East Kilbride

Housing in post-war Glasgow was a bleak mixture of slums and craters, so five "new towns" were built rapidly to rejuvenate the Central Belt. Four of them were on greenfield sites, East Kilbride being the first from 1947. It was followed by Glenrothes, Cumbernauld and Livingston, while the fifth was built onto the existing town of Irvine. These fulfilled an urgent need for housing but demonstrated all that is wrong with crass central planning. A sixth town, intended for Stonehouse south of Hamilton, fortunately was never built. However East Kilbride has preserved some attractive countryside along the Rotten Calder valley, the moors of Lanarkshire rise to the south, and a couple of miles out is the Museum of Rural Life.

Long-distance public transport to East Kilbride usually involves travelling via central Glasgow and using the interchange there.

By road:

The usual approaches are M8 from Edinburgh, M74 from Carlisle and M77 from Kilmarnock, to join A725 / A726. From central Glasgow you'd probably follow A730 onto A749.

By plane:

From Glasgow Airport (GLA IATA) take the bus to Buchanan station then bus or train to East Kilbride as below.

By train:

1 East Kilbride railway station (EKL), Torrance Road, G74 1AR. The main station has trains every 30 min to and from Glasgow Central, taking 35 min. They run from 6AM to 11PM. The station is a terminus, with a ticket office and machines, waiting room, news stand and toilets. There is step-free access to the sole platform. (updated Feb 2026)

2 Hairmyres railway station (HMY), Redwood Drive, G74 5QG. Following electrification of the line in 2025, trains also stop at the refurbished Hairmyres station at the northwest edge of town, convenient for the University Hospital, the restaurants at the St. James Centre, K-Woodlands, and Jackton Distillery. (updated Feb 2026)

By bus:

3 East Kilbride bus station, 7 Olympia Way, G74 1JT. 24 hours. The bus station is in the main shopping centre. First Glasgow Bus 18 runs every 10 min from Glasgow Sauchiehall St and Central Station via Rutherglen to East Kilbride, taking an hour, and continues to Greenhills Shopping Centre. Night Bus N18 runs this route in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday. Bus 201 runs every 15 min from Airdrie via Coatbridge, Motherwell and Hamilton to East Kilbride and Hairmyres Hospital. (updated Feb 2026)