IBM railway station

IBM
Location
Place Greenock
Local authority Inverclyde
Grid reference NS234743
Operations
Station code IBM
Managed by First ScotRail
Number of platforms 1
Live arrivals/departures and station information
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage
2004/05 *   0.129 million
2005/06 * 0.117 million
2006/07 * 93,954
2007/08 * 93,519
2008/09 * 0.206 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE Strathclyde
History
Original company Scottish Region of British Railways
9 May 1978 Opened as IBM Halt
? Renamed IBM
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 estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at IBM from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

IBM railway station (formally known as IBM Halt[1]) is a railway station on the Inverclyde Line, 41 km (25½ miles) west of Glasgow Central.

Clinging to the south slope of Spango Valley on the Glasgow-Wemyss Bay line, IBM Halt opened on 9 May 1978[2] to serve what was at that time a thriving computer manufacturing plant employing over 4,000 people. Originally, only peak time services stopped there, but now, despite the decline in the fortunes and population of the plant, almost all services make the stop.

As the name suggests, it is located within the confines of a large facility formerly owned entirely by IBM, a former major employer for the town of Greenock.

Parts of the site were sold off to companies such as Sanmina-SCI and Lenovo, which have now closed. By June 2009 half of the buildings had been demolished and the site was rebranded as Valley Park, although locals still refer to the complex by its old name. Accordingly, there are no plans to change the station name.

Due to its location away from major housing areas and other transport links, the station is used primarily by people employed in Valley Park, but access to the station and its services by the general public is possible.

Services

There is a daily hourly service on the Inverclyde Line between Glasgow Central and Wemyss Bay.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Inverkip   First ScotRail

 Inverclyde Line 

  Branchton

Gallery

References

  1. ^ "IBM Halt (IBM)". National Rail. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/IBM/details.html. Retrieved 9 June 2011. 
  2. ^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 126. ISBN 1 85260 508 1. R508.