Blackridge railway station

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For the railway station in Queensland, Australia, see Blackridge railway station, Queensland.

Blackridge

Scottish Gaelic: An Druim Dubh[1]
National Rail
Blackridge Station March 2011.jpg
Blackridge station, looking west towards Caldercruix
LocationBlackridge, West Lothian
Scotland
Coordinates55°53′04″N 3°45′01″W / 55.8844°N 3.7502°W / 55.8844; -3.7502Coordinates: 55°53′04″N 3°45′01″W / 55.8844°N 3.7502°W / 55.8844; -3.7502
Grid referenceNS895667
Managed byAbellio ScotRail
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeBKR
ClassificationDfT category F2
History
Original companyBathgate and Coatbridge Railway
Pre-groupingNorth British Railway
Post-groupingLNER
Key dates
11 August 1862Opened as Westcraigs[2]
9 January 1956Closed[2]
12 December 2010Reopened[3]
Passengers
2016/17Increase 56,894
2017/18Increase 58,030
2018/19Increase 59,780
2019/20Decrease 57,178
2020/21Decrease 6,522
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Blackridge railway station is a railway station on the North Clyde Line. It is serves the village of Blackridge, West Lothian, Scotland.

History[]

The original station in this locale was called Westcraigs built by the Bathgate and Coatbridge Railway. It was also the site of a junction with the Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness Railway. Opened on 11 August 1862,[2] in some timetables the station was called Westcraigs for Harthill.[2]

The station closed on 9 January 1956.

Reopening[]

Blackridge was originally excluded from the Airdrie–Bathgate rail link project, but after a three-year campaign by the local community, funding has been approved by the Scottish Government at a cost of £5 million. Private housing developer Manorlane agreed to fund 40% of the costs. However, it closed and the funding promise expired. West Lothian Council agreed to take on the burden and expects to recoup the cost from additional expansion in the area.[4] The station opened on 12 December 2010 on a new site, some 600 metres closer to Edinburgh than the previous Westcraigs station.[3]

Gallery[]

  • Platform 2 on the day of opening

  • Bilingual station sign

Services[]

The station has a basic half-hourly off-peak service Mondays to Sundays, westbound to Airdrie, Queen St Low Level and Milngavie and eastbound to Bathgate and Edinburgh Waverley. In the evenings and on Sundays the westbound terminus is Helensburgh Central rather than Milngavie.[5]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Armadale   Abellio ScotRail
North Clyde Line
   Caldercruix
  Historical railways  
Armadale
Line and station open 		  Bathgate and Coatbridge Railway
North British Railway
  
Line open; station closed

References[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
  2. ^ a b c d Butt (1995), p. 245
  3. ^ a b "New £300m Airdrie-Bathgate rail link re-opens". BBC News. 12 December 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2010.
  4. ^ "Blackridge station go-ahead". Modern Railways. Ian Allan Publishings. 65 (723). December 2008.
  5. ^ Table 226 National Rail timetable, May 2016

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. (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.
  • 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.
  • RAILSCOT on Bathgate and Coatbridge Railway
  • West Craigs station on navigable OS map
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