Paisley Gilmour Street railway station

For other railway stations in Paisley, see Paisley railway station (disambiguation).

Paisley Gilmour Street
Scottish Gaelic: Sràid GhilleMhoire Phàislig
Paisley Gilmour Street from County Square
Location
Place	Paisley
Local authority	Renfrewshire
Coordinates
Grid reference	NS482642
Operations
Station code	PYG
Managed by	Abellio ScotRail
Owned by	Network Rail
Number of platforms	4
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2009/10	3.528 million
2010/11	3.679 million
2011/12	3.641 million
2012/13	3.745 million
2013/14	3.954 million
2014/15	4.090 million
Passenger Transport Executive
PTE	SPT
History
Original company	Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway & Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway
Pre-grouping	CR & G&SWR
Post-grouping	LMS
14 July 1840	Opened: 2 platforms and 2 lines
1880<?>	Expanded to 4 lines and 4 platforms
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Paisley Gilmour Street from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Paisley Gilmour Street railway station is the largest of the four stations serving the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland (Gilmour Street, St. James, Paisley Canal and Hawkhead), and acts as the town's principal railway station. The station is managed by Abellio ScotRail and is on the Ayrshire Coast Line, 7¼ miles (12 km) west of Glasgow Central. The station is protected as a category B listed building.

History

Railway Clearing House diagram of lines through Paisley in 1908

The station was opened on 14 July 1840 on the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway (GPK&AR). The station was used jointly by the GPK&AR and the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway (GP&GR). However, the GP&GR did not run services until March 1841 due to construction difficulties at Bishopton.

It was originally built with only two through platforms, with the GPK&R and the GP&GR lines separating to the west of the station. The station was later expanded to four platforms, two for the GPK&R and two for the GP&GR, with the lines separating to the east of the station.

The section between Glasgow Bridge Street railway station and Paisley Gilmour Street station was a joint line: the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway.

Twentieth century

The station was electrified as part of the 1967 Inverclyde Line. Ayrshire Coast Line platforms (then numbered 1 and 2) were wired, however the wires finished a short distance west of the station. These were extended as part of the Ayrshire Line electrification by British Rail in 1986. This 1986 work coincided with the renumbering of the platforms with the Glasgow bound platforms numbered 1 (Inverclyde) and 3 (Ayrshire), and the outbound platforms numbers 2 (Inverclyde) and 4 (Ayrshire).

Following extensive works, Paisley Gilmour Street now has step-free access to all platforms, and the main access onto County Square, has been joined by a re-opened back access onto Back Sneddon Street. The access was originally built along with the station, but had closed and had been converted into a model shop for a number of years. Despite this conversion the shop retained the steps up to stations lower concourse, however it has been bricked up to prevent access. When the shop owner retired, it was decided to purchase the unit and convert it back as part of the step free access works for disabled people, as it would increase space within the station, and the works were fairly simple since the original stairs were retained. After re-opening it was signed as a dedicated exit to the station for those wishing to use the bus link to the airport, as the buses stop directly outside the door and the airport cycle route which passes outside.

A collision occurred between two trains at the eastern end of the station on Easter Monday 1979 which resulted in the deaths of seven people.

Operations

A Class 380 on an Inverclyde Line service to Glasgow Central

Paisley Gilmour Street is the busiest of the four Paisley stations. It has four platforms, with trains running on the Inverclyde and Ayrshire Coast lines. It is the fourth busiest railway station in Scotland, after Glasgow Central, Edinburgh Waverley, and Glasgow Queen Street.

Connecting buses from this station also serve nearby Glasgow Airport (GLA) which is approximately 2 km away. It is possible to buy a railway ticket to and from the airport, which includes not only the train journey but also the journey on McGill's 757 service. The Glasgow Airport Rail Link would have replaced this bus service with a direct train, but the project was cancelled in September 2009 due to public spending cuts. It is also possible to cycle from the station to the Airport using the Airport Cycle Route.

It is an important interchange, not only for the airport bus link, but also for many local buses which depart from the area surrounding the town centre running to destinations throughout the town of Paisley, Renfrew and to the out of town shopping centre, Braehead. It is expected that Braehead will get a dedicated bus link in the future, possibly utilising Hillington East.

British Transport Police

The British Transport Police (BTP) maintain a small office here but the main offices for the BTP is located 7 miles (11 km) away at Glasgow Central and 20 miles (32 km) south at Kilwinning.

Services

A Class 311 departs for Gourock in 1981

In the early 1980s up to the electrification of the AyrLine the station was served by:

• Glasgow - Ayr (DMU): 2 trains per hour (some extended to Girvan)
• Glasgow - Largs (DMU): 1 train per hour
• Glasgow - Gourock (EMU): 3 trains per hour
• Glasgow - Wemyss Bay (EMU): 1 train per hour
• Glasgow - Ardrossan Winton Pier (DMU): to connect with ferry to Brodick
• Glasgow - Stranraer Harbour (Loco hauled): to connect with ferry to Larne

2015

A Class 318 heading towards Glasgow

As of 2015 the station is served by:

• Glasgow - Ayr (EMU): 2 trains per hour
  • 3 trains per day continue from Glasgow to Edinburgh via Carstairs (2 on Saturdays)
• Glasgow - Largs (EMU): 1 train per hour
• Glasgow - Ardrossan Harbour (EMU): 1 train per hour (5 trains per day on Sundays)
• Glasgow - Gourock (EMU): 4 trains per hour (1 on Sundays)
• Glasgow - Wemyss Bay (EMU): 1 train per hour
• Glasgow - Girvan (DMU): occasional trains
• Glasgow - Stranraer Harbour (DMU): 2 trains per day (3 on Sundays) for the bus link (except Sundays) to Cairnryan. for the ferries to the Port of Belfast and Larne Harbour

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Johnstone		Abellio ScotRail Ayrshire Coast Line		Glasgow Central
Paisley St James		Abellio ScotRail Inverclyde Line		Hillington West
	Historical railways
Paisley St James		Caledonian Railway Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway		Connection with G&PJR
Connections with GP&GR and GPK&AR		Caledonian and Glasgow & South Western Railways Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway		Cardonald
Elderslie Line open; station closed		Glasgow and South Western Railway Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway		Connection with G&PJR

Rail & Sea Connections

Northern Ireland

Trains connect Ayr along the Glasgow South Western Line to Stranraer where a bus link runs, route 350 operated by McLeans (except Sundays) to Cairnryan. for onward ferries to the Port of Belfast by Stena Line and Larne Harbour by P&O Ferries.

Trains also connect along the Ayrshire Coast Line to Troon for the P&O Ferries service to Larne Harbour.

Argyll and Bute

Trains run from Glasgow Central to Wemyss Bay station, connecting with Caledonian MacBrayne's service to Rothesay on the Isle of Bute and to Gourock, connecting with Argyll Ferries' service to Dunoon and various Caledonian MacBrayne emergency relief routes

Isle of Arran

Trains also connect along the Ayrshire Coast Line to Ardrossan Harbour for the Caledonian MacBrayne service to Brodick.