Kilwinning railway station

Kilwinning railway station is a railway station serving the town of Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is on the Ayrshire Coast Line 26 miles (42 km) south of Glasgow Central, as well as the Glasgow South Western Line 69 miles (111 km) north of Stranraer. British Transport Police maintain an office here.

The station has the most frequent service in Ayrshire, being served by all trains on both the Ayr main line and the branches to Ardrossan Harbour and Largs, with the sole exception of 1K49 17:47 Glasgow Central to Ayr which runs non-stop from Paisley to Irvine.^[3]

History

The station was opened on 23 March 1840 by the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway^[2] and was built as an interchange, seeing traffic coming from Glasgow, Ayr and Ardrossan (and later Largs).

Station facilities

The station is located on Byers Road about 1⁄2 mile (800 m) from the town centre. There is a staffed ticket office (open Monday - Saturday 06:05 - 23:30 Sunday 08:50- 23:30), a toilet, a kiosk, a waiting room and a ticket vending machine. Train running information is offered via digital CIS displays, automated announcements, timetable posters and customer help points on each platform. In 2012, a new 130-space car park opened. In 2019 the station went under accessibility upgrades to add lifts to a new crossbridge and step-free access to all platforms.^[4]

Station usage

The station is popular with commuters travelling to Glasgow from Ayrshire and beyond. It is the last stop before the Ayrshire Coast line splits in two, so trains stop at this station more than any other in Ayrshire.

British Transport Police

The station houses a Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) from the British Transport Police. Officers from Kilwinning cover all stations south of Kilwinning and north of Kilwinning until Lochwinnoch; Police Scotland officers will cover if British Transport Police officers are not available.

Bus services

Most buses do not come into the station forecourt, but there is a bus stop 100 yards (90 m) north of the station.

Services

2023

4 trains per hour to Glasgow Central (2 semi-fast and 2 all stops).
2 trains per hour to Ayr.
1 train per hour to Largs.
1 train per hour to Ardrossan Harbour.

The Sunday service is:

3 trains per hour to Glasgow Central
2 trains per hour to Ayr
1 train per hour to Largs
4 trains per day to Ardrossan Harbour

Rail and sea connections

Northern Ireland

Trains connect Ayr along the Glasgow South Western Line to Stranraer where a bus link runs: route 350 operated by Macleans Coaches (except Sundays) to Cairnryan.^[5] for onward ferries to the Port of Belfast by Stena Line and Larne Harbour by P&O Ferries.

Isle of Arran

Trains also connect along the Ayrshire Coast Line to Ardrossan Harbour for the Caledonian MacBrayne service to Brodick.

References

Notes

^ Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
^ a b Butt (1995), page 133
^ GB National Rail Timetable May–December 2017, Table 221
^ Fullarton, Clair (25 June 2019). "£4m Kilwinning station works continue as bridge steelworks are completed". dailyrecord. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

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.
Butt, R. V. J. (October 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. OL 11956311M.
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.

External links

Video footage - History of Kilwinning Station.

Media related to Kilwinning railway station at Wikimedia Commons