Motherwell railway station
Motherwell  | |
|---|---|
| Scottish Gaelic: Tobar na Màthar | |
 | |
| Motherwell railway station at Platforms 1 and 2. Trains running on the West Coast Main Line stop here. | |
| Location | |
| Place | Motherwell |
| Local authority | North Lanarkshire |
| Coordinates | 55°47′30″N 3°59′39″W / 55.791570°N 3.994208°WCoordinates: 55°47′30″N 3°59′39″W / 55.791570°N 3.994208°W |
| Grid reference | NS750571 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | MTH |
| Managed by | First ScotRail |
| Owned by | Network Rail |
| Number of platforms | 4 |
|
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries | |
| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2002/03 | 0.908 million |
| 2004/05 |
 0.962 million |
| 2005/06 |
1.052 million |
| 2006/07 |
1.095 million |
| 2007/08 |
1.097 million |
| 2008/09 |
1.366 million |
| 2009/10 |
 1.296 million |
| 2010/11 |
2.306 million |
| Passenger Transport Executive | |
| PTE | Strathclyde Partnership for Transport |
| 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 Motherwell from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
 UK Railways portal | |
Motherwell railway station serves Motherwell in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on the West Coast Main Line (WCML), and is served also by Argyle Line trains of the Glasgow suburban railway network. It is the penultimate stop on the northbound WCML before Glasgow. There are four platforms of various length in use at Motherwell. The station is located next to the town's main shopping arcade, Motherwell Shopping Centre. Ticket Gates will be introduced in 2013.[citation needed]
History
The current Motherwell station was built to replace an earlier station which was opened by the Caledonian Railway at nearby Orbiston. As Orbiston station was quite some distance from the rapidly expanding Motherwell town centre, the decision was taken to build a station at 'Lesmahagow Junction', the point where the Motherwell Deviation branch of the Caledonian Railway Main Line met the lines to Mossend, Hamilton and Lesmahagow. This new site was conveniently in the heart of the town.
The current station was built by British Rail during the 1970s on the site of the original to coincide with the electrification of the West Coast Main Line. It has four through platforms, crossed by two overbridges with the main buildings being above the level of the line between Platforms 2 and 3. At platform level between Platforms 2 and 3 there is also a First ScotRail traincrew depot, staff car park and an office of the British Transport Police. These are accessible via a gated rampway leading to street level.
Beyond Platform 4 are some electrified sidings used for the stabling of trains overnight. Diagrams are nominally worked so that these units will only stay at Motherwell for one night before returning to their allocated depot.
Services
Local services departing to and from the station are provided by First ScotRail and the majority of northbound services serve Glasgow Central (either terminating at the High Level station or passing through the Low Level station en route to Dalmuir or Milngavie), whilst southbound Argyle Line services terminate at Lanark or Carstairs.
All Glasgow bound/originated long distance services operated by Virgin Trains, East Coast, CrossCountry and TransPennine Express pass through Motherwell, bound for various destinations in England, although not all stop here.
Motherwell is unusual in that Glasgow Central can be reached via trains from three different platforms going in two different directions. Glasgow is generally north-west of Motherwell, but trains can depart via the West Coast Main Line and Motherwell Deviation going North, or by the Hamilton Circle going South. The same can also be said for services to Lanark, which is south-east of Motherwell. Trains can depart towards Lanark going south via Shieldmuir, or initially north, via Holytown.
Platform 1 is used for all southbound InterCity services as well as local services to Carstairs and Edinburgh. Services to Lanark alternate between this and Platform 4 every half hour. Lanark departures from this platform travel via Shieldmuir.
Platform 2 is used for all northbound InterCity services to Glasgow Central as well as local northbound services to Glasgow Central from Edinburgh and Carstairs. Services from Lanark to Glasgow Central via Bellshill also use this platform.
Platform 3 is used by all services to Cumbernauld as well as all services from Lanark to Glasgow Central via Hamilton. Services on the Hamilton Circle line to Glasgow which have arrived via Bellshill also use this platform. One train a day from Edinburgh via Shotts terminates here.
Platform 4 is used by all services on the Hamilton Circle to Glasgow which have arrived via Hamilton, as well as those terminating here to return via Hamilton. Services to Lanark alternate between this and Platform 1 every half hour. Lanark departures from this platform travel via Holytown.
During times of disruption such as the closure of the West Coast Main Line between Uddingston and Law Junction for engineering works, Virgin Trains services and those of CrossCountry can be diverted along the Hamilton Circle and Wishaw Deviation (and sometimes the line to Edinburgh via Shotts) and will use Platforms 3 and 4. Trains provided by East Coast will generally be suspended in this event as their drivers do not have the required route knowledge. In general, a replacement bus service will operate from Motherwell, and passengers from Glasgow are advised to travel to Edinburgh via Glasgow Queen Street.
Services 2013
The following services call at Motherwell,
ScotRail
ScotRail run most services from Motherwell, The service pattern is:
- hourly to Lanark via Holytown
- hourly to Lanark via Shieldmuir
- hourly to Cumbernauld via Coatbridge Central (starts here)
- half-hourly to Milngavie via Hamilton & Central Low Level
- half-hourly to Dalmuir via Bellshill
- every two hours to Edinburgh Waverley via Carstairs and to Central High Level.
A snmall number of peak period Argyle Line services via Hamilton are extended to/from Coatbridge Central, whilst a single return service to/from Edinburgh via Shotts also operates (departing early morning eastbound to Edinburgh, returning late evening).
CrossCountry
CrossCountry run a 2-hourly service to both Glasgow Central & Edinburgh via the East Coast Main Line. Services continue through to Newcastle, Leeds and Derby to Birmingham New Street, Bristol Temple Meads and Plymouth.
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains run a few services to London Euston and Birmingham New Street,
First Transpennine Express
First TransPennine Express only stop one northbound service at Motherwell for set down only towards Glasgow Central; no southbound Transpennine services call here.
East Coast
Operates one daily train to London Kings Cross,
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Motherwell railway station. |
- Train times and station information for Motherwell railway station from National Rail
| Preceding station | National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haymarket | CrossCountry Cross Country Network |
Glasgow Central | ||
| Carlisle or Lockerbie |
Virgin Trains West Coast Main Line |
Glasgow Central | ||
| Haymarket | East Coast East Coast Main Line |
Glasgow Central | ||
| Lockerbie | TransPennine Express (TransPennine North West) |
Glasgow Central | ||
| Holytown or Shieldmuir or Whifflet |
First ScotRail Argyle Line |
Airbles or Bellshill or Uddingston | ||
| Terminus | First ScotRail Motherwell to Cumbernauld Line |
Whifflet | ||
| Wishaw | First ScotRail North Berwick Line |
Glasgow Central | ||
| Carstairs | First ScotRail Lowland Caledonian Sleeper |
Glasgow Central | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Ferniegair Line and station open (except section between Ferniegair and Ross Junction) |
Coalburn Branch Caledonian Railway |
Terminus | ||
| Hamilton Central Line and station open |
Hamilton Branch Caledonian Railway |
Terminus | ||
| Terminus | Clydesdale Junction Railway | Uddingston Line and station open | ||
| Flemington (Cal.) Line open; station closed |
Wishaw and Coltness Railway CR Main Line |
Mossend Line open; station closed | ||
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