Kilmarnock railway station

Kilmarnock Scottish Gaelic: Cill Mheàrnaig
Main entrance to the station from John Finnie Street (2016)
General information
Location	Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire Scotland
Coordinates	55.6124°N 4.4992°W / 55.6124; -4.4992
Grid reference	NS427382
Manager	ScotRail
Transit authority	SPT
Platforms	4
Other information
Station code	KMK
History
Original company	Kilmarnock and Troon Railway & Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway
Pre-grouping	Glasgow and South Western Railway
Post-grouping	LMS
Key dates
6 July 1812	Original station opened by K&TR
4 April 1843	Original station closed and second station opened by GPK&AR
20 July 1846	Second station closed and current station opened by GPK&AR
Passengers
2020/21	78,842
Interchange	1,878
2021/22	0.317 million
Interchange	5,304
2022/23	0.355 million
Interchange	5,383
2023/24	0.413 million
Interchange	6,325
2024/25	0.467 million
Interchange	6,916
Listed Building – Category B
Designated	3 July 1980
Reference no.	LB35928
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Kilmarnock railway station (Scottish Gaelic: Stèisean rèile Chille Mheàrnaig) is a railway station in the town of Kilmarnock, the largest and administrative centre of East Ayrshire situated on the west coast of Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail, and is served by trains on the Glasgow South Western Line. It is located between Kilmaurs to the north, Troon to the south west, and Auchinleck to the south east, and is sited 33 miles 59 chains (54.3 km) from the former Glasgow Bridge Street station, measured via Dalry.

History

Local passenger and goods trains in 1957

The first station in Kilmarnock was opened by the Kilmarnock and Troon Railway on 6 July 1812, one of the earliest stations in Scotland. It was replaced by the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway on 4 April 1843. with the opening of their main line from Dalry.

The third and current station was opened on 20 July 1846 by the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway – this was connected to Ardrossan via Irvine two years later and to Carlisle via Dumfries & Gretna Junction in 1850. The current route to Glasgow (via Barrhead) – the Glasgow and Kilmarnock Joint Railway was completed in 1871 jointly by the G&SWR and Caledonian Railway.

Services on the Irvine branch and via the old main line to Dalry both fell victim to the Beeching Axe in the mid-1960s – the former closed to passengers on 6 April 1964 (and to all traffic in October 1965) and local trains on the latter were withdrawn on 18 April 1966. Services to the G&SWR terminus at Glasgow St Enoch also ended soon after (on 27 June), with services henceforth running to and from Glasgow Central. The old K&T line also lost its passenger service for several years (local trains ended on 3 March 1969), but these were subsequently reinstated in May 1975 when the boat trains from Stranraer to Carlisle were diverted from their former route via Annbank & Mauchline. The Dalry line remained in use for freight and occasional long-distance passenger trains until 23 October 1973, when it was closed to all traffic and subsequently dismantled.

Viaduct

Kilmarnock railway viaduct

Further information: Kilmarnock railway viaduct

Constructed from 1843 until 1850, the Kilmarnock railway viaduct is a bridge crossing the town centre of Kilmarnock. It is a most distinctive feature of the town centre with 23 masonry arches. It was built in the 1840s to enable the Glasgow – Kilmarnock line to continue to Carlisle. At present, the viaduct is currently lit by blue lights when it is dark, which makes it more of a noticeable feature in the town, as part of the Kilmarnock town centre regeneration programme. The programme carried out on the viaduct was considered a "success".

In April 2012, the bridge's safety was upgraded after a man was seriously injured after jumping 40 ft from the top of the railway viaduct.

Station clock

Outside of the railway station, a clock is operated by East Ayrshire Council and ScotRail. In 2011, the clock received a grant from the Railway Heritage Trust to undergo a regeneration scheme that began in late 2011 and was completed in March 2012.

Despite an expensive upgrade in 2008, it was announced in December 2022 following a full cabinet meeting of East Ayrshire Council that the station clock at the Kilmarnock railway station was to be removed and landscaped "with immediate affect" due to continuous technical difficulties preventing the clock and its LED lighting from working properly.

Facilities

The station is fully staffed seven days a week with a ticket office. A self-service ticket machine is also provided for use outside opening hours and for collecting pre-paid tickets. The Kilmarnock Station Railway Heritage Trust have turned the Station building into Kilmarnock Station Community Village, services include counselling services, a model shop and gaming centre, an Active Travel HUB, waiting room and public wi-fi access. Train information is offered via CIS displays, timetable posters, automated announcements and customer help points. Step-free access is available to all platforms.

Passenger volume

Passenger volume at Kilmarnock

	2004–05	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10	2010–11	2011–12	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2015–16	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19	2019–20	2020–21	2021–22	2022–23	2023–24	2024–25
Entries and exits	462,070	455,106	437,685	407,463	397,042	410,154	520,128	587,956	603,018	554,708	612,376	593,410	588,618	619,354	609,292	617,746	78,842	316,898	355,414	412,662	467,114
Interchanges	10,946	12,892	13,218	10,049	12,371	10,428	9,927	10,852	11,530	11,360	13,555	12,138	17,323	19,369	16,952	18,280	1,878	5,304	5,383	6,325	6,916

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

A Class 156 with a train from Glasgow to Carlisle

On weekdays and Saturdays northbound, there are 2 trains per hour to/from Glasgow Central for most of the day with journey times taking between 40 and 50 minutes depending the service taken. There are 9 trains per day south of Kilmarnock towards Dumfries and Carlisle, 6 trains go to Carlisle and 2 trains go to Dumfries. These operate every 2 hours with extras at peak times. Westbound, There is a 2 hourly service to Ayr with most of these continuing to Girvan while 1 per day terminates at Ayr while 2 per day continue to Stranraer. On Sundays, there is 1 train per hour to Glasgow calling at all stations except Crossmyloof. Southbound, There is a very limited service of just 2 trains per day to Dumfries and Carlisle. There is no service to Ayr, Girvan or Stranraer.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Troon		ScotRail Glasgow South Western Line		Auchinleck
Kilmaurs
	Historical railways
Connection with GPK&AR		Caledonian and Glasgow & South Western Railways Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway		Kilmaurs Line and station open
Hurlford Line open; station closed		Glasgow and South Western Railway Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway		Crosshouse Line and station closed
Gatehead Line open; station closed		Glasgow and South Western Railway Kilmarnock and Troon Railway		Connection with GPK&AR

Further links

• 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. (October 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. OL 11956311M.
• Caton, Peter (2018). Remote Stations. Leicestershire: Matador. ISBN 978-1-78901-408-2.
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.

External links

• Train times and station information for Kilmarnock railway station from National Rail
• YouTube video of Kilmarnock Junction, Station and Wabtec Rail works