Railways The main railway line in Argyll and Bute is the West Highland Line, which links Oban to Glasgow, passing through much of the eastern and northern parts of the area. From the south the line enters Argyll and Bute just to the west of Dumbarton, continuing north via
Helensburgh Upper to the eastern shores of the
Gare Loch and
Loch Long. The line comes inland at
Arrochar and Tarbet to meet the western shore of
Loch Lomond. At the northern end of the loch the lines leaves Argyll and Bute to enter
Stirling council area. The Oban branch of the West Highland Line re-enters the area just west of
Tyndrum, and heads west to Oban: stations on this section of the line include
Dalmally and
Taynuilt railway station. The majority of services on the line are operated by
ScotRail: as of 2019 the summer service has six trains a day to Oban, with four on Sundays. In addition to the ScotRail service is the nightly
Caledonian Sleeper, although this does not run on the Oban branch. Helensburgh also has a much more frequent service into Glasgow and beyond via the
North Clyde Line, which has its western terminus at the town's
central railway station.
Roads , looking north The main
trunk roads in Argyll and Bute are: • The
A82, which runs along the western shore of Loch Lomond, providing the main route between Glasgow and
Fort William. • The
A83, which leaves the A82 at
Tarbet, heading west and then south to eventually reach
Campbeltown by way of
Inveraray and
Lochgilphead. • The
A85, which leaves the A82 at
Tyndrum (just outside Argyll and Bute) and heads west to Oban via
Dalmally. • The
A828, which leaves the A85 at
Connel and north through
Appin to join the A82 at
Ballachulish. • The
A815, which leaves the A83 in
Glen Kinglas near
Cairndow, heading south through
Strachur and
Dunoon and ends at
Toward 40 miles later, on the southern tip of the
Cowal peninsula. The A815 is the main road through Cowal. • The
A886, which leaves the A815 at
Strachur, passing through
Glendaruel, the route includes a ferry link to the
Isle of Bute,
Colintraive -
Rhubodach terminating at
Port Bannatyne to the north of
Rothesay.
Ferry services and MV Isle of Lewis'' at
Oban harbour, 2017 '' docked at
Kennacraig Due to its heavily indented coastline and many islands, ferries form an important part of the council area's transport system. The main ferry operator in Argyll and Bute is Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac), which operates services from the mainland to most of the inhabited islands. Several other routes are operated by commercial operators, usually on contract to the council, although the Western Ferries service across the Firth of Clyde is run on a commercial basis. •
Bute is served by a route across the
Kyles of Bute between
Rhubodach and
Colintraive in Cowal, as well as a route between
Rothesay to
Wemyss Bay in
Inverclyde. Both routes are operated by CalMac. •
Coll and
Tiree are each served from
Oban, via a CalMac service that also provides links between the two islands, and a once-weekly link to
Barra. •
Gigha is served by a CalMac route from
Tayinloan in
Kintyre. •
Islay is served by a CalMac route from
Kennacraig in
Kintyre. The service is timetabled to utilise either one of two ports on the island, with both
Port Askaig and
Port Ellen having a service to the mainland. •
Feolin on
Jura is linked to Port Askaig on Islay via a vehicle ferry run by ASP Ship Management on behalf of Argyll and Bute Council. There is also a passenger-only service between the island's main centre,
Craighouse, and
Tayvallich on the mainland that is operated by Islay Sea Safaris. •
Kerrera is linked to Gallanach (about southwest of Oban) by a passenger-only service operated by CalMac. •
Lismore is served by two ferries, a vehicle and passenger service operated by CalMac that runs from Oban, and a passenger-only service from
Port Appin that is operated by ASP Ship Management on behalf of Argyll and Bute Council. •
Mull is served by a route between Oban and
Craignure on the island's east coast, as well as routes across the Sound of Mull (between
Lochaline and
Fishnish, and
Tobermory and
Kilchoan). All three routes are operated by CalMac. •
Iona is linked to Mull via a CalMac service from
Fionnphort at Mull's southwest tip. • The island of
Seil, which itself is linked to the mainland via the
Clachan Bridge, has links to two further islands:
Easdale and
Luing. Both services are operated by ASP Ship Management on behalf of Argyll and Bute Council. There are also routes connecting some mainland locations in Argyll and Bute to other parts of the mainland: • There is a CalMac service across Loch Fyne which provides a link between
Portavadie in Cowal and
Tarbert in Kintyre. • The
Cowal peninsula route is a passenger-only service from the
Dunoon Breakwater to
Gourock pier, giving easy access to
ScotRail services at
Gourock railway station with onward transport to
Glasgow Central station. This route was for a period run by a CalMac subsidiary company,
Argyll Ferries, but has since January 2019 been operated directly by CalMac. • CalMac provide a limited (3 ferry each way per week) service between Campbeltown in Kintyre and Ardrosssan in North Aryshire during the summer months. • Western Ferries, a commercial operator, runs a vehicle and passenger service between
Hunters Quay to
McInroy's Point that also provides a link between Cowal and Inverclyde in (partial) competition with the subsidised CalMac service. • A service operated by Clyde Marine Services on behalf of
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport runs between
Kilcreggan and Gourock pier, providing a link from the
Rosneath peninsula to the rail network at Gourock. Argyll and Bute also has ferry services linking it to islands in neighbouring council areas: • Oban is the mainland terminal for services to
Barra in
Na h-Eileanan Siar (the
Outer Hebrides). •
Lochranza on
Arran, in
North Ayrshire, has a year-round service to Kintyre: during the summer the mainland port used is
Claonaig, however in winter the service is reduced to a single daily return crossing from Tarbert. There is also a passenger-only ferry service linking Campbeltown and Port Ellen on Islay with
Ballycastle in
County Antrim,
Northern Ireland, running seasonally from April to September, operated by West Coast Tours as the Kintyre Express. ==Demographics==