Kilmarnock railway station

Kilmarnock
A view of the station from the former Kilmarnock Infirmary site
Location
Place	Kilmarnock
Local authority	East Ayrshire
Coordinates	55°36′43″N 4°29′56″W / 55.612°N 4.499°W / 55.612; -4.499Coordinates: 55°36′43″N 4°29′56″W / 55.612°N 4.499°W / 55.612; -4.499
Operations
Station code	KMK
Managed by	First ScotRail
Platforms in use	4
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail
Annual rail passenger usage
2002/03 *	0.398 million
2004/05 *	0.462 million
2005/06 *	0.455 million
2006/07 *	0.438 million
2007/08 *	0.407 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	SPT
History
Original company	Kilmarnock and Troon Railway & Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway
Pre-grouping	Glasgow and South Western Railway
Post-grouping	LMS
6 July 1812	Original station opened by K&TR[1]
4 April 1843	Original station closed and second station opened by GPK&AR[1]
20 July 1846	Second station closed and current station opened by GPK&AR[1]
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Kilmarnock from Office of Rail Regulation statistics.
UK Railways Portal

Kilmarnock railway station is a railway station in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland. The station is managed by First ScotRail and is served by trains on the Glasgow South Western Line.

History

The first station in Kilmarnock was opened by the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway on 6 July 1812,^[1] one of the earliest stations in Scotland. It was replaced by the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway on 4 April 1843.^[1]

The third and current station was opened on 20 July 1846 by the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway.^[1]

Current operations and station description

The station is built well above street level and is accessed via either a subway and stairs or a more circuitous but step-free route along a narrow access road.

The station has a total of four platforms; two north-facing bays for both terminating Glasgow services and trains on the Glasgow to Stranraer via Kilmarnock route, on which trains reverse out of the station towards the junction with the Troon line. Two through platforms serve Glasgow to Carlisle trains, as well as Stranraer to Newcastle services. The bay platforms (1 and 2) as well as Platform 3 are covered by a partly glazed roof and directly accessible from the ticket office. Platform 4 is used infrequently, accessed via a subway and stairs, and afforded only a bus stop style shelter.

Signalling

The present Kilmarnock signal box is located north of the station, in the vee of the junction. Opened on 12 April 1976, it is a plain brick building containing an NX (entrance-exit) panel on the upper storey. It replaced four mechanical signal boxes in a scheme that saw the track layout greatly simplified. Originally, the box worked Track Circuit Block to Hurlford signal box and Scottish Region Tokenless Block over the single lines to Barassie Junction and Lugton signal boxes. Kilmarnock signal box was severely damaged in a suspected arson attack on 25 December 2006 but was repaired and returned to full operation within weeks.

The train service to Glasgow is partly limited by the single track northwards as far as Lochridge Junction (near Stewarton). The commuter service was limited by only single track as far as Barrhead, and a "dynamic passing loop" (in effect a redoubling of the section between Lugton and Stewarton) was installed to help rectify this in 2009.^[2] The service frequency was increased to half-hourly from the 13 December 2009 timetable change.

New sidings were installed in 2009-2010 along a short section of the trackbed of the old route to Dalry to facilitate the increased coal train traffic.

Services 2010

The main service from the station is that towards Glasgow Central, which runs half-hourly throughout the day. This mostly calls at all stations as far as Barrhead, then runs non-stop from there to Glasgow, although a few express trains only stop at Stewarton. There are also nine daily services to Dumfries and Carlisle (three of which continue to Newcastle), seven to Ayr and four through trains to Stranraer.

Sundays see an hourly service to Glasgow but only two trains to and from Carlisle.

As of 2007, it takes some 40 minutes to reach Glasgow from Kilmarnock by train.

2007 & 2008 gallery

The bay platforms 1 & 2 with a train from Glasgow	A view along platform 3, with platform 4 to the right. Looking towards Glasgow.	The Kilmarnock railway viaduct	One of the old bay platforms for Newmilns, Galston, Darvel and Strathaven. Looking towards Dumfries.
A train entering across the viaduct from New Cumnock	A coal train waiting for access to the Ayr line via Gatehead and Drybridge. The Andrew Barclay works are visible to the left of the train.	The 'Burns Line' plaque	Inaugural run souvenir ticket for 12 May 1984. Auchinleck - Kilmarnock - Kilmaurs.
From John Finnie Street	Kilmarnock welcome sign	Kilmarnock's ScotRail clock outside the station

References

Notes

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 1-8526-0508-1. 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 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137. 
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 0-9068-9999-0. OCLC 228266687.