Carstairs Railway Station


(Caisteal Tarrais)

Carstairs Railway Station (known in Gaelic as Caisteal Tarrais) is situated on the West Coast Main Line in the village of Carstairs Junction, ¾ mile (1.2 km) east southeast of Carstairs, in South Lanarkshire. It also represents the southern terminus for commuter services on the Argyle Line and services between Edinburgh and Glasgow Central also stop here.

This station was opened by the Caledonian Railway Company in 1848. Most West Coast Main Line trains do not stop here, rather passing on a high-speed through line. Freight services stop here in additional northbound and southbound passing loops. It is preceded by Lockerbie Railway Station, 41 miles (66 km) to the south southeast, and followed by Carluke, 7½ miles (12 km) west northwest, although mainline trains through Carstairs do not stop until Motherwell, 14 miles (23 km) to the west northwest.

Now operated by ScotRail, Carstairs Railway Station is staffed part-time. It was used by only 11,098 passengers per annum in 2009-10 but additional services have seen passenger numbers increase to 95,862 in 2016-17.

The West Coast Main Line splits at Carstairs Junction to the south and a chord links the Glasgow Central and Edinburgh-bound branches, creating a triangular junction. The Main Line and Glasgow branch were electrified in 1974, while the Edinburgh branch had to wait until 1989, as part of the East Coast Main Line electrification scheme.


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