Lockerbie railway station

Lockerbie
Scottish Gaelic: Locarbaidh
265px The exterior of Lockerbie station
Location
Place	Lockerbie
Local authority	Dumfries and Galloway
Coordinates
Grid reference	NY137817
Operations
Station code	LOC
Managed by	Abellio ScotRail
Number of platforms	2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	71,736
2005/06	82,575
2006/07	99,145
2007/08	112,789
2008/09	133,720
2009/10	140,250
2010/11	161,304
2011/12	166,926
2012/13	173,882
2013/14	179,288
History
Original company	Caledonian Railway
Pre-grouping	Caledonian Railway
Post-grouping	LMS
10 September 1847	Opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Lockerbie from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Lockerbie railway station lies on the West Coast Main Line between Carlisle and Carstairs in Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.

History

The station was opened along with the first section of the Caledonian Railway's main line from Carlisle in September 1847. The line initially terminated at Beattock, but was completed through to Glasgow & Edinburgh early the following year. A branch line from here to Dumfries via Lochmaben was completed in September 1863 - this was constructed by the independent Dumfries, Lochmaben & Lockerbie Railway, but was absorbed by the Caledonian company two years later. Though this route allowed the Caledonian company to reach Dumfries and thus compete with the rival Glasgow and South Western Railway, it never developed beyond country branch status and was closed to passenger services by the British Transport Commission in May 1952. Goods traffic continued until 1966, when the line fell victim to the Beeching Axe. Except Lockerbie all other local stations on the main line between Carlisle and Carstairs closed during the 1960s. The first electrically-operated passenger services operated by British Rail in May 1974 when the West Coast Main Line electrification project between Crewe & Glasgow was completed.

1883 crash

On 4 May 1883, an accident occurred when the branch service from Stranraer via the Dumfries, Lochmaben and Lockerbie Railway passed a signal and entered the station at 11.25pm. It collided at low speed, with a goods train already on the nouthbound line. This collision, though minor, forced carriages from the goods train onto the southbound line and into the path of the speeding Glasgow Express which smashed into the wreckage and derailed onto the station platform. Seven people were killed, including the driver and fireman of the express. The guard from the express ran down the line to warn another approaching train of the accident and prevented a further collision. There were 300 injuries. The driver of the first train, the Lockerbie station master and the local inspection regime were all criticised for their actions in the subsequent report on the crash.

Services and current operations

A Virgin Pendolino accelerates with a Glasgow Central - London Euston service

Lockerbie station is managed by Abellio ScotRail although the company does not provide any services to or from the station. Lockerbie is the only railway station in Scotland that is not served by Abellio ScotRail. All services are provided by Virgin Trains and First TransPennine Express.

First TransPennine Express

First TransPennine Express provides most services, operating a mostly hourly service to Manchester Airport and an hourly service operates northbound changing between Glasgow and Edinburgh depending on the hour. Some TransPennine Express services do not stop here which can result in two hour gaps on one side.

Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains provide 6 daily services. There are 3 trains per day to Glasgow Central, 1 to Birmingham New Street, 1 to London Euston and 1 to Crewe. On Sundays, there are 2 trains per day to Glasgow, 1 to London and 1 to Crewe.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Carlisle		Virgin Trains London / Birmingham - Glasgow		Motherwell
		Virgin Trains London / Birmingham - Edinburgh		Haymarket
Carlisle		First TransPennine Express Preston-Glasgow		Carstairs or Motherwell or Glasgow Central
Carlisle		First TransPennine Express Manchester/Lancaster-Glasgow		Motherwell or Glasgow Central
		First TransPennine Express Manchester/Lancaster/Preston-Edinburgh		Haymarket
	Historical railways
Ecclefechan		Caledonian Railway Main Line		Nethercleugh
Terminus		Caledonian Railway Dumfries, Lochmaben and Lockerbie Railway		Lochmaben

References

Sources

• RAILSCOT on Caledonian Railway
• Lockerbie railway station on navigable OS map