Fairlie railway station

Railway station in North Ayrshire, Scotland

55°45′05″N 4°51′12″W / 55.7515°N 4.8532°W / 55.7515; -4.8532Grid referenceNS209546Managed byScotRailTransit authoritySPTPlatforms1Other informationStation codeFRLHistoryOriginal companyG&SWR Largs BranchPost-groupingLMSKey dates1 June 1880Opened as Fairlie30 June 1952Renamed Fairlie Town2 March 1953Renamed Fairlie High1980sRenamed FairliePassengers2018/19

39,4982019/20

41,9142020/21

3,4862021/22

20,3702022/23

29,974

Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Fairlie railway station serves the village of Fairlie, North Ayrshire, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is on the Ayrshire Coast Line.

History

The station was originally opened on 1 June 1880 by the Glasgow and South Western Railway during the extension of the former Ardrossan Railway to Largs.^[2] It was renamed Fairlie Town on 30 June 1952,^[2] however this name was short-lived and the station became Fairlie High on 2 March 1953.^[2] A camping coach was positioned here by the Scottish Region from 1954 to 1955, two coaches from 1956 to 1957 and two coaches again from 1961 to 1963.^[3] The station was renamed back to its original title some time before 1986.

Following the construction of Hunterston A nuclear power station, a siding was provided for flask trains, which was subsequently used for Hunterston B. In the mid 1990s, this was moved to the Hunterston Ore Terminal.

Originally a two platform station, it now has only one platform, the former northbound platform. The southbound platform was demolished and its track removed as part of the electrification of the Largs branch of the Ayrshire Coast Line in 1986. The 1,004-yard (918 m) long Fairlie Tunnel is directly to the north of the station.

Services

1tph to Largs
1tph to Glasgow Central via Kilwinning and Paisley Gilmour Street

The basic service runs throughout the week, including Sundays (though Sunday trains make additional mainline stops). Additional trains run during the weekday business peaks.^[4]

Preceding station	National Rail		Following station
Largs		ScotRail Ayrshire Coast Line	West Kilbride
	Historical railways
Largs Line and station open		Glasgow and South Western Railway Largs Branch	West Kilbride Line and station open
Fairlie Pier Line and station closed		Glasgow and South Western Railway Largs Branch	West Kilbride Line and station open

References

Notes

^ Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
^ ^a ^b ^c Butt 1995, p. 93.
^ McRae 1998, p. 59.
^ Table 221 National Rail timetable, May 2016

Sources

Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
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.
McRae, Andrew (1998). British Railways Camping Coach Holidays: A Tour of Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part Two). Foxline. ISBN 1-870119-53-3.