Arkleston Junction is a railway junction east of the town of Paisley

Paisley

Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...

, Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...

, 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 junction is one mile from Paisley Gilmour Street railway station

Paisley Gilmour Street railway station

Paisley Gilmour Street railway station is one of four stations serving the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland . The station is managed by First ScotRail and is on the Ayrshire Coast Line, 12 km west of...

 and is heavily used by both passenger and freight traffic.

Post 1967-electrification

Situated on both the Ayrshire Coast

Ayrshire Coast Line

The Ayrshire Coast Line is one of the lines within the Strathclyde suburban rail network in Scotland. It has 26 stations and connects the Ayrshire coast to Glasgow...

 and Inverclyde

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...

 lines, previously - since the electrification

Railway electrification in Great Britain

Railway electrification in Great Britain started towards of the 19th century. A great range of voltages have been used in the intervening period using both overhead lines and third rails, however the most common standard for mainline services is now 25 kV AC using overhead lines and the...

 of the Gourock line in 1967, and the removal of the centre (fast lines) from Shields Junction - Arkleston Junction merged the four passenger tracks (Up & Down Fast; and Up & Down Slow) and the Up and Down Goods Loops running out of Paisley Gilmour Street into the two tracks running on the former Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway

Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway

The Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway company was formed in 1837 to provide a railway link between Glasgow and Paisley, Scotland. It was promoted jointly by the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway and the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway....

 line into Glasgow Central station.

There was also a locomotive siding at the junction. The locomotive siding was used by electric locomotives waiting to take over car trains from Elderslie having been hauled by diesel locomotives for the first short section of their journey. This siding was close to the former signal box which was removed during the 1960s electrification project.

Another departmental siding, together with Paisley signalling centre, occupies part of the site of the former Paisley Greenlaw Goods station; which also rejoined the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway at Wallneuk Junction.

The Paisley and Renfrew Railway

Paisley and Renfrew Railway

The Paisley and Renfrew railway was a railway line from the town of Paisley to its neighbouring town Renfrew; and to the River Clyde at Renfrew wharf. The railway was built to the Scotch gauge of...

 line to Renfrew, which closed to passengers in June 1967, was retained to serve the former Babcock and Wilcox

Babcock and Wilcox

The Babcock & Wilcox Company is a U.S.-based company that provides design, engineering, manufacturing, construction and facilities management services to nuclear, renewable, fossil power, industrial and government customers worldwide. B&W's boilers supply more than 300,000 megawatts of installed...

 plant (now Mitsui Babcock) until January 1981, and was connected to the Up Goods Loop.

Ayrline Electrification - 1986

As part of the Ayrline Electrification in the early 1980s, the connection to the line to Renfrew was removed (the line had previously become derelict and mostly removed), the locomotive siding and the Slow lines were taken out of use between Wallneuk Junction and Arkleston Junction. The practical application of this was the former Up Goods Loop and Up Slow line were removed and the Down Slow Line became the Up Goods Loop.

2006/07

Off peak, seven passenger trains run over the junction in each direction per hour with up to six freight workings using the junction.

Current development

Arkleston Junction, under plans for the Glasgow Airport Rail Link, was to have become the western end for the proposed three track running between the Junction and its Glasgow equivalent, Shields Junction

Shields Junction

Shields Junction is the name given to the busy railway junction in the Shields Road area of Glasgow, Scotland.The junction is heavily used by both passenger and freight services running on three separate railway lines out of Glasgow Central station...

, to accommodate the new Glasgow International Airport

Glasgow International Airport

Glasgow International Airport is an international airport in Scotland, located west of Glasgow city centre, near the towns of Paisley and Renfrew in Renfrewshire...

 services as well as increased passenger traffic to Ayr

Ayr

Ayr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...

 and 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...

. Although the airport link was cancelled by the Scottish Government in 2009, the work to add the third track between Shields Junction

Shields Junction

Shields Junction is the name given to the busy railway junction in the Shields Road area of Glasgow, Scotland.The junction is heavily used by both passenger and freight services running on three separate railway lines out of Glasgow Central station...

and Arkleston Junction is progressing.