The Railway Service

The railway came to Stewarton in the 1870’s and right up until the 1970’s boasted a double track and imposing station buildings. Today the town has a single track line, small bus stop type shelter and inadequate peak hour service. The service deteriorated in the sixties and government approval was given to close the line completely and replace it with a bus service. It was saved after a vigorous campaign by the communities served by it but this meant that cutbacks were inevitable and that is how we lost our double track and with it the prospect of a decent service.

 

Problem 1: The line is a single track from Barrhead to Kilmarnock with a passing loop at Lugton and this why a frequent service is restricted causing overcrowding during peak periods. For several years the railway service has been improving thanks to schemes like Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive and there associated subsidies however this has always stopped short of reinstating the double track.

 

Problem 2: In the early eighties Kilmaurs was reconnected to the railway network with the building of a new railway station, it was built a stones throw from where the old one was sited several years earlier. Through lack of hindsight and financial restrictions, the new station was built on the down old track bed making any chance of a reinstatement of the double track impossible without demolishing and relocating the station (again). 

 

Solution 1:  The reinstatement of all or part of the double track from Barrhead or Lugton to Stewarton, with a second platform for Stewarton & Dunlop the scheme of installing a dynamic loop has been touted for several years but has came to nothing.

 

Solution 2: The overcrowding during peak periods could be elevated in the short term by the addition of a third sprinter train unit to the already double set. However this can only be done by lengthening the platforms at Kilmaurs & Dunlop stations to accommodate them.

 

Soluton 3: Double tracking and electrification throughout

 

Single track: Inadequate

Overcrowded Trains: Uncomfortable

 

Spacious: Plenty of room for an additional track although

cutting back of tree's and bush's would be needed.

 

In the press

Nov 14 2003

 

East Ayrshire is finally to get a new

and improved rail connection to Glasgow.

The existing poor service between Kilmarnock and Glasgow Central will be upgraded to offer long-suffering travellers a train every half-hour.

But the brand new trains bringing the better service won't arrive for another year.

"It will be the end of 2004 before the new trains are here," said a spokeswoman for SPT this week, "so we hope to start the new service as soon as possible after that."

To get the trains up to one every 30 minutes however the much talked about dynamic loop will need to be introduced between Dunlop and Stewarton.

This will involve a new stretch of track which will enable two trains to pass each other at line speed as they use the loop.

At the moment either the northbound or southbound train has to stop on a side line for several minutes while the other passes.

In total seven new trains are bound for the Strathclyde Passenger Transport rail network following the conclusion of a 22 million contract between SPT, ScotRail and Porterbrook.

These trains are in addition to the 22 new units heading for the rest of the Scottish rail network.

Kilmarnock and Loudoun MSP Margaret Jamieson welcomed the news.

She said: "I recently met transport minister Nicol Stephen over the dangerous A71 road and the dynamic rail loop.

"The loop has been the subject of a longstanding campaign by myself to bring more traffic on to the railway and to introduce these half-hourly trains on the route to Glasgow."

She said that when she had contacted the minister she had pointed out that the 'toll of death and injury' on the roads through the Irvine Valley could not continue.

Said Labour MSP Margaret: "At the same time I said that we should be seeking to take as much traffic off of the roads as possible - and we have been promised this dynamic loop for many years.

"The new M77 will of course make Ayrshire even more attractive to people, but we should be developing an integrated strategy of transport to include both road and rail."

Conservative MSP Margaret Mitchell also welcomed the new proposals.

She said: "Over the summer I met with organisations such as Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire, Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce and East Ayrshire Council. It was clear from my meetings that the present hourly rail service between Glasgow and Kilmarnock was inadequate.

"But, following informal discussions with SPT, I am delighted to learn that the new trains have been purchased to provide the much-needed half-hourly service.

"I understand that once the track upgrade has been finished at the end of next year, the new service will begin."

 

Stewarton.org comment: Don't hold your breath, The Dynamic Loop scheme has been mooted since 1986 with construction dates continually being moved or put back. As any one who travels on the peak hour services will tell you, this project should have been done years ago.

 

Dr Beeching you have a lot to answer for!