Inverclyde Line

A railway line in West Central Scotland, the Inverclyde Line runs from Glasgow Central Station through Renfrewshire and along the southern shore of the River Clyde, with branches terminating in Gourock and Wemyss Bay. The first section of the line opened in 1840 as the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway which operated the line between Glasgow Central Station and Paisley Gilmour Street. This was extended by the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway in 1841, which connected with steamers sailing to resorts such as Rothesay and Dunoon. A further line, the Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway, followed in 1865. Competition developed when the Glasgow and South Western Railway Company opened its station at Princes Pier in Greenock four years later. Services having previously been hauled by steam and then diesel engines, the line was electrified in 1967. The section between Glasgow Central and Paisley Gilmour Street was expanded and resignalled as part of the £170-million Paisley Corridor Improvement Project in 2011-12 to permit additional non-stop services between Glasgow and Paisley and increased freight capacity.

The entire Inverclyde Line extends to 36.2 miles (58.2 km), comprising the Glasgow Central to Paisley section (7.2 miles / 11.5 km), the Paisley to Wemyss Bay Junction section (13.6 miles / 21.9 km), the Gourock Branch (5.3 miles / 8.6 km) and the Wemyss Bay Branch (10 miles / 16.2 km). The line includes several tunnels; notably the Bishopton Tunnels, a pair of tunnels together extending to 603m / 1980 feet with a 91m (300 feet) gap between; the Newton Street Tunnel, which is Scotland's longest at 1930m / 6333 feet; and the 260m / 853 foot Wellpark Tunnel.

Following Glasgow Central, there are 21 stations; namely Cardonald, Hillington East, Hillington West, Paisley Gilmour Street, Paisley St. James, Bishopton, Langbank, Woodhall, Port Glasgow, Bogston, Cartsdyke, Greenock Central, Greenock West, Fort Matilda and Gourock Railway Station on the Gourock Branch, with Whinhill, Drumfrochar, Branchton, IBM, Inverkip and Wemyss Bay Railway Station and Ferry Terminal on the Wemyss Bay Branch.


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