You’re planning your dream trip to the "Home of Golf." You’ve got the clubs packed, the Old Course ballot bookmarked, and your hotel booked near the Royal and Ancient. Naturally, you hop onto a booking site to find tickets for the St Andrews train station.
Wait. Something’s wrong.
The search bar keeps suggesting "Leuchars." You try again, thinking it's a glitch. It isn't. Here is the blunt truth: St Andrews doesn't have a train station. It hasn't had one for over fifty years. If you show up at Edinburgh Waverley expecting a direct rail link to the most famous golf town on the planet, you're going to be standing on the platform looking very confused.
It’s one of the weirdest quirks of Scottish tourism. A town that hosts hundreds of thousands of international visitors annually—and the occasional Open Championship—is technically a "rail desert."
The Ghost of St Andrews Train Station Past
The town wasn't always cut off from the tracks. Back in the day, the St Andrews Railway opened in 1852. It was a bustling little spur line. It connected the town to the main Edinburgh-to-Dundee route. For over a century, golfers, students from the University of St Andrews, and local tradespeople hopped on and off right in the heart of the town.
Then came Dr. Richard Beeching.
If you want to start a heated debate in a Scottish pub, mention the "Beeching Cuts" of the 1960s. Beeching was the Chairman of British Railways, and he had a mandate to make the network profitable. His solution? Axe the "unprofitable" branch lines. Despite the town's prestige, the St Andrews train station was deemed surplus to requirements. The last passenger train pulled out of the station on January 6, 1969.
They ripped up the tracks. They built over the line. What used to be a vital artery of Fife transport was relegated to history books and black-and-white photographs. Today, if you walk near the Old Course Hotel, you’re basically standing on the ghost of the old railway alignment. The station building itself eventually became a victim of redevelopment, and the site is now occupied by the Old Course Hotel's car park and nearby housing.
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So, How Do You Actually Get There?
Since you can't roll into a St Andrews train station platform, you have to play the Leuchars game.
Leuchars (pronounced Loo-kurs) is the official rail gateway to St Andrews. It sits on the East Coast Main Line. It’s a small, slightly windswept station about five or six miles outside of the town center. When you book a ticket to St Andrews on most rail apps, they are actually selling you a ticket to Leuchars with a "bus add-on."
Honestly, it’s not as painful as it sounds. Once you hop off the train at Leuchars, you have three main options:
- The 99 Bus: This is the lifeline. Stagecoach operates the 99, 99A, 99B, 99C, and 99D. Basically, a bus shows up every 10 to 15 minutes. It takes about 15 minutes to get into the St Andrews bus station.
- Taxis: There is a taxi rank right outside the station. If you have a massive golf travel bag, just take the cab. It’ll cost you somewhere between £15 and £22 depending on the time of day and how much luggage you're lugging around.
- The St Andrews Rail Link (STAR Link): There have been decades of campaigning to bring the rails back. Groups like StARLink (St Andrews Rail Link Campaign) argue that the carbon footprint of all those buses and taxis is a disaster for a "Green" university town. But for now, it's a pipe dream involving massive infrastructure costs and a bridge over the Eden Estuary.
The Journey from Edinburgh or London
Most people are coming from Edinburgh. It's a gorgeous ride. You cross the Forth Bridge—a UNESCO World Heritage site—and the views of the Firth of Forth are genuinely world-class. You'll pass through the Kingdom of Fife, hitting towns like Kirkcaldy and Cupar before reaching Leuchars. The journey takes about an hour.
Coming from London? You’re looking at the LNER (London North Eastern Railway) service. You can take a direct train from London King's Cross to Leuchars, which takes about five and a half to six hours. Or, for the truly classic experience, you book a berth on the Caledonian Sleeper. You fall asleep in London and wake up as the sun rises over the Scottish heather. It's expensive, but it's one of those "bucket list" travel moves.
Why the Lack of a Station Actually Matters
You might think, "Who cares? It's just a 15-minute bus ride."
Well, the locals care. A lot.
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St Andrews is home to Scotland’s oldest university. During graduation weeks or the start of the semester, the influx of thousands of students—each with three suitcases and a worried parent—creates a logistical nightmare at Leuchars.
Then there’s The Open. When the world’s best golfers descend on the Old Course, the transport infrastructure groans under the weight. Temporary transport hubs are set up, but the lack of a dedicated St Andrews train station means the roads become a parking lot. It’s a strange paradox: one of the most famous destinations in the UK is effectively a dead-end for public rail transport.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Don't be the person who tries to walk from Leuchars. I’ve seen it. People look at a map and think, "Oh, it's just across the water."
It isn't.
You’d have to walk along a busy A-road with no pavement in sections, or trek through the Tentsmuir Forest area, which is lovely for a hike but miserable with a suitcase. Just take the bus.
Also, check the Sunday schedules. This is Scotland. While the 99 bus is frequent, the trains can be sparser on Sunday mornings. If you have a tee time at 10:00 AM on a Sunday, don't rely on the first train from Edinburgh; you won't make it. Travel the night before or book a local driver.
The "Secret" Alternative: Dundee
If you’re coming from the north (Aberdeen or Inverness), you might find it easier to go to Dundee. Dundee is a much larger station with more facilities. From Dundee, you can catch a direct bus (the 99 again) straight to St Andrews. It takes about 30 to 40 minutes, but it saves you the hassle of switching at smaller platforms if your luggage is heavy.
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Plus, you get to see the V&A Dundee museum and the RRS Discovery (Captain Scott’s ship) right next to the station. It’s a solid "Plan B" if the rail lines to Leuchars are undergoing maintenance, which happens more often than you’d think.
Is the Train Station Ever Coming Back?
The debate about a new St Andrews train station pops up in the Scottish Parliament every few years. The feasibility studies are done. The demand is clearly there. The issue is the "Leuchars bypass" and the fact that the original track bed has been built over.
A new station would likely have to be on the outskirts of town, near the Petheram Bridge or the guardbridge area. This would still require a shuttle or a long walk to the 18th green. For now, the Scottish Government remains non-committal, citing the high costs of a new bridge and land acquisition.
Essential Logistics for Your Arrival
If you are committed to using the rail-to-bus method, here is the most practical way to handle it without losing your mind:
- Buy a "PlusBus" ticket: When buying your train ticket to Leuchars, add the St Andrews PlusBus option. It usually costs a few pounds and gives you unlimited bus travel in the St Andrews zone for the day. It’s cheaper than paying the driver separately.
- Contactless is King: If you didn't get a PlusBus ticket, don't worry about exact change for the bus. Every Stagecoach bus in Fife takes contactless credit cards and Apple/Google Pay.
- The Left Luggage Problem: Leuchars station has no lockers. If you have bags and want to explore before heading to your hotel, you’ll need to carry them. The St Andrews Bus Station (in the town center) also has very limited locker space. Plan accordingly.
- Check ScotRail's App: Use the ScotRail app for real-time updates. If there’s a signal failure at Markinch (a common bottleneck), you’ll want to know before you’re sitting on a stationary train for two hours.
The lack of a St Andrews train station is a minor hurdle in what is usually a spectacular trip. There’s something almost romantic about the town being slightly hard to reach. It keeps the medieval streets from being completely overrun by day-trippers who might otherwise flood in even more than they already do.
When you finally step off that bus at the station on City Road and catch your first glimpse of the cathedral ruins or the grey North Sea, you’ll realize the extra leg of the journey was worth it. Just remember: book to Leuchars, bring a raincoat, and don't expect to see a locomotive anywhere near the 1st tee.
Your Immediate Action Plan
- Step 1: Book your rail travel to Leuchars (LEU), not St Andrews.
- Step 2: Download the Stagecoach Bus app to track the 99 bus in real-time.
- Step 3: If traveling during a Graduation or a Major Golf event, book a taxi from Leuchars at least 48 hours in advance through a local firm like St Andrews Taxicabs or Golf City Taxis.
- Step 4: Keep your train ticket handy; the 99 bus drivers are used to seeing "St Andrews Rail" tickets and will wave you through if you have the right "through-ticket" coding.