Located on Station Road, to the northeast of the town centre, Dumfries Railway Station (signposted as Dùn Phris in Gaelic) lies on the line which connects Carlisle and Glasgow via Kilmarnock. The current building dates from 1859, replacing an earlier station of 1848 with only one platform. It was extended in 1885 to comprise a substantial range of picturesque red sandstone buildings, now all B-listed, with decorative cast-iron columns supporting a canopied roof. At its height, Dumfries was a important railway hub, connecting five separate lines but those to Castle Douglas and Stranraer, Lockerbie, and Moniaive had all closed by the 1960s. It is now preceded by Annan Railway Station, 15 miles (24 km) to the east southeast, and followed by Sanquhar Station, 24 miles (39 km) to the north northwest. Operated by ScotRail, Dumfries Station is staffed part-time and is used by 346,650 passengers per annum (2009-10).
The distinctive Station Hotel (dating from 1897) lies opposite. This was operated by the state-owned British Transport Hotels following the nationalisation of the railways in 1948, but sold off in 1982 and is now run by the Best Western Hotels Group.
