Wemyss Bay railway station

Wemyss Bay National Rail
Scottish Gaelic: Bàgh Wemyss[1]
Interior of the railway station
Location
Place Wemyss Bay
Local authority Inverclyde
Coordinates 55°52′37″N 4°53′21″W / 55.8769°N 4.8891°W / 55.8769; -4.8891Coordinates: 55°52′37″N 4°53′21″W / 55.8769°N 4.8891°W / 55.8769; -4.8891
Grid reference NS192685
Operations
Station code WMS
Managed by Abellio ScotRail
Number of platforms 2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2012/13 Increase 0.210 million
2013/14 Increase 0.213 million
2014/15 Increase 0.216 million
2015/16 Decrease 0.166 million
2016/17 Increase 0.201 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE SPT
History
Original company Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway
Pre-grouping Caledonian Railway
Post-grouping LMS
15 May 1865 Opened[2]
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Wemyss Bay from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Wemyss Bay railway station serves the village of Wemyss Bay, Inverclyde, Scotland. The station is a terminus on the Inverclyde Line, about 26 miles (42 km) west of Glasgow Central. The station incorporates the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry terminal connecting mainland Scotland to Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. The station is managed by Abellio ScotRail.

In Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations by Simon Jenkins, the station was one of only ten to be awarded five stars.[3]

History

Work began in late 1862 on the single track Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway branching from the main Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway at Port Glasgow and taking an inland route across to the coast at Inverkip before descending to Wemyss Bay. This was to connect to Clyde steamer services for Rothesay, Largs and Millport, Isle of Cumbrae, allowing a combined train and steamer journey time of an hour and a half, compared with a typical time of three hours by steamer from Glasgow. The Wemyss Bay Steamboat Company was formed to own the connecting steamers, competing with the private owners of other Clyde steamer services. The route opened on 15 May 1865, but over-ambitious timetables led to severe delays during the first year, damaging the company's reputation, and the route subsequently faced strong competition from other pierheads.

Train services were electrified in 1967 by British Rail, using the 25kV A.C system.

Station building

The station was designed by James Miller in 1903 for the Caledonian Railway and is remarkable in its use of glass and steel curves. The station is noted for its architectural qualities and, although one of Scotland's finest railway buildings and Category A listed, it has suffered from neglect. A major refurbishment scheme carried out jointly by Network Rail, Inverclyde Council and the Scottish Government from June 2014 to the spring of 2016 has seen the station buildings and adjacent ferry terminal fully restored.[4][5]

Two platforms are currently in use, though there were three available until 1987.[6]

Services

There is an hourly service daily to Paisley Gilmour Street and Glasgow Central (including Sundays), with one or two extra weekday peak trains.[7] The average journey time is 55 minutes.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Terminus   Abellio ScotRail
Inverclyde Line
   Inverkip
"boat icon" Ferry services
Rothesay   Caledonian MacBrayne
Bute Ferry		   Terminus
  Historical railways  
Terminus   Caledonian Railway
Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway
   Inverkip
Line and station open

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
  2. ↑ Butt (1995), page 244
  3. ↑ https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/review-britains-100-best-railway-stations-by-simon-jenkins-w5mjwgvf5
  4. ↑ "News - Friends of Wemyss Bay Station" Retrieved 2 September 2016
  5. ↑ "Station improvements for Wemyss Bay"Largs & Millport Weekly News article 27 June 2014; Retrieved 2 September 2016
  6. ↑ "Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway" Crawford, E Railscot; Retrieved 2 September 2016
  7. ↑ Table 219 National Rail timetable, May 2016

Sources

  • Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
  • 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 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
  • Clark, A.J.C. (2001). Caley to the Coast : Rothesay by Wemyss Bay (1st ed.). Usk: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-8536-1580-2. OCLC 48979972.
  • McCrorie, Ian (1986). Clyde Pleasure Steamers (1st ed.). Greenock: Orr, Pollock & Co. Ltd. ISBN 1-869850-00-9. OCLC 20596284.
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