Lockerbie railway station
Lockerbie  | |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Number of platforms | 2 |
|
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries | |
| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2009/10 |
 140,250 |
| 2010/11 |
161,304 |
| 2011/12 |
166,926 |
| 2012/13 |
173,882 |
| 2013/14 |
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 and Road 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 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 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 by British Rail 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
Lockerbie station is managed by Abellio ScotRail although the company does not provide any services to or from the station. Lockerbie is the only railway station in Scotland that is not served by Abellio ScotRail. All services are provided by Virgin Trains and TransPennine Express.
Services northwards to Glasgow and Edinburgh where suspended in January 2016 and replaced by buses, whilst major repairs are carried out the River Clyde viaduct at Lamington that was damaged by Storm Frank. Trains resumed on 22 February 2016.[2]
TransPennine Express
TransPennine Express provides most services, operating a mostly hourly service to Manchester Airport and an hourly service operates northbound changing between Glasgow and Edinburgh depending on the hour. Some TransPennine Express services do not stop here which can result in two-hour gaps on one side.
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains provide 6 daily services. There are 3 trains per day to Glasgow Central, 1 to Birmingham New Street, 1 to London Euston and 1 to Crewe. On Sundays, there are 2 trains per day to Glasgow, 1 to London and 1 to Crewe.
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lockerbie railway station. |
Notes
- ↑ "News & Star: The Lockerbie Disaster of 1883". Retrieved 19 January 2011.
- ↑ Lamington Viaduct to remain closed until March ITV News; retrieved 19 January 2016
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.
- 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.
- Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 0-9068-9999-0. OCLC 228266687.
- RAILSCOT on Caledonian Railway
- Lockerbie railway station on navigable OS map