Travelling to Glasgow
By AIR
Glasgow is served by three international airports, with connections across the world.
Glasgow Airport
Glasgow Airport is located just eight miles (13 kilometres) west of Glasgow City Centre and services over 130 direct flights from many UK and European cities, including Amsterdam, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Paris, London, Dublin, Belfast, Geneva and Reykjavik as well as Dubai with its connections onwards to Asia and Australasia; and major cities in The US and Canada.
Glasgow Prestwick Airport
Glasgow Prestwick Airport is 32 miles (51km) South West of the city. It’s a main base for Ryanair and serves European destinations.
Getting to Glasgow city centre from Glasgow Prestwick Airport: Prestwick has its own train station, there are three trains per hour on weekdays and the journey to Glasgow Central Station takes around 50 minutes. Alternatively it’s an easy journey to drive via the M77 or there is an express bus service, the X77, which takes an hour.
Edinburgh Airport
Edinburgh Airport is 39 miles (63km) from Glasgow and serves most major international airlines. You can get to Glasgow from the airport by either bus, train or taxi.
Scottish Citylink provides direct bus services from Edinburgh Airport to Glasgow’s Buchanan Bus Station every 30 minutes. Alternatively you can catch a bus or taxi to Edinburgh Haymarket train station and then catch a train to Glasgow Queen Street station. Lothian Buses provides public transportation to Edinburgh Airport with the Airlink100 express bus from Edinburgh city centre as well as local bus services.
Glasgow Queen Street Station provides the main rail link between Glasgow and Edinburgh, with 8 direct services per hour on weekdays.
By Train
Glasgow has 2 major train stations. Glasgow Queen Street station which serves Edinburgh and the North with Glasgow Central station serving the South.
The main UK train companies operating in Scotland are:
Scotrail – When travelling in and around Scotland
Virgin Trains – When travelling to and from London via Glasgow
Cross Country – When travelling from Central England via the East Coast of Scotland
East Coast – When travelling to and from London via Edinburgh
TransPennine Express – When travelling to and from the North of England via Scotland
Average Travel Times
Average travel time by train from across the UK to Glasgow:
| Station | Average Journey Time |
| London | 4 hours 10 mins |
| Birmingham | 4 hours |
| Manchester | 3 hours 30 mins |
| Liverpool | 3 hours 40 mins |
| York | 3 hours 30 mins |
| Edinburgh | 50 mins |
• There are more than 20 direct trains per day from London
• Direct trains from Edinburgh every 15 mins on weekdays
By ScotRail
ScotRail Conference Rover – £5 for 5 days
Delegates can purchase a ScotRail Conference Rover ticket for £5 for 5 days train travel within the Conference Zone.
You can then travel between the SEC and the City Centre as many times as you like within this time.
The Conference Rover also gives you up to 50% off train fares throughout Scotland, if you’d like to explore the rest of Scotland after the conference.
To purchase the ticket show your conference badge at the station or photo ID with a conference confirmation.
By road
Glasgow is linked to Edinburgh with the M8, England on the M74, Stirling with the M80 and the West Coast of Scotland with the M77. The city’s venues and hotels are comfortably accessed by road.
For real time travel information on all of Scotland’s trunk roads, including cross-border information to the North of England, visit Traffic Scotland, or access it via the Traveline Scotland app.
For information on Scotland’s trunk road network visit Transport Scotland.
