Glasgow South Western Line

The Glasgow South Western Line is a mainline railway in Scotland that runs from Glasgow to Kilmarnock, and then either via Dumfries, or Stranraer via Ayr, with a branch to East Kilbride.

History

The line was built by several railway companies during the 19th century:
* 1812 - Kilmarnock to Barassie by the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway
* 1839 - Barassie to Ayr (Falkland Junction) by the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway
* 1848 - Strathbungo to Neilston by the Glasgow, Barrhead and Neilston Direct Railway
* 1848 - Kilmarnock to Cumnock opened by the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway
* 1848 - Gretna Junction to Carlisle by the Caledonian Railway
* 1850 - Cumnock to Gretna Junction opened by the Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway
* 1856 - Ayr (Falkland Junction) to Maybole (Dalrymple) Junction by the Ayr and Dalmellington Railway
* 1856 - Maybole (Dalrymple) Junction to Maybole by the Ayr and Maybole Junction Railway
* 1860 - Maybole to Girvan by the Maybole and Girvan Railway
* 1861 - Challoch to Stranraer by the Portpatrick Railway
* 1866 - Busby Junction (near Pollowshaws West) to Busby by the Busby Railway
* 1868 - Busby to East Kilbride by the Caledonian Railway (East Kilbride Line)
* 1871 - Neilston to Kilmarnock opened by Glasgow and Kilmarnock Joint Railway, a joint undertaking by the Caledonian Railway and the Glasgow and South Western Railway
* 1877 - Girvan to Challoch Junction by the Girvan and Portpatrick Junction Railway

The Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway and the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway amalgamated to form the Glasgow and South Western Railway in 1850.

The Glasgow, Barrhead and Neilston Direct Railway and Glasgow and Kilmarnock Joint Railway were amalgamated to form the Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway jointly operated by the Glasgow and South Western Railway and Caledonian Railway.

The lines forming the East Kilbride branch were operated by the Caledonian Railway.

Until 1923 the line via Dumfries was in competition with the North British Railway and Caledonian Railway as one of the mainlines into Scotland. With the passing of the Railways Act 1921 (''Grouping Act'') the line became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS).

In 1948, with nationalisation the line became part of the Scottish Region of British Railways. During the Beeching Axe in the 1960s many of the railway's branch lines were closed, including the direct route between Dumfries and Stranraer, via Galloway on the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway and Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway, leaving the present 'Y' shaped railway. The former G&SWR terminus at was also closed in this period (in 1966), with all services rerouted into .

During the electrification of the West Coast Main Line in the early 1970s by British Rail, the line was used as a major diversionary route whilst the Caledonian Railway's Annandale/Clydesdale route was closed, particularly during the weekends. Following completion of this project, the sections of line between Barrhead and Kilmarnock (with a crossing loop at Lugton) and Annan and Gretna (controlled from Carlisle) were singled. Re-doubling of the Annan to Gretna section was completed in August 2008, controlled from Dumfries Station signal box.

The line is not electrified, with the exception of parts of the line around the approaches to Glasgow Central and the section of the line (Barassie to Ayr) shared with the Ayrshire Coast Line (Ayr to Glasgow via Kilwinning). However, work is currently underway to electrify the line through to Barrhead as well as the branch line to East Kilbride.
In early 2009, work commenced to re-double the line between Lugton and Stewarton based on the 2008 plans published by Network Rail. Completed in September 2009, this allows ScotRail to run a half-hourly service to Kilmarnock. As of 2021 the route is operated British Rail Class 156 units.

Accidents and incidents

*On 1 August 2015, a ballast train ran into the rear of another ballast train at Cumnock. Both trains were derailed.

Route

Trains serve the following stations.
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:''East Kilbride branch''
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:''Stranraer line''
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:* (Coach link to Cairnryan for ferries to Belfast)
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:* (Bus link to Cairnryan for ferries to Larne Harbour and Belfast)
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Services

In the latter years of British Rail, operations were sectorised. All Scottish operations (excluding the WCML and ECML services), including this line, became part of the Regional Railways operation - being branded as ''ScotRail''.

Following privatisation, passenger services upon the line were taken over by ScotRail, (part of National Express), and are now operated by ScotRail Trains with the track and signalling being operated (nationally) by Network Rail. Although the Dumfries route is officially one of only three railway lines between England and the Scottish lowland areas, (The others being the East Coast Main Line and West Coast Main Line) the line joins the West Coast Main Line immediately north of the Anglo-Scottish border at Gretna Junction. Along with the Settle-Carlisle Railway, the line is much used as both a diversionary route, especially during the recent West Coast Main Line modernisation, and for freight, notably coal from the several open cast coalmines of the Ayrshire Coalfield that adjoin the line.

Between , and the line is operated by ScotRail. Electric train services are also provided between Glasgow and and via the Ayrshire Coast Line. Some services continue on from Carlisle to Newcastle, though the daily direct services between Newcastle and Stranraer via Kilmarnock that once ran over the route were withdrawn in December 2009. There are also a number of through services between Glasgow & Stranraer that run direct via Paisley & Kilwinning (others run via Kilmarnock, as do certain trains to/from GirvanGB Rail Timetables 216 & 218, May 2013). From the December 2015 timetable change, new Scotrail franchisee Abellio changed the schedule on the Stranraer line—the service frequency to/from Ayr has increased from six trains each way to eight on weekdays (and from three to five on Sundays), but there are now no longer any direct trains to Glasgow via Paisley—all services now run via Kilmarnock.

In the 1970s, most of the intermediate stations between and were closed, leaving only , and . Since then, the stations at , , and have been reopened. There have been several studies recently as to the possibility of reopening Thornhill station, roughly halfway between and .

As of 2020, The line has many different service patterns depending on its lines, From Glasgow, There is 2 trains per hour to Kilmarnock(12 of these extend south of Kilmarnock with 11 to Dumfries and 9 of which continue to Carlisle while 1 only goes as far as New Cumnock while 4 (3 on Saturdays) trains per day operate to Stranraer and 1 train per day terminates at Girvan), There is a regular hourly service between Dumfries and Carlisle on Monday to Saturdays, On Sundays, An hourly service operates to Kilmarnock however only 2 trains per day operate south to Dumfries and Carlisle, 5 trains per day also operate between Dumfries and Carlisle on Sundays on a roughly 2 hourly service for most of the day, There is 2 trains per hour between Glasgow and East Kilbride 7 days a week with extra trains during peak times. There is also a regular hourly service between Ayr and Girvan with 8 trains per day extending south to Stranraer with a 2 hourly service to/from Kilmarnock, On Sundays, 5 trains per day operate from Ayr to Stranraer however there is no service to/from Kilmarnock

Rail & Sea Connections

The Glasgow South Western Line links into the ferries at Stranraer via the bus connecting with Cairnryan for the Stena Line ferries to the Port of Belfast and the P&O Ferries to Larne Harbour. The Stena Line ships (previously Sealink) ran from Stranraer Harbour until 2011. A bus connection to Cairnryan is also now provided from .
Onward rail connections are provided by Northern Ireland Railways.

Former Ferries

The line also connected Troon to the P&O Ferries service to Larne Harbour.

References

Notes

Sources

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Further reading

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{{Railway lines in Scotland

Transport in East Renfrewshire
Transport in Dumfries and Galloway
Railway lines in Scotland
Standard gauge railways in Scotland