Kirkcaldy railway station

Kirkcaldy Scottish Gaelic: Cair Chaladain[1]
The southbound platform
Location	Kirkcaldy, Fife Scotland
Coordinates	56°06′43″N 3°10′02″W / 56.1119°N 3.1671°W / 56.1119; -3.1671Coordinates: 56°06′43″N 3°10′02″W / 56.1119°N 3.1671°W / 56.1119; -3.1671
Grid reference	NT275916
Managed by	Abellio ScotRail
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	KDY
Key dates
20 June 1847	Opened
1964	Re-built
1991	South platform re-built
Passengers
2016/17	1.118 million
2017/18	1.113 million
2018/19	1.110 million
Interchange	19,728
2019/20	1.008 million
Interchange	20,044
2020/21	0.139 million
Interchange	2,787
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

The station, circa 1910, facing north. In the background is the Barry, Ostlere and Shepherd Caledonia Linoleum Works.

Kirkcaldy railway station is a railway station in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. The station is managed by Abellio ScotRail and is on the Fife Circle Line and principal East Coast Main Line, 26 miles (42 km) north east of Edinburgh Waverley. British Transport Police maintain a small office on Platform 1.

The station is located on Station Road,^[2] with an entrance on Whyte Melville Road. There are car parks on either side with an extension on the Whyte Melville Road side for Edinburgh commuter traffic.^[3] The station building is situated on the Edinburgh platform. In the building is a ticket office (at street level), toilets, public phone, photo booth and shop.^[4]

Platforms are adjoined by a connecting subway and a flight of stairs. Two lifts have recently been installed for north and south platform access.

There are waiting rooms on both platforms and CCTV is in operation. Train running information is provided via CIS displays, automatic announcements and customer help points.

There are three main railway station bus stops located on Bennochy Road (off Station Road) with access to the car park. A further two bus stops are located on Whyte Melville Road, one of which is adjacent to the entrance and the other opposite University of Dundee Nursing Kirkcaldy Campus.^[2]

History[]

A proposal to bring two railway lines to the town had been suggested as far back as 1836, but neither plan succeeded. This led for pressure to support a new line from Burntisland to Newport-on-Tay and Tayport via Kinghorn, Kirkcaldy, Markinch and Cupar in 1840. However, it was three years before Parliament even acknowledged this essential plan. A unanimous decision was passed in favour by both the House of Lords and Commons.^[5] Kirkcaldy railway station, along with now defunct stations in Sinclairtown and Dysart, finally opened on 20 June 1847^[5][6] as part of the Edinburgh and Northern Railway, which terminated at Cupar. Train services were later taken over by the North British Railway, which was absorbed by the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923. The nationalised British Railways took over in 1948.

Originally, only the south platform was covered, until a re-fit of the station was undertaken towards the end of the 19th century.^[5] In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the station was surrounded by various Linoleum works, which had sidings allowing the product to be shipped via the main line.^[7]

The station buildings survived intact until they were re-built in 1964, probably as part of the controversial town centre redevelopment plan. A fire in the late 1980s led to the destruction of the south platform. A new south platform had to be built again from scratch, and this was officially re-opened again to the public in 1991.^[8]

Services[]

A northbound service calls at Kirkcaldy

The "Boy in the Train" by Mary Campbell Smith (1869-1960) is a well known poem about Kirkcaldy, featuring arrival at Kirkcaldy Train Station and the smell of the linoleum factories nearby. It is now mounted above the stairs to platform 1 in Kirkcaldy Train Station.

Southbound[]

• 4 trains per hour to Edinburgh Waverley
• 2 trains per hour express service. Calling only at Inverkeithing, Edinburgh Gateway and Haymarket. Journey time: 35–40 minutes.
• 2 trains per hour all stations stopping service. Journey time: 40–50 minutes. Four weekday evening peak trains continue through to Tweedbank.
• One a.m peak hour service runs to Glasgow Queen Street (Mondays - Fridays) via Dalmeny, Winchburgh Junction and Falkirk Grahamston.
• 3 trains per day to London King's Cross and stations via the East Coast Main Line, plus a fourth that runs as far as Leeds. Two CrossCountry services to Birmingham New Street & Plymouth via (Sheffield) also call. One runs all the way to Penzance.
• 1 train per day (except Saturdays) to London Euston (Caledonian Sleeper).

On Sundays, there are two semi-fast trains per hour to Edinburgh and one all-stations local service.

Northbound[]

• 1 train per hour to Edinburgh via Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline & Inverkeithing. Journey time: 1 hour 15 minutes (does not operate in the evening).^[9]
• 2 trains per hour to Glenrothes with Thornton (not evenings)
• 1 train per hour to Perth
• 1 train per hour to Arbroath
• 8 services per day to Aberdeen, and 5 north to Inverness via Perth. ScotRail Edinburgh to Aberdeen services do not usually stop at Kirkcaldy (except during the a.m peak and in the late evening). 4 London North Eastern Railway & 2 CrossCountry services call during the daytime (one to Aberdeen, the other to Dundee).^[10] The Caledonian Sleeper also calls, but only to set down.

On Sundays, there are hourly services to Dundee and northbound along the Fife Circle, plus two-hourly services to Aberdeen & Perth (limited service through to Inverness).

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Inverkeithing		CrossCountry Cross Country Network		Markinch
Inverkeithing		Abellio ScotRail Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line		Markinch
Kinghorn		Abellio ScotRail Fife Circle Line		Markinch
Glenrothes with Thornton		Abellio ScotRail Fife Circle Line
Inverkeithing		Caledonian Sleeper Highland Caledonian Sleeper		Leuchars
Inverkeithing		London North Eastern Railway Northern Lights (London – Aberdeen)		Leuchars

References[]

Notes[]

Sources[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kirkcaldy railway station.

• 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.
• (1998). Old Dysart and East Kirkcaldy. Ochiltree: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 1-8403-3051-1. OCLC 40397429.

• (1998). Old Kirkcaldy: Central, North & West. Ochiltree: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 1-8403-3052-X. OCLC 40801270.

• 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.
• (2000). Kirkcaldy walkabouts (6th ed.). Kirkcaldy: Kirkcaldy Civic Society. ISBN 0-9462-9419-4. OCLC 46810257.

• Yonge, John (May 1987). Gerald Jacobs (ed.). British Rail Track Diagams - Book 1: ScotRail (1st ed.). Exeter: Quail Map Company. ISBN 0-9006-0948-6.
• Yonge, John (February 1993). Gerald Jacobs (ed.). Railway Track Diagams - 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 Diagams - 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 Diagams - 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.
• Station information from Fife Council