Kirkcaldy railway station

Kirkcaldy
The southbound platform
Location
Place	Kirkcaldy
Local authority	Fife
Coordinates	56°06′43″N 3°10′02″W / 56.1119°N 3.1671°WCoordinates: 56°06′43″N 3°10′02″W / 56.1119°N 3.1671°W
Grid reference	NT275916
Operations
Station code	KDY
Managed by	Abellio ScotRail
Number of platforms	2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	1.050 million
2005/06	1.072 million
2006/07	1.126 million
2007/08	1.152 million
2008/09	1.172 million
2009/10	1.075 million
2010/11	0.989 million
2011/12	0.988 million
2012/13	1.000 million
2013/14	1.030 million
2014/15	1.114 million
History
20 June 1847	Opened
1964	Re-built
1991	South platform re-built
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Kirkcaldy from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Kirkcaldy Railway Station is a railway station in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. The station is managed by Abellio ScotRail and is on the Fife Circle Line and principal East Coast Main Line, 26 miles (42 km) north east of Edinburgh Waverley. British Transport Police maintain a small office on Platform 1.

The station is located on Station Road,^[1] with an entrance on Whyte Melville Road. There are car parks on either side with an extension on the Whyte Melville Road side for Edinburgh commuter traffic.^[2] The station building is situated on the Edinburgh platform. In the building is a ticket office, toilets, public phone and kiosk.

Platforms are adjoined by a connecting subway and a flight of stairs. Two lifts have recently been installed for north and south platform access.

There are waiting rooms on both platforms and CCTV is in operation.

There are three main railway station bus stops located on Bennochy Road (off Station Road) with access to the car park. A further two bus stops are located on Whyte Melville Road, one of which is adjacent to the entrance and the other opposite University of Dundee Nursing Kirkcaldy Campus.^[1]

History

A proposal to bring two railway lines to the town had been suggested as far back as 1836, but neither plan succeeded. This led for pressure to support a new line from Burntisland to Newport-on-Tay and Tayport via Kinghorn, Kirkcaldy, Markinch and Cupar in 1840. However, it was three years before Parliament even acknowledged this essential plan. A unanimous decision was passed in favour by both the House of Lords and Commons.^[3] Kirkcaldy railway station, along with now defunct stations in Sinclairtown and Dysart, finally opened on 20 June 1847^[3][4] as part of the Edinburgh and Northern Railway, which terminated at Cupar. Train services were later taken over by the North British Railway, which was absorbed by the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923. The nationalised British Railways took over in 1948.

Originally, only the south platform was covered, until a re-fit of the station was undertaken towards the end of the 19th century.^[3]

The station buildings survived intact until they were re-built in 1964, probably as part of the controversial town centre redevelopment plan. A fire in the late 1980s led to the destruction of the south platform. A new south platform had to be built again from scratch, and this was officially re-opened again to the public in 1991.^[5]

Services

Southbound

• 4 trains per hour to Edinburgh Waverley
• 2 trains per hour express service. Calling only at Inverkeithing and Haymarket. Journey time: 35–40 minutes.
• 2 trains per hour stopping service. 1 per hour continuing to Newcraighall (see northbound for additional service to Newcraighall). Journey time: 40–50 minutes.
• One a.m peak hour service runs to Glasgow Queen Street (Mondays - Fridays) via Dalmeny, Winchburgh Junction and Falkirk Grahamston.
• 3 trains per day to London Kings Cross and stations via the East Coast Main Line, plus a fourth that runs as far as Leeds. There are occasional CrossCountry services to England (usually to Birmingham New Street & Plymouth via Sheffield) and frequent connecting services at Edinburgh.
• 1 train per day (except Saturdays) to London Euston (Caledonian Sleeper).

On Sundays, there are two semi-fast trains per hour to Edinburgh and one all-stations local service.

Northbound

A northbound service calls at Kirkcaldy

• 1 train per hour to Newcraighall, via Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline and Edinburgh Waverley. Journey time: 1 hour 15 minutes (does not operate in the evening - services terminate here).^[6]
• 2 trains per hour to Glenrothes with Thornton
• 1 train per hour to Perth
• 1 train per hour to Dundee
• 8 services per day to Aberdeen, and 5 north to Inverness via Perth. ScotRail Edinburgh to Aberdeen services do not usually stop at Kirkcaldy (except during the a.m peak and in the late evening). 4 Virgin Trains East Coast & 1 CrossCountry Aberdeen services call during the daytime.^[7] The Caledonian Sleeper also calls, but only to set down.

On Sundays, there are hourly services to Dundee and northbound along the Fife Circle, plus two-hourly services to Aberdeen & Perth (limited service through to Inverness).

References

Notes

1. "fifedirect.org.uk: Kirkcaldy Railway Station".
2. "Fife Today - Four-minute trip just to buy a ticket ...".
3. Eunson: Old Kirkcaldy (1998) p33
4. Eunson: Old Dysart (1998) p24
5. Kirkcaldy Civic Society (2000), Page 3
6. GB National Rail Timetable 2013-14, Table 242
7. GB National Rail Timetable 2013-14, Table 229

Sources

• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.
• Eunson, Eric (1998). Old Dysart and East Kirkcaldy. Ochiltree: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 1-8403-3051-1. OCLC 40397429.

• Eunson, Eric (1998). Old Kirkcaldy: Central, North & West. Ochiltree: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 1-8403-3052-X. OCLC 40801270.

• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137.
• Kirkcaldy Civic Society (2000). Kirkcaldy walkabouts (6th ed.). Kirkcaldy: Kirkcaldy Civic Society. ISBN 0-9462-9419-4. OCLC 46810257.

• Yonge, John (May 1987). Gerald Jacobs, ed. British Rail Track Diagams - Book 1: ScotRail (1st ed.). Exeter: Quail Map Company. ISBN 0-9006-0948-6.
• Yonge, John (February 1993). Gerald Jacobs, ed. Railway Track Diagams - Book 1: Scotland and the Isle of Man (2nd ed.). Exeter: Quail Map Company. ISBN 0-9006-0995-8.
• Yonge, John (April 1996). Gerald Jacobs, ed. Railway Track Diagams - Book 1: Scotland and the Isle of Man (3rd ed.). Exeter: Quail Map Company. ISBN 1-8983-1919-7.
• Yonge, John (2007). Gerald Jacobs, ed. Railway Track Diagams - Book 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (Quail Track Plans) (fifth ed.). Bradford on Avon: Trackmaps (formerly Quail Map Co). ISBN 978-0-9549866-3-6. OCLC 79435248.

• Station information from Fife Council