Glasgow to Edinburgh via Carstairs Line

The Glasgow to Edinburgh via Carstairs Line is a main railway line which connects the West Coast Main Line to the East Coast Main Line in the Central Belt of Scotland.

Along with the Shotts Line and the Falkirk Line, the line is one of three direct rail links between Edinburgh and Glasgow (and the only electrified link) and is frequently used by passenger and freight traffic. Passenger services are operated by First ScotRail, National Express East Coast (NXEC) and Virgin Trains with freight services operated by English, Welsh and Scottish Railways (EWS), Freightliner and Direct Rail Services (DRS).

History

This line was opened by the Caledonian Railway as part of a plan to link Glasgow and Edinburgh to the railways in England. The main line from England (now known as WCML, the West Coast Main Line) splits at Carstairs, with one branch going to Edinburgh and the other to Glasgow. The Glasgow to Edinburgh via Carstairs Line consists of those two branches joined by a short connecting spur at Carstairs. The Edinburgh portion opened for passengers on 15 February 1848; and the Glasgow section opened for passengers on 1 November 1849.

Princes Street was the Edinburgh terminus of the line until it was closed under the Beeching Axe in 1965, when the line was diverted to Edinburgh Waverley station. The Glasgow terminus was initially Buchanan Street railway station; however when Glasgow Central station opened on 31 July 1879, it became the terminus, and it has remained the Glasgow terminus ever since. The direct line from Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh Haymarket, via Falkirk, predates this line, having opened in February 1842; it was extended to Edinburgh Waverley in August 1846.

After the 1922 grouping, all the lines became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway company.

The Carstairs to Glasgow section was electrified by British Rail in 1974, during the electrification of the northern, Weaver Junction to Glasgow Central, section of the WCML. The Carstairs to Edinburgh section was not electrified until 1989, when the northern section of East Coast Main Line (ECML) electrification scheme was undertaken.

Route

Starting from Glasgow Central High Level station, the line is part of the West Coast Main Line to Motherwell where it continues to the town of Carstairs, South Lanarkshire. Here the line splits from the WCML and via Carstairs Junction it joins another branch from the Southern Section of the WCML through a tight curve with a permanent speed restriction of 20mph.

From Carstairs the line proceeds towards Scotland's capital. At Kirknewton, Lothian, the line joins up with the Shotts line and continues towards Haymarket station in western Edinburgh.

At Haymarket, the line joins the main Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh Waverley line with 4 tracks running through the two main tunnels into Edinburgh Waverley station. National Express East Cost services and some Virgin Trains services use the two straight through platforms at either side of the historical station, while First ScotRail services not working to North Berwick terminate at the several bay platforms on the west side of the station.

Services

The main services to use the route are East Coast Main Line, Cross Country and Scottish Regional Services.

ummer 2007

The most frequent user of the line was GNER which runs a service to and from Glasgow Central every 2 hours until 2000. However, due to engineering work at Edinburgh Waverley from late July until Novermber, only one return service per day used the line. Buses replaced trains from Motherwell station, and passengers were advised to travel from Glasgow Queen Street station.

Virgin Trains use the line to run services to England. Some services use the northern section of the West Coast Main Line to/from Glasgow Central but most trains are for destinations including London Euston, Bournemouth, Brighton, Bristol and Plymouth. Services into Edinburgh on the line are also mostly from these destinations.

First ScotRail operate services to/from North Berwick on the line. Only a few services continue from Edinburgh to Glasgow Central from the coastal town. A similar service operates from Glasgow Central to North Berwick.

Winter 2007/08

The users of the line are:

* NXEC which runs a service to and from Glasgow Central on an approximately two hour frequency.

* Virgin Trains use the line to run services to England (to London and Birmingham).

* Cross Country trains operate services from Glasgow to Edinburgh for destinations to the southcoast.

* First ScotRail operate services to/from North Berwick on the line. Only a few services continue from Edinburgh to Glasgow Central from the coastal town. A similar service operates from Glasgow Central to North Berwick.

ummer 2008

All First ScotRail services call at Haymarket, Carstairs and Motherwell on the route.

A few Virgin Trains services call at Carstairs, and most trains call at Haymarket and Motherwell (or their journeys to/from Edinburgh and Glasgow respectively).

All NXEC services call at Motherwell, with most now calling at Haymarket also, (the departure time for London bound services from Glasgow is now 10 minutes earlier than the 2007 timetable to allow for this extra call), previously passengers traveling from North Scotland would have to change at Edinburgh Waverley, often with tight connections.

Journey times on the route are usually around 1 hour.

Rolling stock

The route is electrified throughout using 25 kV overhead lines, and three of the passenger companies that use the route employ electric traction. Class 220 (non-tilting) and Class 221 (tilting) 'Voyager' diesel units are used on services to the Midlands and western and southern England.

* NXEC use British Rail Mark 4 rolling stock and Class 91 locomotives on their trains to and from Glasgow Central.

* First ScotRail use a dedicated fleet of 5 Class 322 EMUs on the line which are specifically for North Berwick services. A Class 318 EMU is used as a standby if a Class 322 is unavailable.

* Virgin Trains use Class 390 'Pendolino' EMUs on the route on services from London Euston and Class 221 'Super Voyager' DEMUs on their Edinburgh / Glasgow to Brimingham New Street services.

* CrossCountry use Class 220 'Voyager' and Class 221 'Super Voyager' DEMUs on their services that continue from Edinburgh Waverley to Glasgow Central.

Information

Carstairs station is also the home of one of Virgin's special 'Thunderbird' Class 57 Locomotives named after the "Thunderbirds" animation series and locomotives use characters from the series as their names. 'Thunderbirds' are use to haul broken down services for Virgin and are compatible with both the Pendolino and Voyager fleets.

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