ScotRail

Advantages: Routes, Cost, Times
Disadvantages: See full review

The chances are you have been on one of these trains or at least seen one. Now I know that Ciao call the trains Scot rail but they have since changed names and are now known as First Scot Rail. **About First Scot Rail** As I have said that they are previously known as Scot rail until the 17th of October 2004 when they became First Scot Rail. Since they merged back on the 17th of October First Scot Rail have promised that they will improve services, ...
...spend on the services that will hopefully see more people using the services. First Rail aim to be the best low cost service in Scotland within the next 5yrs. **The trains** This varies so much depending on where you get the train really depends on the condition of the train. As I live in Edinburgh I often use the service to and from Motherwell and any time I have been on that particular service the trains have been very clean and tidy. I feel that ... Read review

Advantages: Helpful staff, good reliability
Disadvantages: Bad catering and lack of facilities.

...around using the trains. First Scotrail in particular. We stayed at a lovely hotel in Inverness where we stayed for a week. Our journey there was quite uneventful, we used the National Express East Coast service, which was direct from London Kings Cross to Inverness. But- enough about that, I'm reviewing First Scotrail here. Our plan was to stay in Inverness and then go out for the day using the local train services. We ended up travelling to Kyle ...
...a bit more about this later on...... HOW EASY WAS IT TO BUY A TICKET? Most of the principle FSR stations have either a Travel Center or Ticket Office where there is a full range of tickets, railcards and rover tickets available to purchase. Where there is an unmanned station or the office is simply closed, there is more often than not a Ticket Vending Machine available for use. This is where you can buy a limited range of tickets for travel ... Read review

Advantages: Good rolling stock, helpful staff on the train, prices
Disadvantages: Grumpy staff at ticket offices

I have to travel quite a lot in my job all over Scotland, North of England, Ireland & sometimes the south of England. Just like any other company I have a strict budget to keep to for traveling & for accommodation & I have to find the most cost effective methods. Around 80% of my traveling is by car with the remaining 20% by train, plane or ferry. Travelling in modern day Britain is no fun, by car it isn't long before your stuck in a traffic jam, ...
...I can't even remember that last time I completed a journey of more than 50 miles without seeing road works & if that's not bad enough I have to dodge the maniacs on the road, the speed cameras, the bus lane cameras, box junction cameras, the speed humps & the pot holes. By air isn't much better, after the airline companies screw me for the ticket, plus the cost of booking a seat, plus the cost of using a credit card, plus the cost of taking luggage ... Read review

Advantages: Breathtaking scenery, clean trains
Disadvantages: Very slow and useless North of Inverness

...Inverness. I guess Scotrail are not off to a good start. Before we have even boarded the train we know that they are slow and that the service is no good if you want to go anywhere other than a main station. Did I forget to say that the only reason that we get the train is that my girlfriend gets sick on the bus? So Scotrail are going to have to pull something good out of the bag to win me over and we have not even got on the train yet. Then I see ...
...have been booked if the Scotrail staff had bothered to put the reserved tickets out. This led to us walking along looking at seat numbers and then finding a family of fat Americans in our seats. Now being as Scotrail have not bothered to put out the reserved tickets it is not the Gargantuan Americans faults that they are in our seats so I did not take issue with them. (That plus the fact that I was terrified that one of them might eat me.) Scotrail ... Read review

Advantages: Scenery, Price, Great Days Out
Disadvantages: Train Stock used is quite old on these lines.

...lines and feel they show Scotrail at its best - supporting remote local communities in some pretty remote terrain. The first line - Glasgow to Oban, departs from Glasgow Queen Street. Passing through stations such as Dumbarton, Helensburgh (where the line officially starts), Gareloch head and the first stop at Ardlui. This stop allows the train coming in the opposite direction to pass, so you get a nice leg stretching there. The views are stunning ...
...details are avaliable on the scotrail website. Trains run at a frequency of about 3 / 4 times a day, except on a Sunday. But of you want a day trip to Mallaig there is only one or two possible combination to ensure you get back on the same day! There is a bit more choice for Oban, but if you want a decent length of day trip, its always best to get the earliest train and the latest back. Of course those who are entitled to a Highland Railcard (see ... Read review