Kirkcaldy railway station

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Kirkcaldy
Whyte Melville Road Entrance
Location
Place Kirkcaldy
Local authority Fife
Operations
Station code KDY
Managed by First ScotRail
Platforms in use 2
Live departures and station information from National Rail
Annual Rail Passenger Usage
2004/05 * 1.050 million
2005/06 * 1.071 million
History
20 June 1847 Opened
1964 Re-built
1991 South Platform re-built
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 Kirkcaldy from Office of Rail Regulation statistics.
Portal:Kirkcaldy railway station
 UK Railways Portal

Kirkcaldy Railway Station is a railway station in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. The station is managed by First ScotRail and is on the Fife Circle Line 42 km (26 miles) north east of Edinburgh Waverley. British Transport Police maintain a small office on platform 1.

The station is located on Station Road [1] with an entrance on Whyte Melville Road. There are car parks on either side with an extension on the Whyte Melville Road side for Edinburgh commuter traffic. [2] The station building is situated on the Edinburgh platform. In the building is a ticket office, toilets, public phone and kiosk.

Platforms are adjoined by a connecting subway and a flight of stairs.

There are waiting rooms on both platforms and CCTV is in operation.

There are three main railway station bus stops located on Bennochy Road (off Station Road) with access to the car park. A further two bus stops are located on Whyte Melville Road, one of which is adjacent to the entrance and the other opposite University of Dundee Nursing Kirkcaldy Campus. [1]

Contents

[edit] History

A proposal to bring two railway lines to the town had been suggested as far back as 1836, but neither plan succeeded. This led for pressure to support a new line from Burntisland to Newport-on-Tay and Tayport via Kinghorn, Kirkcaldy, Markinch and Cupar in 1840. However, it was three years before Parliament even acknowledged this essential plan. An unanimous decision was passed in favour by both the house of lords and commons.[3] Kirkcaldy railway station, along with now defunct stations in Sinclairtown and Dysart, finally opened on 20th June 1847 [3][4] as part of the Edinburgh and Northern Railway, which terminated at Cupar.

Originally, only the South Platform was covered, until a re-fit of the station was undertaken towards the end of the 19th century. [3]

The station buildings survived intact, until they were re-built in 1964, probably as part of the controversial town centre redevelopment plan. A fire in the late 1980s, led to the destruction of the South Platform. A new South Platform had to be built again from scratch, and this was officially re-opened again to the public in 1991. [5]

[edit] Services

Most National Express East Coast, CrossCountry Trains and ScotRail express trains between Edinburgh and Aberdeen call at Kirkcaldy. Typical journey time from Edinburgh is 45 minutes.

On the Fife Circle Line Monday to Saturday daytimes, there is an half-hourly service southbound to Edinburgh and an hourly service northbound to Markinch with an hourly service towards Glenrothes with Thornton and back to Edinburgh via Dunfermline Town. Evenings and Sundays there is an hourly service to Edinburgh and a two hourly service to Markinch and a two hourly service along the Fife Circle to Edinburgh via Dunfermline.

  Preceding station     National Rail     Following station  
Inverkeithing   NXEC

East Coast Main Line

   Leuchars
Inverkeithing   CrossCountry

Cross-Country Route

   Markinch
Inverkeithing   First ScotRail

Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line

   Markinch
Kinghorn   First ScotRail

Fife Circle Line

   Markinch
Glenrothes with Thornton   First ScotRail

Fife Circle Line

  
Inverkeithing   First ScotRail
Highland Caledonian Sleeper		   Leuchars

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b fifedirect.org.uk: Kirkcaldy Railway Station.
  2. ^ Fife Today - Four-minute trip just to buy a ticket ....
  3. ^ a b c Eunson: Old Kirkcaldy (1998) p33
  4. ^ Eunson: Old Dysart (1998) p24
  5. ^ Kirkcaldy Civic Society (2000), Page 3

[edit] 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, Sparkford, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199. 
  • Jowett, Alan (1989). Jowett's railway atlas of Great Britain and Ireland : from pre-grouping to the present day, 1st, Sparkford, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137.