Carstairs railway station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Carstairs | |||
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|---|---|---|---|
| View south of the station following demolition of the station building | |||
| Location | |||
| Place | Carstairs | ||
| Local authority | South Lanarkshire | ||
| Operations | |||
| Station code | CRS | ||
| Managed by | First ScotRail | ||
| Platforms in use | 2 | ||
| Live departures and station information from National Rail | |||
| Annual Passenger Usage | |||
| 2002/03 * | 9,407 | ||
| 2004/05 ** | 12,329 | ||
| Passenger Transport Executive | |||
| PTE | SPT | ||
| National Rail - UK railway stations | |||
| Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Carstairs. | |||
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Carstairs railway station serves the village of Carstairs in South Lanarkshire. It is located on the West Coast Main Line (WCML). The station is operated by First ScotRail on behalf of the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT).
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[edit] Locale
Just south of the station, there is an important triangular junction (Carstairs Junction) where the WCML divides. The north-westerly route goes via Motherwell to Glasgow and the north-easterly route goes towards Edinburgh, where the East Coast Main Line begins. The south-bound route goes towards Carlisle and London. The line between Edinburgh and Glasgow is the only part of the West Coast Main Line used by GNER services. Carstairs is also a marshalling point and the final boarding point (both sleeping car and overnight coach) in Scotland for the Lowland Caledonian Sleeper trains between Glasgow and Edinburgh and London Euston. In this it helps to preserve two great traditions of the WCML, against formidable odds. Firstly, the operation of overnight sleeper services between Scotland and London and secondly, the joining and division of trains en route (the first being dependent on the second).
Northbound WCML services usually pass the station on an avoiding line, away from the platform, but northbound services coming off the chord from Edinburgh (ECML and Cross Country) will always pass platform 1. However, all southbound services must pass platform 2, as there is no avoiding line on that side of the station.
[edit] Electrification
The route through the station was electrified as part of the early 1970s electrification scheme that covered the West Coast Main Line between Weaver Junction and Glasgow. As part of this the station was re-signalled. The critical point was the connection from the Edinburgh on a minimum radius curve whilst providing a connection into the down platform whilst avoiding the installation of a diamond crossing. The requirement for superelevation through the up platform for 90mph running required deep ballasting the side effect of which required the platform to be raised. The original station buildings were being retained (now demolished) therefore continuous railings were provided to prevent passengers inadvertently falling down from one level to the other.[1]
The route to Edinburgh was not part of the 1970s scheme, however was included as part of the late 1980s ECML scheme, with electric services starting to use the line in 1989 (prior to the commencement of the main ECML electric services).[2]
[edit] Services (2006/07)
[edit] West Coast Main Line
Virgin West Coast Pendolino services to/from Glasgow do not normally stop at Carstairs, except during times of train failure or engineering works. Virgin CrossCountry, on the other hand, provides a once daily service from the station to Manchester Piccadilly, using its Class 220/221 Voyager diesel units.
[edit] East Coast Main Line
The InterCity 225 service from Glasgow Central to London Kings Cross, every two hours, provided by Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) do not stop at Carstairs, and have never done so. They do however slow dramatically from the 95/100 mph line speed either side of the station, to approximately 30mph to negotiate the tight single line curve connecting the main North/South main line to the eastern spur to Edinburgh Waverley.
[edit] Local (Central Scotland) Services
First ScotRail services from Glasgow Central to Edinburgh Waverley and North Berwick call at the station three times a day in each direction, though some consider them to be poorly timed and ineffective as a commuter service. Therefore they are usually under-utilised and much faster routes exist between Scotland's two major cities.
First ScotRail also provide two terminating services a day from Motherwell and Garscadden in Western Glasgow via Glasgow Central Low Level. These services cater for the small commuter market in the Carstairs area, though their main reason for stopping at the remote Carstairs station instead of the nearby, busier Lanark station is due to platform congestion at the latter during the start of the morning peak and the end of the evening peak.
[edit] References
- ^ Electric Euston to Glasgow; O.S. Nock (1974) ISBN 0-7110-0530-3
- ^ Electrifying the East Coast Route; Peter Semmens (1991) ISBN 0-8505-9929-6
[edit] Routes
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haymarket | GNER Glasgow to Edinburgh via Carstairs Line |
Motherwell | ||
| Kirknewton | First ScotRail Glasgow to Edinburgh via Carstairs Line |
Carluke | ||
| Terminus | First ScotRail Argyle Line |
Carluke | ||
| Carlisle | First ScotRail Lowland Caledonian Sleeper |
Motherwell | ||
| First ScotRail Lowland Caledonian Sleeper |
Edinburgh Waverley | |||
| Carlisle or Lockerbie |
Virgin Trains West Coast Main Line |
Motherwell or Glasgow Central |
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| Historical Railways | ||||
| Thankerton Line open; Station closed |
Caledonian Railway Main Line |
Cleghorn Line open; Station closed |
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