Breich railway station

Breich Scottish Gaelic: Brìch [1]
General information
Location	Breich, West Lothian Scotland
Coordinates	55°49′39″N3°40′03″W / 55.8275°N 3.6675°W / 55.8275; -3.6675
Grid reference	NS956606
Managed by	ScotRail
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	BRC
Key dates
9 July 1869	Opened [2]
Passengers
2018/19	342
Addiewell Line and station open		Caledonian Railway Cleland and Midcalder Line		Fauldhouse
Newpark Loop line and station closed		Caledonian Railway Cleland and Midcalder Line Addiewell Loop

2011

Mondays to Saturdays saw one train to Edinburgh and two towards Glasgow Central with no Sunday service.

2018

Monday to Saturdays the station was served by one eastbound towards Edinburgh and one westbound train towards Glasgow Central per day. There was no Sunday service. ^[7]

2019

From May 2019, an hourly service has been introduced Monday - Saturday and a 2 hourly service on Sundays.

Station usage

In 2014–15, Breich was the tenth least-used station in Britain, with 92 passenger exits and entries. ^[8]

West Lothian Council's Route Utilisation Strategy suggests that if there was an increase in service frequency on the Shotts Line more services could stop at Breich. This could help future developments in the Breich and Longridge areas. ^[9]

Proposed closure

On 21 June 2017, Network Rail announced that they had begun consultation on the proposed closure of the station due to low patronage and if retained will avoid heavy expenditure to update the station prior to electrification of the line. ^{[10] [11]} It would have been the first station in Scotland to close in over 30 years. ^[11]

The overwhelming response to the consultation was in favour of keeping Breich station open. Many respondents wished to see more services calling at Breich Station to increase patronage. It has been confirmed that the station will remain open and plans are being developed to possibly improve services.

The station was closed temporarily from 23 June 2018 for 12 weeks during redevelopment as part of a £2.4 million project to make it suitable for new electric trains. The redevelopment included work to the platforms in order to make them compliant in both height and length for the new services as well as ensuring ramped access to both platforms and to station facilities such as waiting shelters, CCTV, etc... The footbridge was removed at this time with access gained from the upgraded road overbridge. ^{[12] [13]}

References

Notes

1. Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
2. Butt (1995), page 43
3. "Station usage 2013-14 data | Office of Rail and Road". 4 December 2014.
4. "Least used railway station Redcar British Steel gets visitor boost". BBC News. 14 January 2020.
5. "View: Linlithgowshire Sheet XII.SW (includes: West Calder; Whitburn) - Ordnance Survey Six-inch 2nd and later editions, Scotland, 1892-1960". maps.NLS.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
6. Butt (1995), page 149
7. Table 224 National Rail timetable, May 2016
8. "Revealed: Britain's busiest and quietest stations". BBC News . 15 December 2015.
9. "Network Rail - resource not found" (PDF). www.NetworkRail.co.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
10. "Breich station: proposed closure – public consultation – Network Rail". www.NetworkRail.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
11. "Station with three passengers faces closure". BBC News. BBC. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
12. "Breich Station closure is platform for £2.4m redevelopment". Network Rail Media Centre.
13. "UK railway news round-up". Railway Gazette.

Sources

• Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN   978-0-9549866-9-8.
• Butt, R. V. J. (October 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   978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC   60251199. OL   11956311M.
• 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   978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC   22311137.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN   978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC   228266687.
• Yonge, John (May 1987). Gerald Jacobs (ed.). British Rail Track Diagrams - Book 1: ScotRail (1st ed.). Exeter: Quail Map Company. ISBN   0-9006-0948-6.
• Yonge, John (February 1993). Gerald Jacobs (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams - 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 Diagrams - 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 Diagrams - 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.

External links

• Commentary and video on Breich and Longridge Railway Stations