Rutherglen railway station

For the closed railway station in Victoria, Australia, see Rutherglen railway station, Victoria

Rutherglen
Scottish Gaelic: An Ruadh-Ghleann
Platform viewed from east walkway
Location
Place	Rutherglen
Local authority	South Lanarkshire
Coordinates	55°49′52″N 4°12′49″W / 55.8312°N 4.2136°WCoordinates: 55°49′52″N 4°12′49″W / 55.8312°N 4.2136°W
Grid reference	NS615619
Operations
Station code	RUT
Managed by	Abellio ScotRail
Number of platforms	2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2010/11	0.797 million
2011/12	0.894 million
2012/13	0.977 million
2013/14	1.030 million
2014/15	1.074 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	SPT
History
1 June 1849	Original station opened
31 March 1879	Original station closed; New station opened
5 October 1964	GCR platforms closed.
5 November 1979	Opening of the Argyle Line platforms; WCML slow line platforms closed.
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Rutherglen from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Rutherglen is a railway station in the town centre of Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, and lying on the Argyle railway line. The station is served by a single island platform, connected to the street by a footbridge. The closed island platform which lies on the West Coast Main Line, that was previously in use before the Argyle line was re-opened is still visible, although it is no longer accessible to the public.

History

The remains of the old platform, beside the West Coast Main Line, 2016.

The original Rutherglen station was opened on the Caledonian Railway's line to Glasgow on 1 June 1849.^[1] This station was replaced on 31 March 1879 by a new station located some 765m east of the original station.^[1]

Services on the Glasgow Central Railway commenced on 1 November 1895. Glasgow Central Railway services were withdrawn as part of the Beeching Axe on 5 October 1964.

On 6 May 1974 the WCML was opened to electrified services which included Hamilton Circle services through the slow line island platform. This island platform was closed to passengers when the new island platform opened for Argyle Line services using the reopened Glasgow Central Railway formation on 5 November 1979.

1979 station

South eastward view towards the WCML, before (2008) and after (2016) the creation of lift tower and M74 viaduct.

Access to the present platform is by a large (covered) footbridge from the Main Street, over the high level railway (where the old platform was located) to stairs down to the island platform and ticket office. Until the installation of a lift in 2008-08, these stairs posed a problem to parents with prams and infirm persons who struggle with the steep gradient the steps are placed at. Although there is a level crossing at the opposite end, its use is only permitted for staff accessing the nearby First Engineering Training Centre.

Refurbishment

A lift was installed at the station as part of the Scottish Executive's £4 million annual commitment to improving disabled access across Scotland's railway stations. By April 2009 work to create the lift tower was completed.

2010 M74 works

During 2010, the M74 extension works resulted in the motorway crossing the north end of the platform on a viaduct.

Routes through the station

Argyle Line

The line runs from Dalmarnock direction (the north) through Rutherglen to connect with the West Coast Main Line and either diverges to the Whifflet Line, or continues on the WCML towards Cambuslang before continuing to the southern ends of the Argyle Line (Hamilton Circle, Cumbernauld or Larkhall). Passengers for stations to Motherwell & Lanark via Bellshill now have to change at Cambuslang, following a major timetable recast associated with the inauguration of electric working on the Whifflet line.

West Coast Main Line

The platforms on the WCML Slow lines were taken out of service when the Argyle Line opened on 5 November 1979. As a result, DMU services on the Whifflet Line could not call here though this has since changed now that the route is electrified (electric working having commenced at the December 2014 timetable change).

References

Notes

1. Butt (1999)

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.