Transport to Glasgow

Glasgow is served by two airports, two railway stations and a bus station.

Arriving by Air, Glasgow Airport (GLA)

The main airport serving Glasgow is Glasgow International Airport (GLA) which is located in Paisley, around 9 miles from Glasgow. This airport is serviced by many scheduled European air carriers and some budget airlines. There are direct flights from Canada (Westjet, Air Transat and Air Canada) and the United States (Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines and United Airlines). It is also possible to transit through Heathrow, Schiphol or Charles de Gaulle with British Airways, KLM and Air France. There are no direct flights to Glasgow from Asia, although there are direct flights from Doha and Dubai.

There is no train station at Glasgow Airport but you can travel to the city centre with the Glasgow Airport Express Service 500 which runs every 15 minutes and terminates at Buchannan Bus Station, or by taking a taxi or Uber.

You may arrive from England or Europe by budget airline to Glasgow Prestwick Airport (PIK), which is about 30 miles away from Glasgow. The airport is served by a dedicated railway station (Prestwick International Airport Station) which terminates at Glasgow Central Station. (Please note that due to a fire in an adjacent building, Glasgow Central Station is closed at this time – we will update on this page).

Arriving by air, to Edinburgh Airport (EDI)

It may be more convenient to arrive at Edinburgh Airport. There is a regular Citylink AIR Glasgow 900 service from the airport which runs every 30 minutes and arrives at Buchannan St Bus Station. If you prefer to travel by train, take the tram to Haymarket or Princes St and take a train to Glasgow Queen St. Services run every 15 minutes.

Arriving by Train

The two mainline railway stations in Glasgow are Queen Street (services north) and Glasgow Central (services south). If you are arriving by train and have a reservation in a city centre hotel, you can walk. If you have West End accommodation, the easiest way to get there is by taking the underground from St Enoch or Buchannan St stations. (Please note that due to a fire in an adjacent building, Glasgow Central Station is closed at this time – we will update on this page).

Arriving by Car

Glasgow city centre is a ULEZ zone and also has a notorious one-way system and fines for using bus lanes.  If you are driving to the West End be warned that there is limited parking and most of it is metered. If you still want to drive there is a park and ride at Kelvinbridge Underground station, and a multi-storey carpark and park and ride at Shields Road Underground station on the south side of the city.

Transport in Glasgow

Glasgow is served by suburban trains to the south of the city, low level trains in the north of the city, the underground and buses.

The easiest way to get from the city centre to the West End is by underground to Kelvinbridge station, which is a 5 minute walk away from the conference venue. You cannot get lost on the underground because it is a loop, affectionately known as the Clockwork Orange, with trains running in both directions. Beware if you are out late, as the trains terminate at Govan station after 10pm which is on the wrong side of the river. You must have a ticket to travel on the underground, and tickets can be bought at every station. There are a range of paper and smartcard tickets on offer.

If you take the bus, you can pay by cash (no change is given) or by tapping your debit/credit card. There is an automatic daily maximum charge which will not be exceeded should you hit it.