How to make the fabulous train journey from Glasgow to Oban

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Glasgow to Oban by train

Take the train from Glasgow to Oban and an easy transfer will be available for the ferries on to the islands in the Inner Hebrides of Barra, Colonsay, Lismore, Mull, South Uist and Tiree

Routes you can take to go from Glasgow to Oban

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

Oban Rail Station Guide

Travel Time (approx)

3hr 3min - 3hr 7min

Frequency

Daily

Travel Info

Mon - Sat = 6 x trains per day
Sunday = 3 x trains

Travel Information

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.

Final destination: Oban

All trains also call at: Arrochar & Tarbet; Crianlarich; Taynult; Connel Ferry (the Cal Mac ferries to the Inner Hebrides don't leave from here).

The details of the timings of the ferries to Barra, Colonsay, Lismore, Mull, South Uist and Tiree; and the associated connections can be found on the website of the ferry company, CalMac.

This is a direct journey

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

ScotRail Sprinter (UK) Train Guide

Journey Features

Scenic - YesLandscape (Hills / Mountains)Lake viewsCoastal views

Good to Know

To make the most of the train journey from Glasgow to Oban 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 Oban, 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 trains which typically depart at:

09:56 on Sunday
10:36 on Monday to Saturday
16:34 on Monday to Saturday
18:23 on Monday to Saturday

now have added Highland Explorer coaches, which house spaces for 20 non-folding bikes, skis and other mountain exploration equipment

Journey description:

Step on board for a stunning train ride along the West Highland Line. As can be seen from the images and videos, even when the weather isn't perfect, it is still a journey worth taking solely for the scenery.

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 15 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 Lomond 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 through the Loch Lomond and Trossachs national park and between Adrlui and Tyndrum it is the hills of The Trossachs which surround the train.

the video was filmed from a train traveling in the opposite direction.

After Tyndrum, for the final part of the journey from there to just before Connel Ferry station, the best of the views are again on the left.
From that side of the train there will be views over Lochan na Bi and then after Dalmeny the railway is by the shore of stunning Loch Awe.
Though on both sides of Connel Ferry station, there are some wonderful coastal views over on the right.

If you will be making a return journey it can be worth taking up seats on one side of the train when heading north; and then sitting on the other side of the train for the journey back to Glasgow.

This video was taken on a train to Glasgow.

Around 30 mins into the journey the River Clyde is on the left

The train will travel along the south bank of The Clyde for more than 10 mins

Passing by Loch Gare after departing from Helensburgh

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

Looking down on the aptly named Loch Long

Passing by the village of Arrochar

After Arrochar and Tarbet there are views over Loch Lomond on the right

There are views over Loch Lomond until Ardlui station

Heading further into The Trossachs national park on route to Crianlarich

Passing by the River Lochy between Tyndrum and Dalmally

Kilchurn Castle comes into view on the left just after Dalmally station

Kilchurn Castle stands on the banks of Loch Awe

The train will spend more than 10 mins travelling by the banks of Loch Awe

On the right there are views over the sea lochs either side of Connel Ferry station

Nearing journey's end after departure from Connel Ferry station

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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 Oban

Share this journey with a friend...

Glasgow to Oban by train

Routes you can take to go from Glasgow to Oban

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

Journey description:

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.