General information | |
---|---|
Location | Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire Scotland |
Coordinates | 55°51′14″N4°01′08″W / 55.8539°N 4.0188°W Coordinates: 55°51′14″N4°01′08″W / 55.8539°N 4.0188°W |
Managed by | ScotRail |
Transit authority | SPT |
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Station code | WFF |
Key dates | |
21 December 1992 | Opened by British Rail |
Passengers | |
2017/18 | 0.301 million |
Interchange | 10,957 |
2018/19 | 0.258 million |
Interchange | 8,128 |
2019/20 | 0.264 million |
Interchange | 6,474 |
2020/21 | 31,516 |
Interchange | 498 |
2021/22 | 0.124 million |
Interchange | 2,817 |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Whifflet railway station is located in the Whifflet area of Coatbridge. Train services are provided by ScotRail. Until December 2014,it was the terminal station on the Whifflet Line,since when it is served by Argyle Line services.
To the east of the station is the link line from the North Clyde Line at Sunnyside Junction. There are no platforms on this line,but it is used by empty EMUs laying over between trips from Glasgow.
The station here became the terminus for the former Rutherglen and Coatbridge Railway route from Glasgow Central when that route reopened to passenger traffic on 4 October 1993. The station on this site is completely new - services originally operated from Glasgow Central High Level to Coatbridge Central over the R&CR route up until their demise (due to the Beeching Axe) on 7 November 1966. [1]
Whifflet had no fewer than three other stations serving it in the past,along with a complex network of routes operated by several different pre-grouping companies (including the Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway and Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway). All of them - the ex-M&KR/NBR depot on the line from Sunnyside Junction (which was sited a short distance east of the current station) and the Caledonian Railway's bi-level Whifflet Upper and Lower stations (located north of Whifflet North Junction where the two lines crossed) had been shut down by the mid-1960s - the North British station was closed in November 1962,whilst both CR ones closed on 5 October 1964 (though the Upper station had been a terminus since 1943). [2]
When the line from Rutherglen was reopened,using Coatbridge Central as the eastern terminus was ruled out on operational and safety grounds. Trains on the new line would have had to use the single track connection from Langloan West Junction to reach Coatbridge and the use of single lead junctions for new services was discouraged at the time following two recent fatal accidents in the area (at Bellgrove and Newton) involving such layouts. Re-doubling this stretch of line wasn't considered to be economically justifiable,so a route using the double line curve to Whifflet North was chosen,with the station acting as the new terminus for the route in addition to serving the local area.
It has also been a stop on the Motherwell to Cumbernauld Line since the route began operating in 1996 and is now served by Argyle Line electric trains between Motherwell and Cumbernauld via Coatbridge Central,the line through here having been wired in 1981 to provide access to the container terminal at Gartsherrie for electrically hauled freight trains (and subsequently extended north through to Cumbernauld in May 2014 as part of the Cumbernauld Line electrification scheme).
The line to Glasgow was also electrified in 2014. Originally due to be completed prior to the Commonwealth Games being held in the city,it was not commissioned until the December 2014 timetable change. [3] This is still four years earlier than originally planned and has seen the route incorporated into the Argyle Line and freed up the DMUs in use previously for redeployment elsewhere.
Open access operator Grand Union Trains plans to use the station on a Stirling to London Euston service to begin in 2025. [4]
The typical off-peak service between 2006 and 2014,prior to services being fully absorbed into the Argyle Line timetable,was:
In addition to the services above,the station is served by Argyle Line trains running through to Cumbernauld in the morning and early evening peak hours operated by Class 318 or Class 334. [7]
There was also a service from Glasgow Central through Whifflet on to Shotts on the four Sundays before Christmas 2013.
The typical off-peak service every hourly since December 2014 consists of three northbound and three southbound trains:
From 14 December 2014 the station is also served on Sundays regularly for the first time by an hourly service between Balloch and Motherwell. [8]
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Coatbridge Central or Kirkwood | ScotRail Argyle Line | Motherwell or Terminus | ||
Historical railways | ||||
connection to Wishaw and Coltness Railway | Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway Caledonian Railway Main Line | Coatbridge Central | ||
Mossend | Wishaw and Coltness Railway Caledonian Railway Main Line | connection to Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway | ||
Terminus | Rutherglen and Coatbridge Railway Caledonian Railway | Langloan |
The Argyle Line is a suburban railway located in West Central Scotland. The line serves the commercial and shopping districts of Glasgow's central area,and connects towns from West Dunbartonshire to South Lanarkshire. Named for Glasgow's Argyle Street,the line uses the earlier cut-and-cover tunnel running beneath that thoroughfare.
The Whifflet Line is one of the lines within the Strathclyde suburban rail network in Scotland.
The Motherwell–Cumbernauld line is a suburban railway line linking Motherwell and Cumbernauld in Scotland. It is part of the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport network.
Dalmuir railway station is a railway station serving the Dalmuir area of Clydebank,West Dunbartonshire,Scotland. It is a large,five-platform interchange between the Argyle Line,North Clyde Line and West Highland Line.
Clydebank railway station is a railway station serving the town of Clydebank in West Dunbartonshire,Scotland. It is located on the Argyle Line and the North Clyde Line. Passenger services are operated by ScotRail.
Yoker railway station serves the district of Yoker,Scotland.
Argyle Street railway station is a station in the City Centre of Glasgow,Scotland,on the Argyle Line,which connects the North Clyde lines at Partick with Rutherglen in the south-east of the city. The station is located below the thoroughfare whose name it bears. It has a narrow and often crowded island platform. It serves the Argyle Street shopping precinct as well as the St Enoch Centre. Along with Dalmarnock and Anderston,no services call at this station on a Sunday before 10am or after 6pm.
Blantyre railway station serves the burgh of Blantyre,near Hamilton in South Lanarkshire,Scotland. It is located on the Argyle Line,14 km south east of Glasgow Central railway station. Passenger services are provided by ScotRail Trains on behalf of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport.
Motherwell railway station serves Motherwell in North Lanarkshire,Scotland. It lies on the West Coast Main Line (WCML),and is served also by Argyle Line trains of the Glasgow suburban railway network. It is the penultimate stop on the northbound WCML before Glasgow. There are four platforms of various length in use at Motherwell. The station is located next to the town's main shopping arcade,Motherwell Shopping Centre.
Newton railway station is a railway station located between the neighbourhoods of Drumsagard,Halfway,Newton and Westburn in the town of Cambuslang,Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail on the Argyle and Cathcart Circle Lines.
Carmyle railway station is located in the Carmyle area of Glasgow. It is on the Whifflet Line,5.5 miles (8.9 km) east of Glasgow Central railway station. Train services are provided by ScotRail Trains.
Mount Vernon railway station is a railway station located in the Mount Vernon area of Glasgow,Scotland. It is on the Whifflet Line,6+3⁄4 miles (10.9 km) east of Glasgow Central. Train services are provided by ScotRail.
Bargeddie railway station is located in the village of Bargeddie,North Lanarkshire,Scotland,situated between the city of Glasgow and the town of Coatbridge. It opened in 1993 under British Rail and SPTE,and is on the site of an earlier station called 'Drumpark'. It is on the Whifflet Line,9¼ miles (15 km) east of Glasgow Central railway station. Train services are provided by ScotRail.
Kirkwood railway station is located in the Kirkwood area of Coatbridge,Scotland. It is on the Whifflet Line,10 miles (16 km) east of Glasgow Central railway station. Train services are provided by ScotRail. The station was opened by British Rail in 1993,and is virtually on the site of the old Woodside Steel and Iron Works. It is located some 250m west of the previous Langloan station,which was opened by the Rutherglen and Coatbridge Railway in August 1866 and closed when passenger trains over the line were withdrawn on 7 November 1966.
Coatbridge Central railway station is a station in Coatbridge,North Lanarkshire,Scotland. It is on the Argyle Line. Train services are provided by ScotRail.
Hyndland railway station serves Hyndland in Glasgow,Scotland. The station is 3+1⁄4 miles (5.2 km) west of Glasgow Central and 2+3⁄4 miles (4.4 km) west of Glasgow Queen Street on the Argyle and North Clyde Lines. It is managed by ScotRail.
Bridgeton railway station serves the Bridgeton district of Glasgow,Scotland and is a station on the Argyle Line,1+3⁄4 miles (2.8 km) south east of Glasgow Central. The station is operated by ScotRail who also provide all train services.
Garscadden railway station serves Garscadden in Glasgow,Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and lies on the Argyle Line.
Cumbernauld railway station serves the town of Cumbernauld,Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is located on the Cumbernauld Line,14 miles (23 km) north east of Glasgow Queen Street station and the Motherwell to Cumbernauld Line,11+3⁄4 miles (18.9 km) north of Motherwell. Trains serving the station are operated by ScotRail.
The Rutherglen and Coatbridge Railway was a railway line in Scotland built by the Caledonian Railway to shorten the route from the Coatbridge area to Glasgow. It opened in 1865. It was later extended to Airdrie in 1886,competing with the rival North British Railway. Soon after a further extension was built from Airdrie to Calderbank and Newhouse.