How to make the fabulous train journey from Glasgow to Fort William

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Glasgow to Fort William by train

Routes you can take to go from Glasgow to Fort William

When travelling between most cities by train there is only one logical option, though on other journeys there is a choice between different trains or alternative routes. If different options are available you can use the info to decide which is best for you.

Choose one of the following options:

Looking for connections?

Journey guides for travel to Glasgow

Route Information

Station Guides

Glasgow Queen Street Rail Station Guide

The Jacobite Steam Train departs from Fort William

Fort William Rail Station Guide

Travel Time (approx)

3hr 45min - 3hr 53min

Frequency

Daily

Travel Info

Mon - Sat = 4 x trains per day
Sundays = 2 x trains

Travel Information

Final destination: Mallaig

All trains also call at: Arrochar & Tarbet; Crianlarich; Bridge Of Orchy; Rannoch and Spean Bridge

This is a direct journey

You will be travelling on one of these trains...

ScotRail Sprinter (UK) Train Guide

Journey Features

Scenic - YesLake viewsLandscape (Hills / Mountains)Coastal viewsRiver views

Good to Know

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Two trains are usually joined together on departure from Glasgow, the front train will be heading to Oban and the rear train will be the train travelling to Mallaig via Fort William.

To make the most of the train journey from Glasgow to Fort William ShowMeTheJourney's recommendation is to be at Queen Street station, ready to board, a minimum of 20 - 30 minutes before departure.
You can then be among the first passengers to step on to the train and seek out spare window seats on the left-hand side; as the overwhelming majority of the best views during the journey can be appreciated from that side of the train.

Ignore your seat reservations when you first board, because you may have been assigned seats on the right-hand side; and by the time you have found your seats, the optimum seats over on the left may have been occupied.
The ultimate travel experience when taking the train to Fort William, is to have a table seat by the windows on the left, but most of the seats on the train aren't at tables.
The table seats line up with the windows, so they have the best views, which is why such seats on the left are worth seeking out.

The unreserved seats don't have paper labels stuck on them.
You won't have to sit in the seat(s) you have been assigned for your ticket to be valid.

If you've struck lucky and found such seats, you can then take a look as to where your reserved seats are located - if they happen to be the same type of seat, by the table, on the left, then you should move to them instead, it will stop other passengers from assuming that they're not available.

Though particularly in the summer months these can be fairly busy trains, so on Fridays and Saturdays you may be grateful to have assigned seats, even if they happen to be over on the right.

The Highland Explorer Services

The train which typically departs at 18:23 on Monday to Saturday has an*Highland Explorer coach, which houses spaces for 20 non-folding bikes, skis and other mountain exploration equipment.

Passing by Loch Gare after departing from Helensburgh

Looking down on the aptly named Loch Long

Passing by the village of Arrochar

Looking at the notes this was taken between Clanriach and Tyndrum

The railway follows a horseshoe curve north of Tyndrum - this is the view looking right

Passing by Loch Tulla

This image was captured near Bridge Of Orchy station

The view further north approaching Rannoch station

Crossing Rannoch Moor

Passing by Loch Treig on route to Tulloch station

Sharing the valley with the River Spean

Arriving in Fort William

Along the north bank of The River Clyde

After Garelochead looking down on the left where Loch Goil meets Loch Long

There are views over Loch Lomond until Ardlui station

Step on board for Britain's most beautiful train journey, the ride along the West Highland Line.

Around 25 minutes into the journey, after the train has departed from Dalmuir (where connections are available with trains from Glasgow Central), the railway begins to travel along the north bank of The Clyde Estuary.
The train will spend around 20 minutes travelling by the river until it arrives in Helensburgh.

Between Helensburgh and Arrochar & Tarbet there are spectacular views on the left down over two sea lochs, Loch Gare followed by Loch Long.

Between Arroacher & Tarbet and Ardlui, Loch Lommond is over to the right; though the railway is set back from shore, so for most of this part of the journey, the loch can only be glimpsed through the trees.

Since leaving Arroacher & Tarbet the train will have been travelling the Loch Lomond and Trossachs national park and between Adrlui and Tyndrum it is the hills of The Trossachs which surround the train.

North of Tyndrum the railway travels through a series of wildly desolate Highland glens, which comprise one of the most spectacular parts of the journey.

After departing Bridge of Orchy station Loch Tulla comes into view on the left.
Between there and Rannoch, the railway provides exclusive access to a lonely landscape with no roads and few signs of habitation.
The landscape becomes even more barren when the train departs the station to cross Rannoch Moor.

Then shortly after departing Corrour station, the beautiful Loch Treig is on the left and the train will spend around 15 minutes travelling by it.

Between Tulloch and Spean Bridge stations the railway follows the valley carved by the River Spean and the river is yet another highlight of the journey, which can be seen on the left when heading north.

Then for the final part of the journey the landscape opens out, so the sweeping distant views once again become the dominant feature, Ben Nevis, Scotland's highest mountain peak, can be seen on the left near journey's end.

How To Explore Scotland By Train Tips and insights for Scottish train travel, cheaper Off-Peak tickets are available all day until June 28th!

How To Explore Scotland By Train Tips and insights for Scottish train travel, cheaper Off-Peak tickets are available all day until Ju...

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Tickets

Book Early and Save: Yes

Online Bookings Usually Open: from 12 weeks ahead of the travel date (usually)

If you want to travel at the cheapest possible price, look for the 'Advance tickets.
Though something out of the ordinary for British train tickets, which is very much worth being aware of, is that ScotRail doesn't release Advance tickets for sale until 8 weeks ahead of the travel date.
However, the more expensive Anytime tickets will be placed on sale up to 3 months ahead.
So of if you look up a long-distance journey ticket on the ScotRail website more than 8 weeks ahead, you will only see the Anytime tickets, so you can save money by hanging back and waiting until the Advance tickets have been placed on sale.

ScotRail takes Advance tickets off sale at 18:00 (6pm) on the day prior to a travel date.

Choosing a departure
There can be significant differences in prices of Advance tickets between departures, the cheapest ticket prices inevitably sell out faster on the most popular trains.
So it can be possible to save money by looking through the departures and selecting an earlier or later train.
Also be aware that Advance tickets can sell out completely more than a couple of days ahead on the most popular trains.

Seat Reservations
When booking Advance tickets specific seats will automatically be assigned, but when booking Off-Peak or Anytime tickets, you will be given an easy option to add a reservation when booking online.
Or if when booking Anytime or Off-Peak tickets, you don't yet know which specific train you will want to travel by, you can arrange a seat reservation free of charge later, either at a station, or by calling ScotRail’s Customer Relations team on 0344 811 0141, selecting Option 3.
However, reservations at stations need to be arranged a couple of hours prior to departure.
These methods of booking reservations also apply if you will be using a rail pass, you can drop in at a ticket office and arrange seat reservations, at no extra charge, or call that number.

Bike Reservations
You can also a complimentary bike reservation when booking tickets on the ScotRail website.

Offers and deals
ScotRail offers ticketing deals when Adults travel with children or in groups, so when booking online it's worth checking to confirm whether the total price being charged is inclusive of these deals

Or you can book these deals at a station ticket office, if Advance tickets are available the booking clerk will ask if that's your preference - though be aware that Advance deals can't be refunded if one or more members of a party subsequently can't make the trip.

If you do opt to book these deals at the station you won't ever be charged more than the online price and the booking clerk may be able to point out a money saving option.

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This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.

We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.

Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.

So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please consider saying thank you.

See if there’s a unique journey guide for your trip, featuring info on the trains, tickets & stations.

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This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.

Related Content

How to make the fabulous train journey from Glasgow to Fort William

Share this journey with a friend...

Glasgow to Fort William by train

Routes you can take to go from Glasgow to Fort William

Choose one of the following options:

Looking for connections?

Route Information

Station Guides

Travel Time (approx)

Frequency

Travel Info

Purchase Tickets

ScotRail Guide

Travel Information

This is a direct journey

You will be travelling on one of these trains...

Journey Features

Good to Know

Please support ShowMeTheJourney

Tickets

Please support ShowMeTheJourney

See if there’s a unique journey guide for your trip, featuring info on the trains, tickets & stations.