Bathgate railway station was a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

serving

Bathgate Bathgate ( sco, Bathket or , gd, Both Chèit) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Armadale, Blackburn, Linlithgow, Livingston, West Calder and Whitburn. Situated sout ...

West Lothian West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...

, Scotland. It was located at the western end of the Edinburgh-Bathgate Line. The station was 18½ miles (30 km) west of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

History

The station was opened in 1986 to serve Bathgate when the rail service from Edinburgh was re-introduced by

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

. Next to the station was Bathgate goods yard. The yard was used to store and unload freight trains carrying new cars. This yard was located to the south of the present station. The goods yard – later the Bathgate car terminal – was moved slightly east in 1996 as the original site of the yard was occupied by various retail outlets. The 1986 station was sited on the location of the original Bathgate station, which became the town's goods station when Bathgate Upper opened (see link to OS 25-inch 1854 map). In 2005, the Scottish Executive declared that in line with plans to upgrade the unfinished part of the A8 to motorway standard, public transport links between

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and

must also improve. The closed section of line between Drumgelloch station and Bathgate would be rebuilt as a double tracked electrified railway, termed the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link. This resulted in the closure of this station to be replaced by a new station to the south east on the former

Edinburgh and Bathgate Railway Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of ...

Closure

On 16 October 2010, the station was closed at the end of the day's service, with the new Bathgate station opening on Monday 18 October.

Service

At the time of closure in 2010, there was a half-hourly service from Bathgate to Edinburgh on Monday to Saturdays and an hourly service on Sundays.

References

Notes

Sources

* * {{Jowett-Atlas * Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link
NLS Online maps, 25 Inch 1854

External links

Disused railway stations in West Lothian Railway stations opened by British Rail Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1986 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 2010 Bathgate