Dumbarton Central railway station serves the town of Dumbarton in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. This station is on the West Highland Line and the North Clyde Line, 15+3⁄4 miles (25.3 km) northwest of Glasgow Queen Street.
 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 View of Dumbarton Central station, looking east | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire Scotland | ||||
| Coordinates | 55°56′47″N 4°34′02″W / 55.9465°N 4.5673°W | ||||
| Grid reference | NS397755 | ||||
| Owned by | Network Rail | ||||
| Managed by | ScotRail | ||||
| Transit authority | SPT | ||||
| Platforms | 3 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | DBC | ||||
| Fare zone | D2 | ||||
| History | |||||
| Original company | Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway & Caledonian and Dunbartonshire Junction Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | Caledonian Railway & North British Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | LMS & LNER | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 15 July 1850 | Opened | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2018/19 |  0.756 million | ||||
| Interchange |  0.125 million | ||||
| 2019/20 | 0.718 million | ||||
| Interchange | 0.103 million | ||||
| 2020/21 | 75,242 | ||||
| Interchange | 8,003 | ||||
| 2021/22 | 0.310 million | ||||
| Interchange | 53,273 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 0.399 million | ||||
| Interchange | 50,889 | ||||
Listed Building – Category A | |||||
| Designated | 31 January 1984 | ||||
| Reference no. | LB24877[2] | ||||
| |||||
History
editThe station was opened on 15 July 1850 by the Caledonian and Dumbartonshire Junction Railway[citation needed] on their route from Balloch Pier to Bowling, where travellers could join steamships on the River Clyde to get to Glasgow. Connections with the Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway at Dalreoch Junction and at Bowling put the station on a through route between Glasgow Queen Street and Helensburgh Central by 1858. The company was subsequently absorbed by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in 1862 and eventually became part of the North British Railway three years later. However, in 1891, the North British was forced to come to an agreement with the rival Caledonian Railway to give the latter access to Balloch (and the Loch Lomond steamships) over C&DJR metals in order to prevent the building of a competing route by the Caledonian company - this resulted in the Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Railway arriving from Possil via Maryhill Central in 1896.[citation needed] Trains on the West Highland Railway also began serving the station following its completion on 1 August 1894 and these continue to call here to this day.
The station was built with two island platforms to permit convenient interchange between the various services that called, although only three faces remain in use (the former down loop on the southbound side having been removed). The Helensburgh and Balloch lines were electrified by British Railways as part of the 1960 North Clyde Line electrification scheme, but most of the L&DR route was closed (other than the short section through neighbouring Dumbarton East) when passenger services to Possil via Dalmuir Riverside were withdrawn on 5 October 1964 as a result of the Beeching Axe. As of 2022, the loop platform on the south side of the station receives no regular services.[3]
Building
editIt is a category A listed building under the Town and Country Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.[4]
Passenger Volume
edit| 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entries and exits | 718,088 | 75,242 | 309,658 |
| Interchanges | 102,905 | 8,003 | 53,273 |
The statistics cover twelve-month periods that start in April.
Services
editNorth Clyde Line / Argyle Line
editMondays-Saturdays, six trains per hour go southeastbound to Glasgow Queen Street and beyond. 2tph are limited stop to Edinburgh, 2tph run to Springburn & Cumbernauld via Yoker and 2tph via Singer to Airdrie. Sunday services are via Singer to Edinburgh Waverley and via Yoker, alternating between Motherwell via Whifflet and Larkhall. Northwestbound services run twice-hourly each to Balloch and Helensburgh Central (the other 2tph terminate here).[6]
West Highland Line
editServices to/from Glasgow Queen Street towards Oban (6 trains per day weekdays, 3 on Sundays) and to Fort William and Mallaig (3 per day weekdays, 1 or 2 on Sundays depending on the time of year) call here.[7]
The Highland Sleeper service also calls in each direction daily (except Saturday nights southbound and Sunday mornings northbound), giving the station a direct link to/from London Euston via Edinburgh, Crewe and the West Coast Main Line.
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dalmuir | ScotRail West Highland Line |
Helensburgh Upper | ||
| Dalmuir | Caledonian Sleeper Highland Caledonian Sleeper |
Helensburgh Upper | ||
| Dumbarton East | ScotRail North Clyde Line |
Dalreoch | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Dumbarton East Line and Station open |
Caledonian Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway |
Terminus | ||
| Bowling Line closed; Station open |
Caledonian & North British Railway Caledonian and Dunbartonshire Junction Railway |
Dalreoch Line and Station open | ||
References
editNotes
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "CHURCH STREET, DUMBARTON CENTRAL STATION (LB24877)". Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- ^ "UT Tracker". UT Tracker. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
- ^ "List Buildings in West Dunbartonshire". Retrieved 10 February 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
- ^ GB eNRT 2016 Edition, Table 226 (Network Rail)
- ^ GB eNRT 2015-16 Edition, Table 227 (Network Rail)
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.
