Bathgate | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Location | Bathgate, West Lothian United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 55°53′56″N 3°37′48″W / 55.899°N 3.630°W |
| Managed by | First ScotRail |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Station code | BHG |
| History | |
| Original company | British Rail |
| Key dates | |
| 18 October 2010 | Relocated[1] |
| 24 March 1986 | Opened[2] |
Bathgate railway station serves the town of Bathgate in West Lothian, Scotland. The present station was opened on 18 October 2010, replacing a nearby station which opened in 1986. It is located close to the junction of the former Edinburgh and Bathgate Railway and the former Bathgate and Coatbridge Railway, 30 km (18½ miles) west of Edinburgh, and is currently the western terminus of the Edinburgh-Bathgate Line.
History
edit
Prior to 1986
editDuring the 19th and early 20th centuries, Bathgate was served by three different railway stations. The last of these, Bathgate (Upper), closed in 1956. Freight trains through Bathgate continued until 1982.
1986 to 2010
editThe line from Edinburgh to Bathgate was reopened in 1986,[2] and a new, single-platform station was constructed in Bathgate, adjacent to the former Bathgate goods yard. The yard was used to store and unload freight trains carrying new cars. This yard was located to the south of the present station. The goods yard - later the Bathgate car terminal - was moved slightly east in 1996 as the original site of the yard was occupied by various retail outlets.
Since 2010
editIn 2005, the Scottish Executive announced that the closed section of line between Drumgelloch and Bathgate would be rebuilt as a double-tracked, electrified railway. This scheme has been termed the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link, connecting the Edinburgh to Bathgate Line with the North Clyde Line at Drumgelloch, and opening up a fourth rail link between Glasgow and Edinburgh. The scheme required that Bathgate station be relocated 34 chains (around 700m, or a little under half a mile) to the east, as the location of the 1986 station was beyond the junction with the line to Drumgelloch and Glasgow.
The relocated station opened on 18 October 2010,[1] replacing the 1986 station, which closed at the end of the day's service on 16 October 2010. Rail replacement bus services were provided between Bathgate and Haymarket on Sunday 17 October 2010.[3] Services to Airdrie and Glasgow will commence in December 2010.[citation needed]
Services
editAt present, there is a half-hourly service between Bathgate and Edinburgh Monday to Saturdays, with an hourly service on Sundays. When the line between Airdrie and Bathgate opens in December 2010 a 15 minute service in each direction will operate, with westbound trains will continue to Glasgow.
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | First ScotRail |
Livingston North | ||
| From December 2010 | ||||
| Armadale | First ScotRail Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link |
Livingston North | ||
References
editNotes
edit- ^ a b "New Bathgate station opens its doors". Retrieved 16 October 2010.
- ^ a b Butt (1995), page 29
- ^ "Customer Information; Service Alterations; Edinburgh - Bathgate" (PDF). Retrieved 16 October 2010.
Sources
edit- 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.
- Airdrie - Bathgate Railway and Link Improvements Bill - Sheet 42
- RAILSCOT on Edinburgh and Bathgate Railway
- RAILSCOT on Bathgate and Coatbridge Railway
- RAILSCOT on Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Railway