Lockerbie railway station

Lockerbie National Rail
Scottish Gaelic: Locarbaidh

The exterior of Lockerbie station
Location
Place Lockerbie
Local authority Dumfries and Galloway
Coordinates 55°07′23″N 3°21′15″W / 55.1231°N 3.3541°WCoordinates: 55°07′23″N 3°21′15″W / 55.1231°N 3.3541°W
Grid reference NY137817
Operations
Station code LOC
Managed by Abellio ScotRail
Owned by Network Rail
Number of platforms 2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05 Increase 71,736
2005/06 Increase 82,575
2006/07 Increase 99,145
2007/08 Increase 112,789
2008/09 Increase 133,720
2009/10 Increase 140,250
2010/11 Increase 161,304
2011/12 Increase 166,926
2012/13 Increase 173,882
2013/14 Increase 179,288
History
Original company Caledonian Railway
Pre-grouping Caledonian Railway
Post-grouping LMS
10 September 1847 Opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Lockerbie from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Lockerbie railway station lies on the West Coast Main Line between Carlisle and Carstairs in Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.

History

The station was opened along with the first section of the Caledonian Railway's main line from Carlisle in September 1847. The line initially terminated at Beattock, but was completed through to Glasgow & Edinburgh early the following year. A branch line from here to Dumfries via Lochmaben was completed in September 1863 - this was constructed by the independent Dumfries, Lochmaben & Lockerbie Railway, but was absorbed by the Caledonian company just two years later. Though this route allowed the Caledonian company to reach Dumfries and thus compete with the rival Glasgow and South Western Railway, it never developed beyond country branch status and was closed to passenger services by the British Transport Commission in May 1952. Goods traffic continued until 1966, when the line finally fell victim to the Beeching Axe. Except Lockerbie all other local stations on the main line between Carlisle and Carstairs closed during the 1960s. The first electrically-operated passenger services operated in May 1974 when the West Coast Main Line electrification project between Crewe & Glasgow was completed.

1883 crash

On 4 May 1883, an accident occurred when the branch service from Stranraer via the Dumfries, Lochmaben and Lockerbie Railway passed a signal and entered the station at 11.25pm. It collided at low speed, with a goods train already on the nouthbound line. This collision, though minor, forced carriages from the goods train onto the southbound line and into the path of the speeding Glasgow Express which smashed into the wreckage and derailed onto the station platform. Seven people were killed, including the driver and fireman of the express. The guard from the express ran down the line to warn another approaching train of the accident and prevented a further collision. There were 300 injuries. The driver of the first train, the Lockerbie station master and the local inspection regime were all criticised for their actions in the subsequent report on the crash.[1]

Services and current operations

A Virgin Pendolino accelerates with a Glasgow Central - London Euston service.

Lockerbie station, at one time, was one of only eight stations in the UK (some others being Long Buckby and Chester-le-Street) to be operated by a train company whose services did not call at that station. It is owned by Network Rail, and managed by Abellio ScotRail but all services are provided by either Virgin Trains or First TransPennine Express. However, following some changes in franchises, there are now several other stations that are similarly managed, Lockerbie is the only railway station in Scotland that is not served by Abellio ScotRail.

Virgin Trains

Virgin provide additional weekday peak trains to Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley northbound and to Birmingham New Street and London Euston southbound.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Carlisle   Virgin Trains
London / Birmingham - Glasgow
  Motherwell
Virgin Trains
London / Birmingham - Edinburgh
Haymarket
Carlisle   First TransPennine Express
Preston-Glasgow
  Carstairs or
Motherwell or
Glasgow Central
Carlisle   First TransPennine Express
Manchester/Lancaster-Glasgow
  Motherwell or
Glasgow Central
First TransPennine Express
Manchester/Lancaster/Preston-Edinburgh
Haymarket
Historical railways
Ecclefechan   Caledonian Railway
Main Line
  Nethercleugh
Terminus   Caledonian Railway
Dumfries, Lochmaben and Lockerbie Railway
  Lochmaben

References

Notes

  1. "News & Star: The Lockerbie Disaster of 1883". Retrieved 19 January 2011.

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lockerbie railway station.