 695 miles and nearly 40 stops from Aberdeen on the North Sea to Plymouth on the Channel.
Wikipedia ↗ - Edinburgh–Glasgow Express
Scotland’s busiest corridor since 1842: four electric expresses an hour between its two great cities over the Falkirk high route.
Wikipedia ↗ - Borders Railway
The Waverley Route reborn: Britain’s longest railway reopening in a century (2015), winding out of Edinburgh to Walter Scott’s Abbotsford.
Wikipedia ↗ - Glasgow South Western Line
The other line from Carlisle to Glasgow: over the border at Gretna, by Annan and Dumfries, up Nithsdale to Kilmarnock, and in by Barrhead on the joint line opened in 1873.
Wikipedia ↗ - Stranraer line
From Stranraer on Loch Ryan over the moors by Barrhill, the only station left between there and Girvan, then along the Firth of Clyde by Ayr and Troon to Kilmarnock; the line through the hills opened in 1877.
Wikipedia ↗
Night train (1)
- Caledonian Sleeper
The “Deerstalker Express”: fall asleep at Euston, wake up crossing Rannoch Moor with red deer at the window.
Wikipedia ↗
Scenic (5)
- West Highland Line
Regularly voted the world’s most scenic railway: around Rannoch Moor and over the 21-arch Glenfinnan Viaduct of film fame.
Wikipedia ↗ - Kyle of Lochalsh Line
One of the world’s great scenic railways, blasted through Torridonian rock for 82 miles from Inverness to the Skye ferry pier at Kyle of Lochalsh.
Wikipedia ↗ - Far North Line
Britain’s most northerly line, a lonely 4-hour run to Wick that swings far inland on the Lairg Loop to dodge the deep Highland sea firths.
Wikipedia ↗ - Highland Main Line
Over Druimuachdar Pass at 452 m, the highest main line in Britain, threading the Cairngorms from the capital to the Highland capital.
Wikipedia ↗ - West Highland Line to Oban
The West Highland Line’s other arm: splitting at Crianlarich for Loch Awe, Kilchurn Castle’s ruin and the Hebrides ferry port of Oban.
Wikipedia ↗
Heritage (3)
- The Jacobite
Steam over the 21 arches of Glenfinnan on the 1901 Mallaig extension: the working train that became the Hogwarts Express, white sands of Morar below.
Wikipedia (DE) ↗ - Caledonian Railway (Brechin)
Four miles of the Aberdeen Railway’s 1840s line between Brechin’s preserved terminus and Bridge of Dun, worked by volunteers every summer since 1993.
Wikipedia ↗ - Strathspey Railway
Steam since 1978 on a preserved stretch of the Highland Railway main line, one of only a handful of former main lines saved in Britain: from Aviemore through Boat of Garten to Broomhill.
Wikipedia ↗
Luxury (1)
- Belmond Royal Scotsman
Just 40 guests aboard mahogany-panelled Pullmans that cross the Forth Bridge outbound and stable each night in Highland sidings.
Wikipedia ↗
Photos via Wikimedia Commons; each route page credits the author & licence
What is the fastest train in Scotland?
The LNER Azuma, running London to Edinburgh at up to 201 km/h. It is one of 18 routes in Scotland in this atlas.
Are there night trains in Scotland?
Yes, 1 sleeper service in this atlas serves Scotland: Caledonian Sleeper (London – Fort William).
Can you cross the border by train from Scotland?
No route in this atlas crosses a land border out of Scotland. Every line listed here begins and ends inside the country.
Which is the most scenic railway in Scotland?
Scotland has 5 scenic or mountain lines in this atlas. The longest is the Highland Main Line, 300 km.