West Highland Line
A First ScotRail train to Fort William crossing Rannoch Moor in August 2007
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	Glasgow Argyll and Bute Highland Scotland
Termini	Glasgow Queen Street Mallaig Oban
Stations	33
Service
Type	Rural Rail[1]
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	Caledonian Sleeper ScotRail West Coast Railways
Rolling stock	Class 153 Class 156 Caledonian Sleeper stock
Technical
Line length	Glasgow Queen Street to Crianlarich: 59 miles 22 chains (95.4 km) Crianlarich to Oban: 41 miles 73 chains (67.5 km) Crianlarich to Fort William: 63 miles 14 chains (101.7 km) Fort William to Mallaig: 41 miles 28 chains (66.5 km) *Total (including reversing at Fort William): 205 miles 57 chains (331.1 km)
Number of tracks	One
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Operating speed	70 mph (110 km/h) maximum[1]
Route map

The West Highland Line (Scottish Gaelic: Rathad Iarainn nan Eilean - "Iron Road to the Isles") is a railway line linking the ports of Mallaig and Oban in the Scottish Highlands to Glasgow in Central Scotland. The line was voted the top rail journey in the world by readers of independent travel magazine Wanderlust in 2009, ahead of the notable Trans-Siberian line in Russia and the Cuzco to Machu Picchu line in Peru.^[2][3][4] The ScotRail website has since reported that the line has been voted the most scenic railway line in the world for the second year running.^[5]

The West Highland Line is one of two railway lines that access the remote and mountainous west coast of Scotland, the other being the Kyle of Lochalsh Line which connects Inverness with Kyle of Lochalsh. The line is the westernmost railway line in Great Britain.

At least in part, the West Highland Line is the same railway line as that referred to as the West Highland Railway.

History

Glenfinnan Viaduct

The route was built in several sections:

• Glasgow Queen Street to Cowlairs Junction - Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway
• Cowlairs Junction to Bowling - Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway (later absorbed into the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway)
• Bowling to Dumbarton Central - Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway, operated by the Caledonian Railway
• Dumbarton Central to Dalreoch - Caledonian and Dunbartonshire Junction Railway
• Dalreoch to Craigendoran - Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway
• Craigendoran to Fort William (opened 11 August 1894)^[6][7][8] - West Highland Railway sponsored by the North British Railway
• Crianlarich to Oban^[9] - Callander and Oban Railway, operated by the Caledonian Railway.

There is an additional section from Fort William (or a junction near Fort William) to Mallaig, built as the Mallaig Extension Railway.^[10] The West Highland Railway approved the construction of the line at their annual meeting in January 1895.^[11]

The line faced potential closure as part of the Beeching cuts in 1963^[12] and again in 1995 due to reduced revenues.^[13][14]

Route description

Train crossing bridge at Banavie

The summit of the line just north of Corrour

Shortly after leaving Glasgow Queen Street station, and beyond Queen Street Tunnel, the line diverges from the main trunk route to Edinburgh and Perth at Cowlairs and follows a northwesterly course through the suburbs of Maryhill and Kelvindale. Between Westerton and Dumbarton, the route is shared with the North Clyde Line to Helensburgh before branching northward at Craigendoran Junction towards Garelochhead, the section where the West Highland Line itself is generally accepted to begin. It gives high-level views of the Gareloch and Loch Long before emerging alongside the northwesterly shores of Loch Lomond, then climbs Glen Falloch to Crianlarich.

A Glasgow-bound train at Helensburgh Upper in 2020.

The branch to Oban diverges at Crianlarich, an important Highland junction of both road and rail, and runs through Glen Lochy to Dalmally and through the Pass of Brander to reach salt water at Taynuilt and Connel Ferry before a final climb over a hill to Oban. About three miles (five kilometres) from Crianlarich, the Mallaig and Oban routes both pass through the village of Tyndrum, but they are served by separate stations, making it the smallest settlement in the UK to be served by more than one railway station.

After Bridge of Orchy, the line to Mallaig climbs onto Rannoch Moor, past the former crossing point at Gorton Crossing to Rannoch station. In winter, the moor is often covered with snow,^{[note 1]} and deer may be seen running from the approaching train. The station at Corrour on the moor is one of the most remote stations in Britain and is not accessible by any public road. This is the summit of the line at 1347 ft (410 m) above sea level. Carrying on northwards, the line descends above the shores of Loch Treig and through the narrow Monessie Gorge. The final stop before Fort William is Spean Bridge. The section between Fort William and Mallaig passes over the Glenfinnan Viaduct, through Arisaig with its views of the Small Isles of Rùm, Eigg, Muck and Canna, and the white sands of Morar before coming to Mallaig itself.

With the exception of the route between Glasgow Queen Street and Helensburgh Upper, and the short section between Fort William Junction and Fort William station, the railway is signalled using the Radio Electronic Token Block, controlled from the signal box at Banavie station.

Services

Passenger services on the line are operated by ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper. As of May 2021, the service pattern is as follows:

• 3tpd each way Mallaig - Glasgow Queen Street
• 1tpd each way Mallaig - Fort William
• 1tpd Oban - Dalmally
• 6tpd each way Oban - Glasgow Queen Street. Additionally, 1tpd Glasgow Queen Street - Oban (one way only)

All of the services from Glasgow Queen Street - Mallaig are combined with services to Oban, splitting at Crianlarich. Similarly, two of the return services combine at Crianlarich.^[18]

During the summer season from May until October a steam locomotive-hauled daily return service between Fort William and Mallaig known as The Jacobite is operated by West Coast Railways. There is one train a day in May, September and October, and two trains per day from June until the end of August.

Caledonian Sleeper operates a nightly service from Fort William to London Euston.^[19]

Onward ferry connections operated by Caledonian MacBrayne are available from Mallaig to the Isle of Skye, to the small isles of Rùm, Eigg, Muck, and Canna, to South Uist, and to Inverie on the Knoydart peninsula. From Oban ferries sail to the islands of Lismore, Colonsay, Coll, Tiree, Mull and Barra.

As of 2021, there is a single regular freight operation on the line, consisting of alumina services from North Blyth to a smelter near Fort William.^[20][21]

Route timings

Since improvements to Scottish trunk roads in the 1980s, a train journey can take significantly longer than the equivalent road journey. There are several reasons for this. The line is entirely single track once it leaves the North Clyde suburban network at Craigendoran and trains must wait at stations with crossing loops for opposite direction trains to pass. Even when no crossing is timetabled, each train must pause at the various token exchange points whilst the driver contacts the main signalling centre at Banavie to swap tokens electronically and obtain permission to proceed. Up to 15 minutes have to be allocated for trains to divide or combine at the junction station at Crianlarich, whilst trains heading to/from Mallaig also have to reverse at Fort William & traverse the Banavie swing bridge at low speed. A further issue is finding suitable timetable paths for Oban & Mallaig trains on the busy North Clyde line, which carries an intensive local stopping service. As West Highland trains only stop at Dumbarton Central and Dalmuir on this stretch, it is not uncommon for them be delayed by a preceding local train and so recovery time has to be included in their schedules to reduce the possibility of a late arrival in Glasgow.

Over much of the Rannoch Moor section the speed limit is 60 mph (95 km/h) for the Sprinter and 70 mph (110 km/h) on the approach to Rannoch station. The Caledonian Sleeper travels at 40 mph (65 km/h) maximum, slowing down for a number of bridges on the route due to the heavy weight of the Class 67 locomotive which hauled the train until the end of the old franchise in April 2015. The operator of the sleeper Serco has replaced these with refurbished Class 73/9 electro-diesels since it took over, which have a lighter axle load; it isn't yet clear if the new locos will be cleared to run at higher speeds now they are in service.^[22]

Rolling stock

Past, present and future rolling stock on the line

Class	Image	Operator	Route	Maximum Speed		Builder/ Built	In Service on the line	Leased From	Other Notes
				mph	km/h
Past Rolling Stock (From 1980)
37		British Rail (Until 1983) BR ScotRail (From 1983)	Glasgow Queen Street to Oban/Mallaig (Until 1989) London Euston to Fort William (Takes over from electric loco at Edinburgh) Freight	80	130	English Electric 1960-1965	1981-1985	N/A	Class 37/0
		BR ScotRail	Glasgow Queen Street to Oban/Mallaig (Until 1989) London Euston to Fort William (Takes over from electric loco at Edinburgh) Freight	90	145		1985-2006		Class 37/4
BR Standard Class 4 2-6-0		West Coast Railways	Fort William to Mallaig	60	96	Horwich Works 1957			The Jacobite
LNER Class K4 2-6-0						Darlington Works 1938
Mark 1 Passenger Coach		British Rail (Until 1983) BR ScotRail (From 1983) The Royal Scotsman (1985 - 1989)	Glasgow Queen Street to Oban or Mallaig	100	160	1951-1963	1961-1989	N/A
Mark 2 Passenger Coach		Caledonian Sleeper	London Euston to Fort William	100	160	BREL 1963-1975	1964-2019		It was replaced by the Mark 5 passenger coach.
Mark 3 Sleeper Coach		Caledonian Sleeper	London Euston to Fort William	125	200	BREL 1979-1980	1980-2019		It was replaced by the Mark 5 sleeping coach.
Current Fleet
66		GB Railfreight	Freight	75	120	Electro-Motive Diesel 1998-2015	2000-	N/A	Class 66/7
		Belmond Limited	Special Passenger Workings (Royal Scotsman)					GB Railfreight
67		First ScotRail (Until 2015) Caledonian Sleeper	London Euston to Fort William (Took over from electric loco at Edinburgh)	125	200	Alstom 1999-2000	2006-2016, 2023-	DB Cargo UK
73/9				90	145	British Railways Eastleigh Works 1962 English Electric 1965-1967 Rebuilt 2014-2016	2016-	GB Railfreight	Replaced Class 67 when their lease from DB Cargo UK Expired Class 73/9.
153		ScotRail (2021-present)	Glasgow Queen Street to Oban/Mallaig	75	120	Leyland Bus 1987-1988 as Class 155s[23] Converted to Class 153 by Hunslet-Barclay 1991-1992[24]	2021–	N/A	In service from 19 July
156		BR ScotRail (until 1997) National Express (1997-2004) First ScotRail (2005-2015) ScotRail (2015-present)				Metro-Cammell 1987-1989	1989–
LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0		West Coast Railways	Fort William to Mallaig	60	96	Armstrong Whitworth (45212 & 45407) 1935 & 1937 Crewe Works (44871) 1945	-		The Jacobite
Peppercorn Class K1				60	96	North British Locomotive Company 1949-1950	-
Mark 1 Passenger coach				100	160	Cravens 19511963
Mark 2 Passenger Coach				100	160	BREL 1963–1975
Pullman Mark 3 coach		Belmond Limited	Special Passenger Workings (Royal Scotsman)	125	200	BREL 1979–1980
Mark 3 Sleeper Coach		Belmond Limited	Special Passenger Workings (Royal Scotsman)	125	200	BREL 1979–1980
Mark 5 Passenger Coach		Caledonian Sleeper	London Euston to Fort William	100	160	CAF 2016–2018	Oct 2019–	Caledonian Sleeper Rail Leasing	It replaced the Mark 2 passenger coach.
Mark 5 Sleeper Coach									It replaced the Mark 3 sleeping coach.

In early 2018 it was widely reported that Class 158s would be used from Q3-Q4 2018 to replace the Class 156s. However, following investigation it was discovered that the line does not have sufficient gauge clearance for the class. As of August 2018 studies were still ongoing.^[25]

Some notable railway-related features

• The Horse Shoe Curve, between Upper Tyndrum and Bridge of Orchy
• The Cruach Rock snowshed, between Rannoch and Corrour
• Glenfinnan Viaduct, between Locheilside and Glenfinnan
• The Pass of Brander stone signals, between Dalmally and Taynuilt
• Arisaig is the most westerly railway station in Great Britain.

The two branches of the line are described in detail by John Thomas in his two books (see Sources).

The route in detail

West Highland Line
km from Glasgow 264.3 Mallaig 259.5 Morar 252.3 Arisaig 246.6 Beasdale Stops on request 239.0 Lochailort Stops on request 224.1 Glenfinnan 222.8 Glenfinnan Viaduct 213.6 Locheilside Stops on request 207.6 Loch Eil Outward Bound 202.8 Corpach 201.2 Banavie 197.5 Fort William 183.5 Spean Bridge 178.2 Roy Bridge 169.0 Tulloch 152.9 Corrour 141.2 Rannoch .... Gorton 116.3 Bridge of Orchy 103.8 Upper Tyndrum 163.3 Oban 153.3 Connel Ferry 142.4 Taynuilt 133.1 Falls of Cruachan summer only 127.9 Loch Awe 123.5 Dalmally 104.2 Tyndrum Lower 96.2 Crianlarich 82.1 Ardlui 69.2 Arrochar and Tarbet 51.9 Garelochhead 41.0 Helensburgh Upper 26.6 Dumbarton Central 16.1 Dalmuir 0.0 Glasgow Queen Street Buchanan Street

Places served along the route from Glasgow Queen Street are listed below. Sleeper services to Fort William start, however, at London Euston, calling at Edinburgh Waverley and Queen Street Low Level (to pick up or set down depending on direction).

West Highland Line in film

• Glenfinnan Viaduct, on the line between Fort William and Mallaig, is a filming location for the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter series of films.^[26]
• Eddie McConnell's poetic documentary A Line for All Seasons (1970) showcases the line and its history set against the scenery of the western highlands as it changes through the seasons.^[27]
• Corrour station features in Trainspotting (1996), directed by Danny Boyle.

Museum

There is a museum dedicated to the history of the West Highland Line situated at Glenfinnan Station.

Future

In the Scottish Government's National Transport Strategy, published in February 2020, it was stated that the line will not be electrified with overhead lines. Instead, an alternative to diesel traction will be found.^[28]

Gallery

• 
  A freight train heading south on the West Highland Line
• 
  A Scotrail service crosses Loch Awe in 2017
• 
  Bridge of Orchy station in 1961
• 
  Railway Bridge near Inverlochy Castle
• 
  Approaching the Glenfinnan Viaduct

Notes

References

Further reading

• McGregor, John (2013). Great Railway Journeys Through Time: West Highland Line. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 9781445613369. OCLC 839316369.
• Kelly, Peter (September 1983). "Pearls beyond price". Rail Enthusiast. EMAP National Publications. pp. 23–33. ISSN 0262-561X. OCLC 49957965.
• Bellass, Eddie (June 1984). "Oban line". Rail Enthusiast. EMAP National Publications. pp. 35–37, 39. ISSN 0262-561X. OCLC 49957965.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to West Highland Line.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for West Highland Line.

• Video of entire journey from Glasgow Queen Street over Fort William to Mallaig: filmed from the cab of the train.
• Video footage of Garelochhead railway station
• Lochailort railway station