Gourock railway station
Encyclopedia
Gourock railway station is a terminus of the Inverclyde Line
, located at Gourock
pierhead and serving the town as well as the ferry services it was originally built for. The Caledonian Railway
found that their service to Greenock Central station
, which was an inconvenient walk away from the quay, was losing Clyde steamer
trade to the new Glasgow and South Western Railway
terminal at Prince's Pier in Greenock. The Caley extended their line through a new tunnel to the small fishing village of Gourock, with the railway running on the seaward side of Shore Street to the terminal which opened on 1 June 1889 and subsequently based the headquarters of their steamer fleet there. The terminal is now the headquarters of Caledonian MacBrayne
who run a car ferry to Dunoon
from the pier, and it also serves Clyde Marine passenger ferries to Kilcreggan
and Helensburgh
using the Kenilworth
.
was slow to come to an agreement on relocating the station. The work involved in shortening the tracks would have involved considerable expense and meant closing the station for 18 months. The delay left the station looking rather neglected. Then, near the end of September 2006, new plans were announced following intervention by the transport minister Tavish Scott
. A considerable saving is to be made by not moving the station so far, so that the work involved is reduced and it will only have to be closed for four or five weeks. Only one supermarket is now proposed, with 580 houses being constructed in blocks facing out onto the Clyde.
It was subsequently announced that in the meantime the station is the be renovated at a cost of £630,000 to provide a new entrance, glass roof and toilets, and improved waiting facilities. David Simpson, route director for Network Rail in Scotland, advised that they needed to carry out essential work to make the station more comfortable for the 400,000 passengers using it every year, while continuing to "explore the longer-term options for the station with our industry partners".
As of June 2008, the new glazed roof has been partially completed.
Inverclyde Line
The Inverclyde Line is a railway line running from Glasgow Central station through Paisley and a series of stations to the south of the River Clyde and the Firth of Clyde, terminating at Gourock and Wemyss Bay, where it connects to Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services...
, located at Gourock
Gourock
Gourock is a town falling within the Inverclyde council area and formerly forming a burgh of the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It has in the past functioned as a seaside resort on the Firth of Clyde...
pierhead and serving the town as well as the ferry services it was originally built for. The Caledonian Railway
Caledonian Railway
The Caledonian Railway was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century and it was absorbed almost a century later into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, in the 1923 railway grouping, by means of the Railways Act 1921...
found that their service to Greenock Central station
Greenock Central railway station
Greenock Central station is one of eight railway stations serving the town of Greenock in western Scotland, and is the nearest to the town centre. This station, which is staffed, is on the Inverclyde Line west of Glasgow Central towards Gourock. It has three platforms, two of which are in use,...
, which was an inconvenient walk away from the quay, was losing Clyde steamer
Clyde steamer
The era of the Clyde steamer in Scotland began in August 1812 with the very first successful commercial steamboat service in Europe, when Henry Bell's began a passenger service on the River Clyde between Glasgow and Greenock...
trade to the new Glasgow and South Western Railway
Glasgow and South Western Railway
The Glasgow and South Western Railway , one of the pre-grouping railway companies, served a triangular area of south-west Scotland, between Glasgow, Stranraer and Carlisle...
terminal at Prince's Pier in Greenock. The Caley extended their line through a new tunnel to the small fishing village of Gourock, with the railway running on the seaward side of Shore Street to the terminal which opened on 1 June 1889 and subsequently based the headquarters of their steamer fleet there. The terminal is now the headquarters of Caledonian MacBrayne
Caledonian MacBrayne
Caledonian MacBrayne is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, and ferry services, between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west coast...
who run a car ferry to Dunoon
Dunoon
Dunoon is a resort town situated on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll, Scotland. It sits on the Firth of Clyde to the south of Holy Loch and to the west of Gourock.-Waterfront:...
from the pier, and it also serves Clyde Marine passenger ferries to Kilcreggan
Kilcreggan
Kilcreggan is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.It developed on the north shore of the Firth of Clyde at a time when Clyde steamers brought it within easy reach of Glasgow at about 25 miles west of the centre of Glasgow by boat...
and Helensburgh
Helensburgh
Helensburgh is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Firth of Clyde and the eastern shore of the entrance to the Gareloch....
using the Kenilworth
MV Kenilworth
The MV Kenilworth is a historic passenger ferry. Built in 1936 as MV Hotspur II, she was the Hythe Ferry service across Southampton Water until 1978...
.
Cutbacks
The station was built to take large numbers of passengers boarding the steamers, but has been considerably reduced in size for the smaller traffic volumes of today. Originally the curving station had 17 canopy bays each side over three railway lines, 3 bays full width then the westmost 19 bays covered one line which continued on, and a central concourse with adjacent offices and stores etc. fronting the pier. In the 1980s the westmost end of the station was cut back by 18 bays, and in the 1990s the adjacent timber quay was demolished. More recently the remaining glazed canopies over the platforms have been taken down, leaving only the cast iron supporting structure and the slate roofs and glazed canopies over a section incorporating a ticket office and a waiting room. The adjacent Bay Hotel was also demolished in the 1990s with its site being grassed over and in 2006 a portable ticket office was put in place at the end wall which had been erected when the station was cut back and the old ticket office was closed.Future development
Approval was given in 1999 for plans initiated by Inverclyde Council, Caledonian MacBrayne and Railtrack, which involved shortening the railway tracks and constructing a new station adjacent to Caledonian MacBrayne's headquarters. This formed part of a major development scheme, with the space formerly occupied by the station together with the grassed area which had been the site of the Bay Hotel providing space for two major supermarkets and housing. Alexander George was appointed preferred developer, but Network RailNetwork Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
was slow to come to an agreement on relocating the station. The work involved in shortening the tracks would have involved considerable expense and meant closing the station for 18 months. The delay left the station looking rather neglected. Then, near the end of September 2006, new plans were announced following intervention by the transport minister Tavish Scott
Tavish Scott
Tavish Hamilton Scott MSP is a Scottish politician and MSP for Shetland. He was Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2008 to 2011...
. A considerable saving is to be made by not moving the station so far, so that the work involved is reduced and it will only have to be closed for four or five weeks. Only one supermarket is now proposed, with 580 houses being constructed in blocks facing out onto the Clyde.
It was subsequently announced that in the meantime the station is the be renovated at a cost of £630,000 to provide a new entrance, glass roof and toilets, and improved waiting facilities. David Simpson, route director for Network Rail in Scotland, advised that they needed to carry out essential work to make the station more comfortable for the 400,000 passengers using it every year, while continuing to "explore the longer-term options for the station with our industry partners".
As of June 2008, the new glazed roof has been partially completed.