Kirknewton railway station

For the railway station in Northumberland, see Kirknewton (Northumberland) railway station.

Kirknewton
Class 156 diesel train at Kirknewton
Location
Place	Kirknewton
Local authority	West Lothian
Coordinates	55°53′20″N 3°25′59″W / 55.889°N 3.433°W / 55.889; -3.433Coordinates: 55°53′20″N 3°25′59″W / 55.889°N 3.433°W / 55.889; -3.433
Operations
Station code	KKN
Managed by	First ScotRail
Number of platforms	2
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage
2004/05 *	49,612
2005/06 *	49,917
2006/07 *	40,008
2007/08 *	40,236
2008/09 *	40,848
History
Pre-grouping	Caledonian Railway
Post-grouping	LMS
15 February 1848	Opened as Kirknewton
April 1848	Renamed Midcalder and Kirknewton
c. 1855	Renamed Midcalder
17 May 1982	Renamed Kirknewton
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Kirknewton from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Kirknewton railway station is a railway station serving Kirknewton in West Lothian, Scotland, Opened as Kirknewton in February 1848, the station was renamed Midcalder and Kirknewton after two months, before becoming Midcalder in 1855. The full circle was finally completed 127 years later in May 1982 when the name reverted to Kirknewton.^[1] This was to distinguish it from Kirknewton station near Mindrum on the NER Cornhill Branch.^[2]

It is located on the Shotts Line from Glasgow Central to Edinburgh Waverley via Shotts. It is managed by First ScotRail.

As there is no footbridge on the station (the footbridge was removed during electrification),^{[citation needed]} passengers wishing to cross the line must do so via the level crossing, which is one of the most incorrectly used in Scotland.^[3] There are plans to provide a new crossing (subway) which will remove the level crossing.^[4]

History

Kirknewton was the terminus of the Slateford–Balerno line. A bay platform can still be seen to the east of the Edinburgh bound platform. The trains ran alongside the Water of Leith for 65 years, the line finally being closed to passengers on 30 October 1943. Goods trains continued to run until the line was officially closed, aided by the closure of the Kinleith Mill in 1966, to all traffic on 4 December 1967.

Services

2006/07

The station was served Mondays to Saturdays, by an hourly First ScotRail service between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley. One train a day from Edinburgh terminates at Motherwell. There is a limited Sunday service at this station to Edinburgh and West Calder. Services calling at this station are normally formed of a Class 156 "Super Sprinter".

At this time, passing trains included a variety of Virgin Trains Class 220 "Voyager", Class 221 "Super Voyager", Class 390 "Pendolino" and GNER InterCity 225.

From November 2007

It is currently served, Mondays to Saturdays, by an hourly First ScotRail service between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley. There is a limited Sunday service at this station to Edinburgh and West Calder. There are also limited service between North Berwick and Glasgow Central. The staple passenger traction calling at this station is the Class 156 "Super Sprinter" although Class 158 "Express Sprinter" are sometimes seen and electric traction can be seen on the North Berwick services.

As this station is on the WCML (Edinburgh Branch), a variety of CrossCountry Class 220 "Voyager", First TransPennine Express Class 185 "Pennine", Virgin Trains Class 221 "Super Voyager", Virgin Trains Class 390 "Pendolino" and East Coast InterCity 225 (from 9 December 2007) can also be seen.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Curriehill		First ScotRail Shotts Line		Livingston South
Curriehill		First ScotRail North Berwick Line		Carstairs
	Historical railways
Connection at Midcalder Junction		Caledonian Railway Cleland and Midcalder Line		Newpark
Ravelrig		Caledonian Railway Main Line		Harburn

References

Notes

1. ^ Butt 1995, p. 159.
2. ^ Shaw, Donald (1989). The Balerno Branch and the caley in Edinburgh. Oakwood Library. p. 224. ISBN 978-0853613664. 
3. ^ "Safety plea at level crossing". BBC News. 2003-01-14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2654813.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-17. 
4. ^ "£6M PLAN WILL END CROSSING DANGER". 2007-08-31. http://icwestlothian.icnetwork.co.uk/courier/news/tm_headline=x00a3-6m-plan-will-end-crossing-danger&method=full&objectid=19716449&siteid=92284-name_page.html. Retrieved 2008-08-17. 

Sources

• 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 1-8526-0508-1. 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 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137.