Glasgow to Edinburgh via Carstairs Line
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The Glasgow to Edinburgh via Carstairs Line is a main railway line which connects the West Coast Main Line to the East Coast Main Line in the Central Belt of Scotland.
Along with the Shotts Line and the Falkirk Line, the line is one of three direct rail links between Edinburgh and Glasgow (and the only electrified link) and is frequently used by passenger and freight traffic. Passenger services are operated by First ScotRail, Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) and Virgin Trains with freight services operated by English, Welsh and Scottish Railways (EWS), Freightliner and Direct Rail Services (DRS).
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[edit] History
This line was opened by the Caledonian Railway as part of a plan to link Glasgow and Edinburgh to the railways in England. The main line from England (now known as the West Coast Main Line (WCML)) splits at Carstairs, with one branch going to Edinburgh and the other to Glasgow. The Glasgow to Edinburgh via Carstairs Line consists of those two branches joined by a short connecting track at Carstairs. The Edinburgh portion opened for passengers on 15 February 1848; and the Glasgow section opened for passengers on 1 November 1849.
Princes Street railway station was the Edinburgh terminus of the line until it was closed by the Beeching Axe in 1965, when the line was diverted to Edinburgh Waverley station. The Glasgow terminus was initially Buchanan Street railway station; however when Glasgow Central station opened on 31 July 1879 it became the terminus, and it has remained the Glasgow terminus ever since. The direct line from Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh Haymarket, via Falkirk, predates this line, having opened in February 1842; it was extended to Edinburgh Waverley in August 1846.
After the 1922 grouping all the lines became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway company.
The Carstairs to Glasgow section was electrified by British Rail in 1974, during the electrification of the northern, the Weaver Junction to Glasgow Central, section of the WCML. The Carstairs to Edinburgh section was not electrified until 1989, when the northern section of East Coast Main Line (ECML) electrification scheme was undertaken.
[edit] Route
Starting from Glasgow Central High Level station, the line is part of the West Coast Main Line to Motherwell where it continues to the town of Carstairs, South Lanarkshire. Here the line splits from the WCML and via Carstairs Junction it joins another branch from the Southern Section of the WCML through a tight curve with a permanent speed restriction of 20mph.
From Carstairs the line proceeds towards Scotland's capital. At Kirknewton, Lothian, the line joins up with the Shotts line and continues towards Haymarket station in western Edinburgh.
At Haymarket, the line joins the main Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh Waverley line with 4 tracks running through the two main tunnels into Edinburgh Waverley station. GNER services and some Virgin Trains services use the two straight through platforms at either side of the historical station, while First ScotRail services not working to North Berwick terminate at the several bay platforms on the west side of the station.
[edit] Services
The most frequent user of the line is GNER which runs a service to and from Glasgow Central every 2 hours until 2000.
Virgin Trains use the line to run services to England. Some services use the northern section of the WCML to/from Glasgow Central but most trains are for destinations including London Euston, Bournemouth, Brighton, Bristol and Plymouth. Services into Edinburgh on the line are also mostly from these destinations.
First ScotRail operate services to/from North Berwick on the line. Only a few services continue from Edinburgh to Glasgow Central from the coastal town. A similar service operates from Glasgow Central to North Berwick.
[edit] Rolling stock
The route is electrified throughout using overhead lines, and all three passenger companies use electric traction on the route, with the exception of Virgin Trains who use Class 220 (non-tilting) and Class 221 (tilting) 'Voyager' diesel units on services to western and southern England, as most railway lines there are not electrified with overhead wires.
GNER use 'Mallard' MK4 rolling stock and Class 91 locomotives on their trains to and from Glasgow Central, while First ScotRail use a dedicated fleet of 5 Class 322 EMUs on the line, which have been refurbished with striking pink interior features. These 4-car units can travel at 100mph and are specific for North Berwick services. First ScotRail also use standby Class 318 EMUs if a Class 322 is not in service.
Virgin Trains use Class 390 'Pendolino' EMUs on the route on services from London Euston.
[edit] Information
All First ScotRail services call at Haymarket, Carstairs and Motherwell on the route. A few Virgin Trains services call at Carstairs, and most trains call at Haymarket and Motherwell.
Only a handful of the two hourly GNER services call at Haymarket and Motherwell with no GNER trains calling at Carstairs.
Journey times on the route are usually around 1 hour.
Carstairs station is also the home of one of Virgin's special 'Thunderbird' Class 57 Locomotives named after the Thunderbirds animation series and locomotives use characters from the series as their names. i.e. Parker, Jeff Tracy etc. 'Thunderbirds' are use to haul broken down services for Virgin and are compatible with both the Pendolino and Voyager fleets.
