Newburgh railway station
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- See also Parbold railway station which was originally named "Newburgh railway station".
[edit] Timeline of the station's history
There have been several railway stations in Newburgh, Fife. The original was opened in 1848 by the Edinburgh and Northern Railway. The line through the station was from Ladybank to Perth. This station lasted until August 1906, when the newer station was opened.
Newburgh became a junction station on the 25th January 1909, when the Newburgh and North Fife Railway company opened a line from Newburgh to Dundee. This route called at calling at Lindores, Luthrie, and Kilmany, and was an attempt to provide a competitive service between Perth and Dundee via the south of the River Tay. The route diverged at a triangle junction just south of St Fort.
In July 1933, the line from Newburgh to Bridge of Earn is singled. By this time, the station was in the hands of the London and North Eastern Railway. The station's history then continued mainly uneventfully until the 10th February 1951, when the station closed to passengers, but remained open for goods purposes. In February the same year, Newburgh (Glenburnie Junction) to St Fort line also closed to passenger services.
On 13th May 1960, Newburgh (Glenburnie Junction) to Lindores closed completely, and Newburgh to Glenburnie Junction was singled, leaving a single line route between Ladybank and Perth. St Fort to Lindores remained open for freight until October 1964. Newburgh station loop remained intact, however, and in May 1972 was signalled for bi-directional working. This loop and the, by then, decaying Newburgh sidings were both removed in 1979.
From October 1975, British Rail routed some passenger workings via the Newburgh line on a regular basis, although not calling at the intermediate stations. This was possibly an attempt to ease congestion on the Perth - Ediburgh via Stirling route.
Today, the station lies derelict, the platform and building still intact, although gutted of all furnishings. It has been suggested many times that the station should be re-opened, along with Abernethy and Bridge of Earn, as these places have slowly been developing over the past 25 years.
For now, though, the train service is replaced permanently by a bus, and to operate stopping services on the line may require loops in certain places, as the line is already heavily used by Inverness / Perth - Edinburgh Waverley services. Occasionally, freight, London-bound trains and the Caledonian Sleeper services use this line if the route via Stirling is closed. A few railtours have also been known to traverse the Newburgh line.
