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Scottish Citylink Announces 2024/5 Christmas and New Year Service Schedule

Posted on December 18, 2024

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Scottish Citylink has released its schedule of services for the 2024-25 festive period, covering operations from December 24 through January 3.

Christmas Eve services will operate to normal timetables during the day, with early evening finishes on most routes. The flagship Glasgow-Edinburgh service will conclude with final departures at 20:30 from Glasgow and 22:15 from Edinburgh.

On Christmas Day, a special service will operate on the Glasgow-Edinburgh route 900, with hourly departures from Glasgow between 08:30 and 20:30, and from Edinburgh between 10:15 and 22:15. No other routes will operate on Christmas Day.

Boxing Day sees the resumption of services across the network, though with modified schedules. The Glasgow-Edinburgh service begins early, with first departures at 04:00 from Glasgow and 05:45 from Edinburgh. Highland services include two return journeys between Glasgow and Fort William/Skye, departing Glasgow at 10:30 and 15:30. A special Glasgow-Oban service operates with one return journey, leaving Glasgow at 12:15 and returning from Oban at 18:15.

Regular service patterns resume between December 27 and December 30. There are early evening finishes on December 31, similar to Christmas Eve arrangements.

New Year’s Day features an enhanced service on the Glasgow-Edinburgh corridor, with route 900 operating every 30 minutes in both directions throughout most of the day. The first departures are at 01:00 from Glasgow and 00:45 from Edinburgh, with final services at 20:30 and 22:15 respectively. Airport services run hourly on New Year’s Day, with buses from Glasgow to Edinburgh Airport operating between 09:15 and 18:15, and return services from 10:25 to 19:25.

The intercity network maintains significant coverage on New Year’s Day, with regular services connecting Glasgow and Edinburgh with Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen, and Inverness. From Glasgow, services to Aberdeen operate between 08:20 and 20:20, while Inverness connections run throughout the day from 09:40. Edinburgh is provided with frequent departures to both destinations between 07:50 and 19:35.

Special fare conditions apply on both Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Standard concessionary travel passes, open return tickets, and multi-journey products are not valid. Regular child, student, and other promotional discounts do not apply on these days.

Normal service patterns resume from January 2, though some early morning exceptions may apply on this date. Full regular scheduling returns across all routes from January 3.

Passengers are advised to check specific timetables for their intended journeys, as timings and stopping patterns may vary from regular service. This is particularly important for connections and onward travel arrangements during the festive period.