West Highland train line is just the ticket

TRAVELLERS on the west Highland train line have made a return trip – voting the iconic journey between Glasgow and Mallaig as the world’s top rail journey for the second year in a row.

It pushed the Trans-Siberian Express into second place followed by the Eurostar, which had been in fourth and fifth places respectively last year.

The line proved a clear winner in the poll co-ordinated by travel magazine Wanderlust, seeing off competition from exotic destinations such as Australia, Peru and Canada, with even the Orient Express only making it to eighth place.

The west coast line has long been recognised as one of the UK’s most scenic rail routes, linking the fishing port of Mallaig to Glasgow via a passenger service run by First ScotRail, or the increasingly popular Jacobite Express steam engine operating between Fort William and Mallaig in the summer.

It has also become famous having featured in the Harry Potter film series, particularly its 21-arch viaduct at Glenfinnan, where a rail museum is undergoing a major facelift.

Wanderlust editor-in-chief Lyn Hughes said: “We launched the rail category last year and had a terrific response. This year has been no different and it is obvious that the appetite for rail travel is ever increasing.”

She added: “It’s great to see the west Highland line once again topping the list, proving that you really don’t need to travel to far-flung destinations to experience truly breathtaking scenery.”