West Kilbride railway station

West Kilbride railway station is a railway station that serves the village of West Kilbride, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The station is managed by Abellio ScotRail and is on the Ayrshire Coast Line.

West Kilbride
Scottish Gaelic: Cille Bhrìghde an Iar[1]
The former station building
Location
Place	West Kilbride
Local authority	North Ayrshire
Coordinates	55.6967°N 4.8514°W / 55.6967; -4.8514
Grid reference	NS208484
Operations
Station code	WKB
Managed by	Abellio ScotRail
Number of platforms	1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	0.184 million
2015/16	0.171 million
2016/17	0.165 million
2017/18	0.162 million
2018/19	0.175 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	Strathclyde Partnership for Transport
History
Original company	G&SWR Largs Branch
Post-grouping	LMS
1 May 1878	Opened[2]
Listed status
Listing grade	Category B
Entry number	LB14312[3]
Added to list	17 February 1989
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at West Kilbride from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

History

The station was opened on 1 May 1878 by the Glasgow and South Western Railway as part of the extension of the former Ardrossan Railway to Largs.[2] The present station building was designed in 1900 by the noted architect James Miller.[4] A camping coach was positioned here by the Scottish Region from 1954 to 1957, two coaches were here in 1964 and three from 1965 to 1967.[5]

Originally a two platform station, the southbound platform was demolished as part of the electrification works in 1985. The former northbound line (to Largs) is electrified and signalled for bi-directional working, being used by passenger trains for both directions, and by northbound freight trains to the Hunterston Terminal. The former southbound track is signalled for southbound working only and is not electrified, being used by southbound trains from Hunterston. The station building still stands but is no longer used as part of the station itself. Since the ticket office closed the building has been home to shops, cafés, and a restaurant but has now fallen into disuse.

Services

An hourly service operates in each direction off-peak on weekdays and all weekend, northbound to Largs and southbound to Ardrossan South Beach, Kilwinning and then on to Glasgow Central. Some extra trains run at peak times. Typical journey times to Glasgow are 48–54 minutes (depending on stopping pattern).[6]

References

Notes

1. Brailsford (2017), Gaelic/English Station Index.
2. Butt (1995), page 245
3. Historic Environment Scotland. "WEST KILBRIDE STATION (LB14312)". Retrieved 15 April 2019.
4. Dictionary of Scottish Architects: James Miller
5. McRae (1998), page 13
6. Table 221 National Rail timetable, May 2016

Sources

• Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• 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.
• McRae, Andrew (1998). British Railways Camping Coach Holidays: A Tour of Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part Two). Foxline. ISBN 1-870119-53-3.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Fairlie		Abellio ScotRail Ayrshire Coast Line		Ardrossan South Beach
	Historical railways
Fairlie Line and station open		Glasgow and South Western Railway Largs Branch		Ardrossan South Beach Line and station open
		Glasgow and South Western Railway Largs Branch		Ardrossan Town Line closed, station open

External links

• YouTube video of West Kilbride railway station