Glasgow South Western Line


The Glasgow South Western Line is a mainline railway in Scotland that runs from Glasgow to Kilmarnock, and then either via Dumfries, or Stranraer via Ayr, with a branch to East Kilbride.

History

The line was built by several railway companies during the 19th century:
The Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway and the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway amalgamated to form the Glasgow and South Western Railway in 1850.
The Glasgow, Barrhead and Neilston Direct Railway and Glasgow and Kilmarnock Joint Railway were amalgamated to form the Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway jointly operated by the Glasgow and South Western Railway and Caledonian Railway.
The lines forming the East Kilbride branch were operated by the Caledonian Railway.
Until 1923 the line via Dumfries was in competition with the North British Railway and Caledonian Railway as one of the mainlines into Scotland. With the passing of the Railways Act 1921 the line became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.
In 1948, with nationalisation the line became part of the Scottish Region of British Railways. During the Beeching Axe in the 1960s many of the railway's branch lines were closed, including the direct route between Dumfries and Stranraer, via Galloway on the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway and Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway, leaving the present 'Y' shaped railway. The former G&SWR terminus at was also closed in this period, with all services rerouted into.
During the electrification of the West Coast Main Line in the early 1970s by British Rail, the line was used as a major diversionary route whilst the Caledonian Railway's Annandale/Clydesdale route was closed, particularly during the weekends. Following completion of this project, the sections of line between Barrhead and Kilmarnock and Annan and Gretna were singled. Re-doubling of the Annan to Gretna section was completed in August 2008, controlled from Dumfries Station signal box.
The line is not electrified, with the exception of parts of the line around the approaches to Glasgow Central and the section of the line shared with the Ayrshire Coast Line.
In early 2009, work commenced to re-double the line between Lugton and Stewarton based on the 2008 plans published by Network Rail. Completed in September 2009, this allows ScotRail to run a half-hourly service to Kilmarnock. Right now the route is currently operated by British Rail Class 156 units.

Accidents and incidents

Trains serve the following stations.

Services

In the latter years of British Railways, operations were sectorised. All Scottish operations, including this line, became part of the Regional Railways operation - being branded as ScotRail.
Following privatisation, passenger services upon the line were taken over by ScotRail,, and are now operated by Abellio ScotRail with the track and signalling being operated by Network Rail. The Dumfries route remains one of only three railway lines between the Scottish border and lowland areas alongside the East Coast Main Line and West Coast Main Line. Along with the Settle-Carlisle Railway, the line is much used as both a diversionary route, especially during the recent West Coast Main Line modernisation, and for freight, notably coal from the several open cast coalmines of the Ayrshire Coalfield that adjoin the line.
Between and and the line is operated by the Scottish Train Operating Company - currently Abellio ScotRail. Electric train services are also provided between Glasgow and and via the Ayrshire Coast Line. Some services continue on from Carlisle to Newcastle, though the daily direct services between Newcastle and Stranraer via Kilmarnock that once ran over the route were withdrawn in December 2009. There are also a number of through services between Glasgow & Stranraer that run direct via Paisley & Kilwinning. From the December 2015 timetable change, new Scotrail franchisee Abiello has changed the timetable on the Stranraer line - the service frequency to/from Ayr has increased from six trains each way to eight on weekdays, but there are now no longer any direct trains to Glasgow via Paisley - all services now run via Kilmarnock.
In the 1970s, most of the intermediate stations between and were closed, leaving only, and. Since then, the stations at,, and have been reopened. There have been several studies recently as to the possibility of reopening Thornhill station, roughly halfway between and.
As of 2020, The line has many different service patterns depending on its lines, From Glasgow, There is 2 trains per hour to Kilmarnock, There is a regular hourly service between Dumfries and Carlisle on Monday to Saturdays, On Sundays, An hourly service operates to Kilmarnock however only 2 trains per day operate south to Dumfries and Carlisle, 5 trains per day also operate between Dumfries and Carlisle on Sundays on a roughly 2 hourly service for most of the day, There is 2 trains per hour between Glasgow and East Kilbride 7 days a week with extra trains during peak times. There is also a regular hourly service between Ayr and Girvan with 9 trains per day extending south to Stranraer with a 2 hourly service to/from Kilmarnock, On Sundays, 5 trains per day operate from Ayr to Stranraer however there is no service to/from Kilmarnock

Rail & Sea Connections

The Glasgow South Western Line links into the ferries at Stranraer via the bus connecting with Cairnryan for the Stena Line ferries to the Port of Belfast and the P&O Ferries to Larne Harbour. The Stena Line ships ran from Stranraer Harbour until 2011. A bus connection to Cairnryan is also now provided from.
Onward rail connections are provided by Northern Ireland Railways.

Former Ferries

The line also connected Troon to the P&O Ferries service to Larne Harbour.