Williamwood railway station
Encyclopedia
Williamwood railway station is a railway station
in the Williamwood area of the town of Clarkston
, East Renfrewshire
, Greater Glasgow
, Scotland
. The station is managed by First ScotRail
and lies on the Neilston
branch of the Cathcart Circle Lines
.
The line here forms the boundary which separates Clarkston & Giffnock.
on 9 July 1929 on the former Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway
.
The station is currently fully operational, with a part time booking office. It is an intermediate station on the Glasgow Central - Neilston line. The railway was electrified in the early 1960s and Class 303
"Blue Train" electric multiple units provided almost all trains services for many years thereafter. Services are now mainly operated by the soon-to-be-replaced Class 314
EMUs.
As a cost saving measure, the three stations south of Williamwood (i.e. Neilston, Patterton and Whitecraigs) were considered for possible closure in 1983 by the Strathclyde PTE, but were reprieved.
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
in the Williamwood area of the town of Clarkston
Clarkston, East Renfrewshire
Clarkston is a small town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. Although it is administratively outside nearby Glasgow, Clarkston is geographically an outer suburb of the city and part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation....
, East Renfrewshire
East Renfrewshire
East Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975 it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas of Renfrewshire and Inverclyde...
, Greater Glasgow
Greater Glasgow
Greater Glasgow is an urban settlement in Scotland consisting of all localities which are physically attached to the city of Glasgow, forming with it a single contiguous urban area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The station is managed by First ScotRail
First ScotRail
ScotRail Railways Ltd. is the FirstGroup-owned train operating company running domestic passenger trains within Scotland, northern England and the cross-border Caledonian Sleeper service to London using the brand ScotRail which is the property of the Scottish Government...
and lies on the Neilston
Neilston
Neilston is a village and parish in East Renfrewshire set in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Levern Valley, southwest of Barrhead, south of Paisley, and south-southwest of Renfrew, at the southwestern fringe of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...
branch of the Cathcart Circle Lines
Cathcart Circle Lines
The Cathcart Circle Lines form a suburban railway route linking Glasgow to Cathcart via a circular line, with branches to Newton and Neilston. All of the routes serve Glasgow's southern suburbs, i.e. on the south bank of the River Clyde...
.
The line here forms the boundary which separates Clarkston & Giffnock.
History
The station was originally opened by the London, Midland and Scottish RailwayLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
on 9 July 1929 on the former Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway
Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway
The Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway was a railway company in Scotland built in the late 19th century that provided services between Ardrossan and Glasgow, with branches to Irvine and Kilbirnie. The line was operated by the Caledonian Railway with an aim to compete with the Glasgow and South...
.
The station is currently fully operational, with a part time booking office. It is an intermediate station on the Glasgow Central - Neilston line. The railway was electrified in the early 1960s and Class 303
British Rail Class 303
The British Rail Class 303 electric multiple units, also known as "Blue Train" units, were introduced in 1960 for the electrification of the North Clyde and the Cathcart Circle lines in Strathclyde...
"Blue Train" electric multiple units provided almost all trains services for many years thereafter. Services are now mainly operated by the soon-to-be-replaced Class 314
British Rail Class 314
British Rail Class 314 alternating current electric multiple units were built by BREL at York works in 1979. They were the third variety of British Rail's then-standard 1972 design for suburban EMUs, which eventually encompassed 755 vehicles and five classes...
EMUs.
As a cost saving measure, the three stations south of Williamwood (i.e. Neilston, Patterton and Whitecraigs) were considered for possible closure in 1983 by the Strathclyde PTE, but were reprieved.