Dumbarton Central railway station

Dumbarton Central railway station serves the town of Dumbarton in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. This station is on the West Highland Line and the North Clyde Line, 15 ³⁄₄ miles (25.3 km) northwest of Glasgow Queen Street.

Dumbarton Central
Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Breatann Meadhain[1]
View of Dumbarton Central station, looking east
Location
Place	Dumbarton
Local authority	West Dunbartonshire
Coordinates	55.9465°N 4.5673°W / 55.9465; -4.5673
Grid reference	NS397755
Operations
Station code	DBC
Managed by	Abellio ScotRail
Owned by	Network Rail
Number of platforms	3
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	0.742 million
– Interchange	0.117 million
2015/16	0.751 million
– Interchange	0.112 million
2016/17	0.815 million
– Interchange	0.121 million
2017/18	0.731 million
– Interchange	0.126 million
2018/19	0.756 million
– Interchange	0.125 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	SPT
Zone	D2
History
Original company	Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway & Caledonian and Dunbartonshire Junction Railway
Pre-grouping	Caledonian Railway & North British Railway
Post-grouping	LMS & LNER
15 July 1850	Opened
Listed status
Listing grade	Category A
Entry number	LB24877[2]
Added to list	31 January 1984
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Dumbarton Central from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

History

The station was opened on 15 July 1850 by the Caledonian and Dumbartonshire Junction Railway[3] on their route from Balloch Pier to Bowling, where travellers could join steamships on the River Clyde to get to Glasgow. Connections with the Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway at Dalreoch Junction and at Bowling put the station on a through route between Glasgow Queen Street and Helensburgh Central by 1858. The company was subsequently absorbed by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in 1862 and eventually became part of the North British Railway three years later. However, in 1891, the North British was forced to come to an agreement with the rival Caledonian Railway to give the latter access to Balloch (and the Loch Lomond steamships) over C&DJR metals in order to prevent the building of a competing route by the Caledonian company - this resulted in the Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Railway arriving from Possil via Maryhill Central in 1896.[4] Trains on the West Highland Railway also began serving the station following its completion on 1 August 1894 and these continue to call here to this day.

The station was built with two island platforms to permit convenient interchange between the various services that called, although only three faces remain in use (the former down loop on the southbound side having been removed). The Helensburgh and Balloch lines were electrified by British Railways as part of the 1960 North Clyde Line electrification scheme, but most of the L&DR route was closed (other than the short section through neighbouring Dumbarton East) when passenger services to Possil via Dalmuir Riverside were withdrawn on 5 October 1964 as a result of the Beeching Axe.

Building

It is a category A listed building under the Town and Country Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.[5]

Services

North Clyde Line / Argyle Line

Mondays-Saturdays, six trains per hour go southeastbound to Glasgow Queen Street and beyond. 2tph are limited stop to Edinburgh, 2tph run to Springburn & Cumbernauld via Yoker and 2tph via Singer to Airdrie. Sunday services are via Singer to Edinburgh Waverley and via Yoker, alternating between Motherwell via Whifflet and Larkhall. Northwestbound services run twice-hourly each to Balloch and Helensburgh Central (the other 2tph terminate here).[6]

West Highland Line

Services to/from Glasgow Queen Street towards Oban (6 trains per day weekdays, 3 on Sundays) and to Fort William and Mallaig (3 per day weekdays, 1 or 2 on Sundays depending on the time of year) call here.[7]

The Highland Sleeper service also calls in each direction daily (except Saturday nights southbound and Sunday mornings northbound), giving the station a direct link to/from London Euston via Edinburgh, Crewe and the West Coast Main Line.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Dalmuir		Abellio ScotRail West Highland Line		Helensburgh Upper
Dalmuir		Caledonian Sleeper Highland Caledonian Sleeper		Helensburgh Upper
Dumbarton East		Abellio ScotRail North Clyde Line		Dalreoch
	Historical railways
Dumbarton East Line and Station open		Caledonian Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway		Terminus
Bowling Line closed; Station open		Caledonian & North British Railway Caledonian and Dunbartonshire Junction Railway		Dalreoch Line and Station open

References

Notes

1. Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. "Gaelic/English Station Index". Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
2. Historic Environment Scotland. "CHURCH STREET, DUMBARTON CENTRAL STATION (LB24877)". Retrieved 22 June 2020.
3. Railscot - Caledonian & Dumbartonshire Junction Railway www.railbrit.co.uk; Retrieved 2013-10-10
4. Railscot - Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Junction Railway www.railbrit.co.uk; Retrieved 2013-10-10
5. "List Buildings in West Dunbartonshire". Retrieved 10 February 2008.
6. GB eNRT 2016 Edition, Table 226 (Network Rail)
7. GB eNRT 2015-16 Edition, Table 227 (Network Rail)

Sources

• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.