The Bathgate and Coatbridge Railway, also known as the "New Monkland Line", was built by

Monkland Railways The Monkland Railways was a railway company formed in 1848 by the merger of three "coal railways" that had been built to serve coal and iron pits around Airdrie in Central Scotland, and connect them to canals for onward transport of the minerals ...

. It opened on 28 July 1863. The line was absorbed into the

Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway The Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway was authorised by Act of Parliament on 4 July 1838. It was opened to passenger traffic on 21 February 1842, between its Glasgow Queen Street railway station (sometimes referred to at first as Dundas Street) and ...

on 31 July 1865. The following day (1 August 1865), the line became part of the North British Railway.

Closure

The last regular passenger train along this route between Glasgow and Edinburgh ran on 8 January 1956 (the line henceforth being closed to passengers east of Airdrie). Freight services continued until February 1982, then the line was lifted.

Connections to other lines

*At Greenside Junction (between Coatbridge Sunnyside and Coatdyke) to the

Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway The Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway was an early mineral railway running from a colliery at Monklands to the Forth and Clyde Canal at Kirkintilloch, Scotland. It was the first railway to use a rail ferry, the first public railway in Scotla ...

*At Brownieside Junction to the

Ballochney Railway The Ballochney Railway was an early railway built near Airdrie, Lanarkshire, now in Monklands, Scotland. It was intended primarily to carry minerals from coal and ironstone pits, and stone quarries, in the area immediately north and east of Aird ...

*At Westcraigs to the Shotts branch of Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Railway *At Polkemmet Junction to the Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Railway

Reopening

The section between Drumgelloch and Bathgate was reopened and electrified in October 2010, thus linking the current

North Clyde Line The North Clyde Line (defined by Network Rail as the ''Glasgow North Electric Suburban'' line) is a suburban railway in West Central Scotland. The route is operated by ScotRail Trains. As a result of the incorporation of the Airdrie–Bathga ...

with the

Edinburgh to Bathgate Line 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 t ...

. Work to reopen the line started with a sod cutting ceremony in June 2007.

References

* * * * Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link North British Railway Railway lines opened in 1863 Railway companies disestablished in 1865 Coatbridge Bathgate {{Scotland-rail-transport-stub