Ayrshire Coast Line

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Ayrshire Coast Line

Legend Glasgow Central Paisley Gilmour Street for Inverclyde Line Johnstone Milliken Park Howwood Lochwinnoch Glengarnock Dalry Kilwinning Irvine Barassie Troon for Glasgow South Western Line Prestwick Airport for Glasgow South Western Line Prestwick Town for Glasgow South Western Line Newton-on-Ayr Ayr for Glasgow South Western Line Stevenston Saltcoats Ardrossan South Beach Ardrossan Town Ardrossan Harbour West Kilbride Fairlie Largs

The Ayrshire Coast Line is one of the lines within the Strathclyde suburban rail network in Scotland. It serves 26 stations, and connects the towns of the Ayrshire coast to Glasgow. There are three branches, terminating at Largs, Ardrossan Harbour and Ayr, all running into the high level at Glasgow Central.

The route is operated by First ScotRail on behalf of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport as part of the larger Strathclyde network.

In 1985, the line was electrified along its entire length, and the Class 318 electric multiple unit rolling stock was introduced, replacing the elderly Class 101 DMUs which had served the line for over 30 years.

In 2002, the newer Class 334 "Juniper" displaced most of the Class 318s onto the Argyle, and North Clyde Lines but 318s are still a fairly common sight.

Due to a refurbishment programme currently being untaken by First ScotRail, there is a mix of old Class 318s and refurbished Class 318s operating alongside the Class 334s. The refurbished Class 318s are painted in the new SPT Rail livery.

Since June 2005, most services on the busy Glasgow Central to Ayr route have been strengthened to 6 cars between 0900 and 1900 due to increased passenger numbers as a result of the growth of Prestwick International Airport.

On August 24, 2006, Network Rail announced plans as part of its bigger RUS or Route Utilisation Strategy for Scotland to lengthen platforms on the route by 2014 to enable First ScotRail to run 8 car trains on the line. It is unclear whether there will be a new train build to accommodate the passenger demand on the line or if existing 4 car sets will be made available from other TOCs (Train Operating Companies).

After a 4 month consultation process, Network Rail announced its final RUS for Scotland on February 28, 2007. The document continues with plans for 8 car trains on the Ayrshire Coast Line by 2014 with longer platforms as a result, although NR have proposed possible selective door opening operations on 8 car services at little used Stations on the route to cut down on the cost of refurbishing All ACL platforms. Network Rail has also made clear that until a complete timetable re-cast is carried out on the route, which will probably coincide with the opening of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link in late 2009, there is little scope for additional services on Glasgow to Ayr and Largs services.

[edit] Route

The line runs along the same Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway route as the Inverclyde Line as far as Paisley Gilmour Street (although it uses a different set of platforms at Paisley Gilmour Street), where it turns south to Kilwinning on the route of the former Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway. Here the line branches in two, with one branch running south along the coast to Troon and Ayr. This branch also serves the station at Prestwick Airport, which opened in 1994. The other branch runs north along the coast to Ardrossan or Largs, becoming a single track line for passenger trains after Saltcoats. This part of the network is heavily used by freight traffic to carry coal from the Hunterston Ore terminal. Beyond Ayr, 'Sprinter' diesel trains continue south towards Girvan & Stranraer.

The line connects with several ferry services, at Troon (to Belfast), Ardrossan (to Brodick on the Isle of Arran) and at Largs (to the isle of Great Cumbrae).

[edit] References

• The Rebirth of AyrLine: Electrification to Ayr / Ardrossan / Largs - 1986/1987
• The Rebirth of AyrLine: Electrification to Ayr / Ardrossan / Largs - 1987