Blackridge railway station

Blackridge

Scottish Gaelic: An Druim Dubh[1]
National Rail
Blackridge station, looking west towards Caldercruix
General information
LocationBlackridge, West Lothian
Scotland
Coordinates55°53′04″N 3°45′01″W / 55.8844°N 3.7502°W / 55.8844; -3.7502
Grid referenceNS895667
Managed byScotRail
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeBKR
ClassificationDfT category F2
Key dates
12 December 2010Opened[2]
Passengers
2019/20Decrease 57,178
2020/21Decrease 6,522
2021/22Increase 27,086
2022/23Increase 37,282
2023/24Increase 48,902
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Blackridge railway station is a railway station on the North Clyde Line. It serves the town of Blackridge in 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,[3] in some timetables the station was called Westcraigs for Harthill.[3] The station closed on 9 January 1956.

Opening

Platform 2 on the day of opening

Blackridge was originally excluded from the Airdrie–Bathgate rail link project, but after a three-year campaign by the local community, funding was 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.[2]

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   ScotRail
North Clyde Line
  Caldercruix

References

Notes

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

Sources