The Far North Line

The Far North Line is the northernmost railway in Britain. It runs 161 miles from Inverness to Wick, with a short branch to Thurso, the northernmost station on the network, and it is single track almost all the way. It follows the coast of the Moray Firth north, but twice it turns far inland: once to loop round by Lairg, and once to cross the empty peatland of the Flow Country to Caithness.

The line was built in stages between 1862 and 1874, much of it pushed north by the Duke of Sutherland, who had his own station at Dunrobin Castle. It was listed for closure in 1963 and kept open after protests. North of Helmsdale it crosses the largest blanket bog in Europe, a landscape UNESCO made a World Heritage Site in 2024, where some of the stations are miles from the nearest road.

ScotRail runs four trains a day each way between Inverness and Wick, every day except Sunday, when there is one. Each calls at Thurso on the way, and the whole journey takes about four hours and twenty minutes.

Trains leave Inverness westwards, across the River Ness and the Caledonian Canal, and run along the Beauly Firth to Beauly, whose single platform is the shortest on the National Rail network. At Dingwall, the busiest station on the line after Inverness, the Kyle Line turns off west to Kyle of Lochalsh, and the Far North Line follows the Cromarty Firth past Alness and Invergordon to Tain, on the Dornoch Firth.

The Lairg loop

Tain and Golspie are only 11 miles apart as the crow flies, but the railway takes about 40 to get from one to the other. Where the road crosses the Dornoch Firth on a bridge, the line follows the shore inland to Ardgay, then runs up the Kyle of Sutherland and crosses it on the Shin Viaduct, between the request stops of Culrain and Invershin. It follows the River Shin north to Lairg, whose station is a mile and a half from the village, and turns east down Strath Fleet past Rogart and Loch Fleet to the sea at Golspie.

The Sutherland coast

Just beyond Golspie is the little halt built for Dunrobin Castle, then the line runs along the shore, sometimes only a few metres from the water, through Brora to Helmsdale. This stretch was the Duke of Sutherland's own railway, opened in 1870.

Across the Flow Country

North of Helmsdale the terrain of the Ord of Caithness is too difficult for a railway, so the line turns inland up the Strath of Kildonan, past Kildonan and Kinbrace, and out onto the Flow Country. Forsinard, with the RSPB's visitor centre beside the platform, is the last place where two trains can pass. Beyond it the line does not meet a public road for 17 miles, and it crosses into Caithness by Altnabreac, one of the most isolated stations in Britain.

Caithness

Past Scotscalder the line reaches Georgemas Junction, the northernmost junction in Britain. Here the train turns off on the branch to Thurso, reverses, comes back to Georgemas and then runs on east to Wick, 18 miles further on, on the east coast. Trains have worked this way since 2000; before that they were split at Georgemas, one half for each town.

How the line is worked

There are no tunnels and ten passing loops, and the line is signalled by radio, with the Radio Electronic Token Block system. All trains are ScotRail Class 158 "Express Sprinter" diesel units. Eight stations are request stops, and since 2022 the Far North Line has been the first in the UK where you press a button on a kiosk at the platform to stop the train; to get off at one, tell the guard.

ScotRail runs four trains a day each way between Inverness and Wick from Monday to Saturday, and one each way on Sundays. Every one calls at Thurso on the way, and the journey takes between 4 h 15 min and 4 h 31 min end to end.

Northbound, Monday to Saturday

Southbound, Monday to Saturday

Good to know:

• Sundays. One train each way: from Inverness at 17:54, reaching Thurso at 21:45 and Wick at 22:17, and from Wick at 11:58, leaving Thurso at 12:30 and reaching Inverness at 16:15.
• Thurso first. Northbound trains reach Thurso about half an hour before Wick, and southbound trains leave Thurso about half an hour after Wick: they reverse at Georgemas Junction to call there.
• Shorter trains also run between Inverness and Dingwall, Tain or Lairg, so the southern end has more services than the table shows.
• Request stops. Culrain, Invershin, Rogart, Dunrobin Castle, Kildonan, Kinbrace, Altnabreac and Scotscalder are request stops: press the button at the platform kiosk to stop a train, and tell the guard if you want to get off. Dunrobin Castle is open only in the castle's season.

Times as of October 2026, from the National Rail journey planner for Tuesday 13, Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October; times at intermediate stations are departures southbound and arrivals northbound. Check your date on scotrail.co.uk (opens in a new tab).

The Far North Line is part of the National Rail network, so tickets are ordinary ScotRail fares, in Standard class only. Sampling the National Rail journey planner for one adult from Inverness to Wick or Thurso on Tuesday 13 October 2026, the lowest single on every train was £16.60, and the lowest return £33.20; for mid-December the lowest single was £28.00, so book early.

For a longer trip, the Highland Rover gives four days of travel in eight on the Highland lines, including this one, the Kyle Line and the West Highland Line, with the Stagecoach coach from Thurso to Scrabster; ScotRail priced it at £99. Fares checked October 2026 on the National Rail journey planner (opens in a new tab); Highland Rover price from ScotRail as of March 2026; pounds sterling.

Interrail passes are valid. Interrail's own table of railway companies for Great Britain lists ScotRail as included, so the line is covered by a one-country Interrail Great Britain Pass or a Global Pass.

Visitors who do not live in the UK can also buy a BritRail Great Britain Pass, valid on all National Rail services, or the BritRail Spirit of Scotland Pass, which covers the National Rail network in Scotland for 4 days in 8 or 8 days in 15. The Spirit of Scotland Pass cannot be used before 09:15 on weekdays, but Inverness to Wick and Thurso is one of the routes exempt from that rule, so the 07:00 from Inverness is covered.

For this journey alone, a pass is not worth buying. A single from Inverness to Wick sampled at £16.60. A pass, or the Highland Rover, pays only when the line is one day of a longer trip round Scotland.

Checked October 2026 against interrail.com (opens in a new tab) and britrail.com (opens in a new tab).

With four trains a day, the line rewards a night or two along the way: get off in the morning, look round, and catch the afternoon train on. The places below run from south to north, from Tain to Wick.

Mackays is a family hotel in the middle of Wick, at the end of the line, and the Bridge is a guest house on the main street of Helmsdale, a good halfway stop before the Flow Country.

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