Helensburgh Central railway station

Helensburgh Central railway station (Scottish Gaelic: Baile Eilidh Meadhain) serves the town of Helensburgh on the north shore of the Firth of Clyde, near Glasgow, Scotland. The station is a terminus on the North Clyde Line, sited 24 miles 31 chains (39.2 km) from Glasgow Queen Street (High Level), measured via Singer and Maryhill.^[5] Passenger services are operated by ScotRail on behalf of Strathclyde Partnership for Transport.

Helensburgh Central Scottish Gaelic: Baile Eilidh Meadhain[1]
The station seen in 2013
General information
Location	Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute Scotland
Coordinates	56.0038°N 4.7315°W / 56.0038; -4.7315
Grid reference	NS297823
Managed by	ScotRail
Transit authority	SPT
Platforms	3
Other information
Station code	HLC[2]
Fare zone	D4
History
Original company	Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway
Pre-grouping	North British Railway
Post-grouping	LNER
Key dates
31 May 1858[3]	Opened as Helensburgh
8 June 1953[3]	Renamed Helensburgh Central
Passengers
2018/19	0.753 million
2019/20	0.717 million
2020/21	81,510
2021/22	0.371 million
2022/23	0.500 million
Listed Building – Category B
Designated	21 March 2002
Reference no.	LB48538[4]
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

The station is Helensburgh's main railway station, the other being the much smaller Helensburgh Upper on the West Highland Line.

History

A Class 303 unit seen at the station in 1981

The station was opened on 31 May 1858 (as Helensburgh), as the terminus of the Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway.^[6] The GD&HR was taken over by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway company in 1862, which in turn was absorbed by the North British Railway three years later. It was given its current name on 8 June 1953,^[6] with electric operation beginning in November 1960 as part of the North Clyde modernisation scheme.^[7][8] The entire station building and platforms were rebuilt in 1897 to the design of James Carswell.^[9]

Facilities

Platforms 1 and 2 at the station

The station has a ticket office, a coffee shop, an accessible toilet, waiting rooms, bike racks, various benches, payphones, a help point and a cash machine, as well as an accessible car park. All areas of the station have step-free access, except the Princes Street East entrance to the ticket hall.^[10]

Passenger volume

Passenger Volume at Helensburgh Central^[11]

	2002–03	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
Entries and exits	854,599	889,194	948,417	928,813	894,588	1,164,870	1,139,534	1,179,284	1,210,632	1,192,148	826,406	843,343	810,965	765,322	773,722	753,118	716,864	81,510	370,770	499,674
Interchanges	–[nb 1]	180	57	49	45	90	8	25	37	36	31	264	181	168	308	238	48	19	43	45

The statistics cover twelve-month periods that start in April.

Services

On weekdays and Saturdays, there is typically a half-hourly service to Edinburgh Waverley, via Glasgow Queen Street low-level and Airdrie, which skips stations between Dalmuir and Hyndland. On Sundays, the service remains half-hourly, but trains serve all stations via Singer.^[12]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Craigendoran		ScotRail North Clyde Line		Terminus
	Historical railways
Craigendoran Line and Station open		Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway North British Railway		Terminus

Notes

1. No data available.

References

1. Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. "Gaelic/English Station Index". Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
2. "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
3. Quick 2022, p. 236.
4. "PRINCES STREET EAST, HELENSBURGH CENTRAL STATION INCLUDING PLATFORMS, CANOPIES, SCREEN WALLS AND GATES". Historic Scotland. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
5. Bridge, Mike, ed. (2017). TRACKatlas of Mainland Britain: A Comprehensive Geographic Atlas Showing the Rail Network of Great Britain (3rd ed.). Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. p. 83. ISBN 978-1909431-26-3.
6. Quick 2022, p. p=236.
7. DEM, David Shirres BSc CEng MIMechE (3 December 2012). "Paisley Canal electrification". Rail Engineer. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
8. "Cardross Railway Station from The Gazetteer for Scotland". www.scottish-places.info. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
9. "Dictionary of Scottish Architects - DSA Architect Biography Report (December 30, 2021, 7:45 pm)".
10. "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
11. "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
12. eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 206

Bibliography

• 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.
• 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.
• Quick, Michael (2022). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain: A Chronology (PDF) (5th ed.). London: Railway and Canal Historical Society.
• Yonge, John (May 1987). Gerald Jacobs (ed.). British Rail Track Diagrams - Book 1: ScotRail (1st ed.). Exeter: Quail Map Company. ISBN 0-9006-0948-6.
• Yonge, John (February 1993). Gerald Jacobs (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams - Book 1: Scotland and the Isle of Man (2nd ed.). Exeter: Quail Map Company. ISBN 0-9006-0995-8.
• Yonge, John (April 1996). Gerald Jacobs (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams - Book 1: Scotland and the Isle of Man (3rd ed.). Exeter: Quail Map Company. ISBN 1-8983-1919-7.
• Yonge, John (2007). Gerald Jacobs (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams - Book 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (Quail Track Plans) (fifth ed.). Bradford on Avon: Trackmaps (formerly Quail Map Co). ISBN 978-0-9549866-3-6. OCLC 79435248.

External links

• Train times and station information for Helensburgh Central railway station from National Rail
• Video footage of Helensburgh Central