Abellio: A Tale of Two Stations. Glasgow Central & Queen Street and the bus / train between the two 

I travelled between the two stations on a regular basis when going to St Andrews University from Belfast. This was in between 1977 until 1981. Walking was the only option for me because I was always skint. I remember lugging a suitcase was a right royal pain in the backside. And it was always raining. This was in the days before someone had the bright idea to put wheels on a suitcase.

I have just discovered these videos in the past few months. As someone who grew up in Scotland but moved to Canada a million years ago, I really appreciate the videos. I was in Glasgow three weeks ago and go to Scotland every two years ago, so really appreciate the insights.

Brilliant! 😂 Getting around Scotland by public transport can be full of such absurdities. Late night travel in particular can be an adventure never to be forgotten for the stranger about town, especially if you rely on computerised timetabling. i.e. I live about 1 mile from the centre of town. One night I missed the last local bus home so I went online to check if there were any alternative options still running. I was surprised to find there was! However it involved travelling to a town 12 miles away then catching another bus to bring me back home. Trouble was if I did take that bus, I would be left stranded overnight in that town waiting for the first bus back at about 7am next morning! I walked home ☺

They should make an underground footway between the two stations. Granted, I don't know the geological conditions of the city centre or how many existing underground infrastructures such a venture would encounter but would be an easier thing to make than a train connection.

Loved the trip! Thanks for the ride. The video quality is fantastic by the way.

I love your humor! 70 days and counting till my Glasgow trip!!

Great video. Well constructed and interesting.

Brilliant. Loved it!

Fantastic video mate! So creative as always, love your content!

I had to make that same journey between those two stations about 30 years ago. I had no idea how far apart they were. I got a ride in a taxi, and I think he gave a bit of a tour, but I gave him five pounds and he was a happy man.

There is a tunnel linking Glasgow Queen Street directly to the Underground station at the top of Buchanan Street , from which you can travel to St Enoch Square station , which is very close to Glasgow Central . The travel time between the underground stations is just a couple of minutes , although the trains run at roughly 10 minute intervals .

Loved the video and pleasing to see local (to myself at least) content. In slight defence of the wee bus…I would firstly mention that the £1.50 fare is a relatively recent thing to attract extra city passengers. The bus is free to rail passengers with a connecting ticket. So if you were going from say Stirling to Ayr you could use it. Obviously concession-card holders travel free too. Also the wee bus takes in Buchanan Bus Station as well and it’s part of the franchise agreement. It’s run by Craig of Campbeltown’s Glasgow Citybus subsidiary on beheld of ScotRail with funding coming from other rail companies too. Technically there is also a third way to get between the two terminals and it’s to go via the Subway between St Enoch’s and Buchanan Street and then the moving walkway to Queen Street. There had been various schemes to link the two stations in the past including an underground moving walkway between the two stations but they’ve all came to nowt.

That's a bit like Catford and Catford Bridge, as Geoff Marshall showed, where you cannot buy a ticket between them, even though they're a literal stones throw apart!

For years I thought the club's name was Partick Thistle Nil. famous one-liner of Billy Connolly

This is becoming my new fav channel!

Great video like always

Please don't ever think as your fans that we are thinking that you need to go somewhere to make your amazing content. Your videos we love Loving the Glasgow videos your doing just now

Sorry Late Absolutely love your Videos Always great time 😁😁😁💟💟💟

Love your videos

Next Scotrail fare to calculate per mile: Prestwick Town to Prestwick Airport. Thanks for another enjoyable video!

I remember the last time I used this bus service it went from the forecourt in front of Glasgow Central then it would go in to Glasgow Queen Street station just of North Hanover Street. But this was many many years ago before the redevelopment of the station.

My Sis and I are heading home to Greenock in May and I was checking into train from Greenock to Edinburgh where I noticed that the arrival time into Glasgow Central then to Glasgow Queen Street is the same time, I believe. Thanks for your information.

Brilliant!

thanks for this been such a help. ill be walking to change stations ,

My Dad worked for Britrail in the 60’s before we emigrated to Calgary (Canada) in ‘69. My Sis and I love the travelling on the trains!

I know that guy! Even I can walk it quicker than that bus. What about the bus from Glasgow Airport in to town? A family of 4 are almost £50.00 down before they've started. White cab? No, that's even more expensive! Welcome to Glasgow.

There is track near annisland that allows a direct train between the two Inc the option of arriving at Queen Street high level but this is rarely used

Cardiff has two stations, also called Central and Queen Street. Absolutely quicker to walk between them than the bus. There are trains though.

There's a similar set up in Birmingham, you can get a train to Smethwick Galton Bridge from Birmingham New Street and get the train back to Birmingham Moor Street or Snow Hill!

It's a bit late, but you can also not get a ticket from Tyndrum Lower to Upper Tyndrum, and Helensburg Centeral to Helensburgh Upper.

Am going through some of your older films. Geoff Marxhall encountered a similer problem in London when trying to go between Catford & Catford Bridge. They are about 2 minutes walk apart, but it takes 30 minutes to go between them by train.

There was a scotrail train that linked the 2 stations on the underground line from glasgow central low level.

The wee bus also goes to Buchanan Bus Station which is a bit of a treck if you have cases.

It's kinda cute that you think £1.50 is expensive. In my small market town in eastern England you'll pay £1.80 to go anywhere within the town, be it one stop, or from end to end (still only just a mile). London buses are £1.50 and work on the same principle, a journey between any two stops is the same.

The bus is free if your a rail user with tickets that involve changing stations

Another time where St.Enoch was a great loss. It could handle both sides of the river. I suppose you could take the Argyle line to Partick and double back to Queen Street low level. But it takes a while.

There should be an underground rail link between them 2 stations!

Haha Yrs, that was indeed fun.

Had a a good laugh 😂

Seven termini in Paris: St Lazare, Gard du Nord, Gare de l'Est, Lyon, Austerlitz, Bercy and Montparnasse!

Thanks. Absolutely fantastic, from a fellow Glaswegian. The "common rated" tickets used to say "Glasgow Stations" but when I worked near Charing Cross (for 10 years) we used to get harassed by train conductors when using tickets "Glasgow Stations to Edinburgh" from Charing Cross station - even though the fare was the same as from Queen Street. So to clear that one up the common-rated tickets now say "Central/Queen Steet" to avoid these arguments. Similarly with Argyle Street - I was once told that I couldn't alight at Argyle Street to walk to Queen Street, even though it is slightly shorter than walking from Central Low Level to Queen Street!

I think you could find a lot of places where a single stop bus ride would cost more than £1.50. In fact it probably isn't even the most expensive bus journey in Glasgow.

In fairness, the flat bus fare tends to have this effect everywhere. Even on Lothian buses in Edinburgh, which offers one of the best services you'll find everywhere, I would suggest (no, I have no connection to them, other than being a passenger), going one stop is £1.80. Equally though, I can go right across the city, say from Leith, all the way out to somewhere like Moredun on the south side, a fair journey, and only pay the same fare. If I need to take multiple journeys in one day, then I can travel all day, from dawn to the end of regular service around midnight, for £4.40 max. That's without getting into card discounts, the TapTap system which automatically offers you the lowest fares for a full week's day and night travel, etc.

If you're fit and young, yes, its quicker to walk it, but if you're elderly and/or with luggage, the bus is the best option. The situation in Manchester is similar between Piccadilly and Victoria stations. The distance is a lot further, though, than in Glasgow. Since Metrolink was built, you can take the tram. You probably could have done the same when Glasgow had trams, but that ceased in the 50s.

I have found the locals in Glasgow wonderfully helpful when walking between the two, their drivers are also good letting you move away from rapidly approaching bus lanes when driving(INDICATE FIRST)

Back in the 1990's when I didn't know Glasgow at all I remember standing outside Central waiting for a bus to take me to Queen Street. Can't remember what it cost me but it wasn't free. Took blooming ages but I liked it because I didn't know the city and had no idea where Queen Street was. Seems to me Abellio took over an existing bus route, would have liked to hear the hue and cry if they had decided to stop running it 😃

how I miss Glasgow

Also, note that Glasgow Central also services Edinburgh with trains via Shotts.

As a 14 year old English kid, I walked between the two stations in the early 70s. Glasgow was a very different city then. I was scared out of my skin, avoiding numerous drunks and oddballs.

At £1.18 per mile, the 500 Airport Express must be a close second. How the airport don’t yet have a train or metro is beyond me. Not sure if this bus still runs (I assume so), but as you point out - it’s a necessity for the elderly or infirm or disabled and charging them for being unable to get between the two is pretty scandalous. Maybe it is now, but if someone has a train ticket to/from either station - it should be free.

I womder if the bus is free, if the journey requires arrivimg in one station and leaving at the other (e.g. Lancester to Fort William)? About 20 years ago, if one bought a Ryanair ticket into Prestwick airport, one could get a half price return ticket to any railway station in Scotland, but Prestwick airport did not have a ticket office so we were supposed to buy our tickets on the train. I remember the conductor being unable to sell the discounted return ticket to Malliaig with his ticket machine strapped around his shoulder, and he let me travel into Glasgow Central without ticket. I eventually managed to get it all sorted out in the ticket office there, but it took some explaining from my side. I remember walking to Queen Street to take the train and being surprised by the large number of concrete buildings in the city. My first visit to the Highlands with spectacular hikes on the Isle of Skye and in the Nevis Valley on the way back. Those were the good old days! I wonder if my feet can still carry my body over those long hikes.

I've always wondered this, there must be a way to connect by train ??? 🚆😀😉

As I expected. Despite looking in pub windies, checking out the busker etc you still beat the stupid bus. 😅🤣

You can take glasgow subway to queen street station.get on at st enoch get off at the next station Buchanan street.

I have a,question. Perhaps some one can help me. How to I get from Central Station to get a train to get to Rothesay. T I a

Covid was great for making us all explore our local environments.

The train was at least no more expensive than the bus. 😂

A roundabout ticket which you can use on the bus between central and queen street subway and train its £7,80

The main use of that bus is actually linking Central station to Buchanan bus station

Chester Station to town link, £1.50 just over a mile.

The bus makes sense for those of us with limited mobility.

the bus route i would say Lothian buses to murryfeild from princess street only. £1.50

Carrying bags I used to do it in about 5 min

I guess the bus might be useful is you had a lot of luggage and its free for train ticket holders

Ha, I did just the same thing...just originating at Edinburgh...

I live in Paisley and never bothered taking the bus between the 2 stations even when my rail ticket is valid for it, never seemed worth waiting for it and going through all that traffic in the long way.

It seem the Burger King in the background at the start of your video is closed now. Is the piano I can hear in the background still there?

Madman but I like it 👍

I get the bus in Gordon Street,it only takes 5 mins. And it doesnt go down Union Street.

Glasgow Central High level - Queen Street High level travel to Cambuslang, change to a low level train that goes via singer get off at Anniesland. Change to a maryhill line train into queen Street High level

They are only a 10 minutes walk apart.Various places in Scotland have 2 stations that are not directly linked by rail(so it rules out Edinburgh Waverley/Haymarket) and they are; Paisley,Tyndrum, Livingston, Glasgow, Falkirk and Helensburgh.... might have missed one?Lord Prescott didn't know the difference between a train and a bus either turning the railways into endless bus add ons and he wasn't Dutch but Welsh!

if ever in glasgow please use e the clockwork orange , you cant go wrong

Most expensive bus challenge... €7.50 for 1.86mi (x2 for return, same price) from Inishmore Aerodrome (IOR) to Kilronan. Not a regulated bus service but essential if you land with luggage and no bicycle!

Glasgow airport to Glasgow city centre 500 bus must be up there. £9 single.

Highlights the shambolic pricing inconsistencies of Scotrail. I travelled recently to Edinburgh from Greenock West. £25 return. The itinerary includes the bus between Central and Queen St. don’t want the bus. Never used the bus. So purchased Greenock West to Central return £7.90 then Queen St to Waverley return £14.20. Cost £22.10. Saving £2.90. I hope the Scottish Government reform the pricing as they claim to be working on.

I did it daily for 10 years.

6:50 Maybe if you've bought a rover of some kind , aren't in a rush and Glasgow-Partick is covered by it or those who want unusual itinerates

Yes another expensive bus is the 500 Glasgow airport express is £9 single that is £1.00 a mile give or take for example I live about 9 miles from Gatwick airport the single bus fair is £4.70 giving a ball park figure of 52p a mile

I thought the Glasgow airport express was extortionate. £9 for a 20 minute journey. An Uber was going to cost £16 so there could be savings to make if traveling with a buddy or family Especially when my flight Back to Birmingham only cost £25 and my train only cost £16. For comparison the rail link from Birmingham airport to city centre can cost £3-4.

Abellio is actually quite a good company. It is 100% owned by the Dutch National Railways (NS) which in turn is owned 100% by the Dutch state. The NS is one of the best railway companies in the world as far as im concerned. So we Dutch citizens make money transporting Scots around Scotland. Thank Westminster for that when they all made a quick buck when everything in the UK got privatized. Abellio operate a lot more franchises in the UK like East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Trains, East Anglia and Merseyrail, and about 50 lines in Germany.

the tram ride from the park and ride to the next stop Edinburgh Airport must be the most expensive single stop tram ride in the whole world. PS the Luton Dart is another rip off

So many people sleep rough on the street

London has 14!

Kinda like following google maps at times. You can get there from here BUT not directly. First, you have to exit the freeway and then enter the freeway back onto the same freeway you were traveling - so says google routing.😂🤣 thanks for showing us that it's always a little bit illogical all over the planet.

or use the metro train , its super

A few years ago, i was walking past Central Station when 2 elderly American sisters asked me the way to Queen St., Station but, instead of telling them, i took them there and on the way, pointed out the architecture of the Victorian buildings and the various shops as well as hints on traveling here. They tried to reward me for my service to which a declined ( £5 ) even though i was skint. I was just happy to oblige.

London has 12 not 6

Change at Partick.

I used to love walking through city centres but with the speeding food delivery cyclists cutting you up all the time, I know longer visit as I feel unsafe.

Dutch cheese is the most tasteless cheese in the world.

i thought Glasgow had the world best metro , the clockwork orange . maybe scot doesnt like going underground

Its nothing on foot.

You only have to pay for the bus between the stations if you don’t have a train ticket. I and

Your comments about Abellio and how they don't know the difference between a Bus and a Train couldn't be more wrong! Have you actually researched them? Yes, they are Dutch owned, but run train and transport services not only in their own country, but in other parts of Europe too. They also run several Operational Area Bus routes for TFL in London and out into the suburbs. The comparison costs about the fare between the two stations in Glasgow is unfair. From my perspective or any other arriving passenger at one station, weighed down with heavy luggage or for me, an added Disability which affects my Mobility, having a Transfer Bus service to the other station is a distinct advantage. I wouldn't be able to walk the number of metres you have mentioned! Also, bus services like this one, will have been decided by both Rail and Train Operating Companies, and whether to charge or not. In most other cities in the UK with major train stations (some as terminii, others with through route trains), there are Inter-station transfer buses. Some charge, some don't. I have used the connecting Bus Service you have mentioned and at £1.50, that is Cheap compared to other similar services elsewhere in the UK.

I've been to the Netherlands and I have been on a bus and a train. And now seeing this video. I am shocked that Dutch people have buses and trains and dont know what is which. 😂 Lol. Why have transport if you don't know what is which.

Free with a rail ticket.

People with lots of luggage can use the bus

1:09 the map shows a swastika shaped route. Lol

Love your blog but i have 2 comment on what you see about Bus about who should catch it you should of sed if you don't know Glasgow ..i just don't like way you put elderly and infermed down

Glasgow looks like the Americans designed it. How unfortunate