| Kilmarnock | |
|---|---|
| Scottish Gaelic: Cille Mheàrnaig | |
| Entrance to Kilmarnock Railway Station | |
| Location | |
| Place | Kilmarnock |
| Local authority | East Ayrshire |
| Operations | |
| Station code | KMK |
| Managed by | First ScotRail |
| Number of platforms | 4 |
| Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries |
|
| Annual rail passenger usage | |
| 2002/03 * | 0.398 million |
| 2004/05 * | 0.462 million |
| 2005/06 * | 0.455 million |
| 2006/07 * | 0.438 million |
| 2007/08 * | 0.407 million |
| 2008/09 * | 0.462 million |
| 2009/10 * | 0.421 million |
| Passenger Transport Executive | |
| PTE | SPT |
| History | |
| Original company | Kilmarnock and Troon Railway & Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Glasgow and South Western Railway |
| Post-grouping | LMS |
| 6 July 1812 | Original station opened by K&TR[1] |
| 4 April 1843 | Original station closed and second station opened by GPK&AR[1] |
| 20 July 1846 | Second station closed and current station opened by GPK&AR[1] |
| 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 Kilmarnock from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year. | |
Kilmarnock railway station is a railway station in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland. The station is managed by First ScotRail and is served by trains on the Glasgow South Western Line.
Contents |
The first station in Kilmarnock was opened by the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway on 6 July 1812,[1] one of the earliest stations in Scotland. It was replaced by the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway on 4 April 1843.[1]
The third and current station was opened on 20 July 1846 by the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway.[1]
The station is built well above street level and is accessed via either a subway and stairs or a more circuitous but step-free route along a narrow access road.
The station has a total of four platforms; two north-facing bays for both terminating Glasgow services and trains on the Glasgow to Stranraer via Kilmarnock route, on which trains reverse out of the station towards the junction with the Troon line. Two through platforms serve Glasgow to Carlisle trains, as well as Stranraer to Newcastle services. The bay platforms (1 and 2) as well as Platform 3 are covered by a partly glazed roof and directly accessible from the ticket office. Platform 4 is used infrequently, accessed via a subway and stairs, and afforded only a bus stop style shelter.
The present Kilmarnock signal box is located north of the station, in the vee of the junction. Opened on 12 April 1976, it is a plain brick building containing an NX (entrance-exit) panel on the upper storey. It replaced four mechanical signal boxes in a scheme that saw the track layout greatly simplified. Originally, the box worked Track Circuit Block to Hurlford signal box and Scottish Region Tokenless Block over the single lines to Barassie Junction and Lugton signal boxes. Kilmarnock signal box was severely damaged in a suspected arson attack on 25 December 2006 but was repaired and returned to full operation within weeks.
The train service to Glasgow is partly limited by the single track northwards as far as Lochridge Junction (near Stewarton). This formerly extended all the way as far as Barrhead (with just one loop at Lugton) following track rationalisation in the early 1970s and restricted the frequency of services that could be operated. A "dynamic passing loop" (in effect a redoubling of the section between Lugton and Stewarton) was installed to help rectify this in 2009.[2] The service frequency was increased to half-hourly from the 13 December 2009 timetable change.
New sidings were installed in 2009-2010 along a short section of the trackbed of the old route to Dalry to facilitate the increased coal train traffic.
As of 2007, it takes some 40 minutes to reach Glasgow from Kilmarnock by train.
The main service from the station is that towards Glasgow Central, which runs hourly throughout the day (with one or two extras in the business peaks). This normally calls at all stations as far as Barrhead, then runs non-stop from there to Glasgow. There are also nine daily services to Dumfries and Carlisle (three of which continue to Newcastle), seven to Ayr and four through trains to Stranraer.
Following the timetable change in December 2009, the main service from the station is that towards Glasgow Central, which runs half-hourly throughout the day. This mostly calls at all stations as far as Barrhead, then runs non-stop from there to Glasgow, although a few express trains only stop at Stewarton. There are also nine daily services to Dumfries and Carlisle (three of which continue to Newcastle), seven to Ayr and four through trains to Stranraer.
Sundays see an hourly service to Glasgow but only two trains to and from Carlisle.
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Troon | First ScotRail |
Auchinleck | ||
| Kilmaurs | First ScotRail |
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| Historical railways | ||||
| Connection with GPK&AR |
Caledonian and Glasgow & South Western Railways |
Kilmaurs Line and station open |
||
| Hurlford Line open; station closed |
Glasgow and South Western Railway |
Crosshouse Line and station closed |
||
| Gatehead Line open; station closed |
Glasgow and South Western Railway |
Connection with GPK&AR |
||