Lanark railway station

Lanark railway station is in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is managed by Abellio ScotRail and is the southern terminus of the Argyle Line.

Lanark

Scottish Gaelic: Lannraig[1]
Platform 2 at Lanark railway station, looking towards the ticket office
LocationLanark, South Lanarkshire
Scotland
Coordinates55.6735°N 3.7723°W / 55.6735; -3.7723
Grid referenceNS886436
Managed byAbellio ScotRail
Transit authorityStrathclyde Partnership for Transport
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeLNK
Fare zoneL3
History
Original companyLanark Railway
Pre-groupingCaledonian Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1 April 1864Station opened
Passengers
2015/16 0.306 million
2016/17 0.328 million
2017/18 0.304 million
2018/19 0.292 million
2019/20 0.280 million
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

The station is located on Bannatyne Street, Lanark. The station is staffed part-time (open Monday-Saturday 06:20 until 20:25) and has a car park with 31 spaces, including two disabled bays.[2]

History

Lanark station opened in 1855, as the terminus of a short branch line off the Caledonian Railway's West Coast Main Line. The branch had a triangular junction with the main line to allow trains from Lanark to head west towards Carluke or east to Carstairs. The eastern curve closed in the 1960s.There was another triangular junction closer to Lanark station itself. This is just north of the golf course and the embankments are still clearly visible (summer 2017) these were the two curves leading from the Lanark branch towards Muirkirk and Ayrshire and Lanark racecourse halt of course. <viewed personally at that time J Brownlee>

In 1864, a line south from Lanark to Douglas was opened, and in 1874 it was extended to Muirkirk in Ayrshire, where it formed an end-on junction with the Glasgow and South Western Railway. That line closed in 1964.

In 1974, the Lanark branch was included in the West Coast Main Line "Electric Scots" electrification project by British Rail.

Current services

There is a half hourly Abellio ScotRail to Glasgow Central High Level via Shieldmuir, Motherwell and Bellshill.[3] On Sundays this service runs hourly.

Alternate services on this route formerly ran via Holytown and all trains continued via the Argyle Line to the north west suburbs of the city,[4] but following a recast of the timetable in the wake of the electrification of the Whifflet Line, these now run to/from High Level instead and run fast beyond Cambuslang.

There are no southbound or eastbound services, as the branch only has a northbound chord connecting it to the West Coast Main Line (WCML) at Lanark Junction. There have been calls for the southbound chord to be reconnected, to allow direct services from Lanark to Edinburgh,[5] although the route has subsequently been re-used for housing.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Terminus   Abellio ScotRail
Argyle Line
   Carluke
  Historical railways  
Carstairs   Caledonian Railway
Main Line
   Cleghorn
Terminus   Caledonian Railway
Branch to Douglas & G&SWR
   Sandilands

References
  1. Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. "Gaelic/English Station Index". Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
  2. "National Rail Enquiries - Station Facilities for Lanark". National Rail. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  3. GB National Rail Timetable 2015-16, Table 225 (Network Rail)
  4. GB NRT May 2014, Table 226
  5. Call for direct Lanark to Edinburgh rail link return Harris, Ron; Carluke Gazette article 7 April 2014

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