Kirknewton railway station
Encyclopedia
Kirknewton railway station is a railway station serving Kirknewton
Kirknewton, West Lothian
Kirknewton is a village in West Lothian, Scotland. Its population is about 2200 . It lies south of the A71 from Edinburgh to Livingston, and north of the A70, the high-level road that runs along the north side of the Pentland Hills from Edinburgh to Carnwath and Lanark...

 in West Lothian
West Lothian
West Lothian is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire....

, 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...

, Opened as Kirknewton in February 1848, the station was renamed Midcalder and Kirknewton after two months, before becoming Midcalder in 1855. The full circle was finally completed 127 years later in May 1982 when the name reverted to Kirknewton. This was to distinguish it from Kirknewton station near on the NER
North Eastern Railway (UK)
The North Eastern Railway , was an English railway company. It was incorporated in 1854, when four existing companies were combined, and was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923...

 Cornhill Branch
Cornhill Branch
The Cornhill Branch was a single track branch railway line in Northumberland, England, that ran from on the terminus of the three mile long Alnmouth to Alnwick line via ten intermediate stations to a junction on the to line at Cornhill-on-Tweed.-History:...

.

It is located on the Shotts Line
Shotts Line
The Shotts Line is a suburban railway line linking Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley via Shotts in Scotland. The route from Glasgow to Shotts is part of the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport network...

 from to via . It 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...

.

As there is no footbridge on the station (the footbridge was removed during electrification), passengers wishing to cross the line must do so via the level crossing
Level crossing
A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...

, which is one of the most incorrectly used in Scotland. There are plans to provide a new crossing (subway) which will remove the level crossing.

History

Kirknewton was the terminus of the Slateford–Balerno line. A bay platform can still be seen to the east of the Edinburgh bound platform. The trains ran alongside the Water of Leith for 65 years, the line finally being closed to passengers on 30 October 1943. Goods trains continued to run until the line was officially closed, aided by the closure of the Kinleith Mill in 1966, to all traffic on 4 December 1967.

2006/07

The station was served Mondays to Saturdays, by an hourly 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...

 service between and . One train a day from Edinburgh terminates at . There is a limited Sunday service at this station to Edinburgh and . Services calling at this station are normally formed of a Class 156
British Rail Class 156
The British Rail Class 156 Super Sprinter is a diesel multiple-unit train . 114 of these units were built from 1987 to 1989 by Metro-Cammell at its Washwood Heath Works in Birmingham...

 "Super Sprinter".

At this time, passing trains included a variety of Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...

 Class 220
British Rail Class 220
The Class 220 Voyager are a class of diesel-electric high-speed multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation in 2000 and 2001....

 "Voyager", Class 221
British Rail Class 221
The Class 221 Super Voyager is a class of British diesel-electric multiple-unit express trains built by Bombardier Transportation between 2001 and 2002, entering service on 12 April 2002....

 "Super Voyager", Class 390
British Rail Class 390
The Class 390 Pendolino is a type of train used in Great Britain. They are electric multiple units using Fiat's tilting train pendolino technology and built by Alstom. Fifty-three 9-car units were originally built for Virgin Trains from 2001 to 2004 for operation on the West Coast Main Line , with...

 "Pendolino" and GNER InterCity 225
British Rail Class 91
The British Rail Class 91 is a class of , electric locomotives ordered as a component of the East Coast Main Line modernisation and electrification programme of the late 1980s. The Class 91s were given the auxiliary name of InterCity 225 to indicate their envisaged top speed of...

.

From November 2007

It is currently served, Mondays to Saturdays, by an hourly First ScotRail service between and . There is a limited Sunday service at this station to Edinburgh and . There are also limited service between and Glasgow Central. The staple passenger traction calling at this station is the Class 156
British Rail Class 156
The British Rail Class 156 Super Sprinter is a diesel multiple-unit train . 114 of these units were built from 1987 to 1989 by Metro-Cammell at its Washwood Heath Works in Birmingham...

 "Super Sprinter" although Class 158
British Rail Class 158
British Rail Class 158 Express Sprinter is a diesel multiple-unit train, built for British Rail between 1989 and 1992 by BREL at its Derby Works. They were built to replace many locomotive-hauled passenger trains, and allowed cascading of existing Sprinter units to replace elderly 'heritage' DMUs...

 "Express Sprinter" are sometimes seen and electric traction can be seen on the North Berwick services.

As this station is on the WCML (Edinburgh Branch)
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...

, a variety of CrossCountry
CrossCountry
CrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...

 Class 220
British Rail Class 220
The Class 220 Voyager are a class of diesel-electric high-speed multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation in 2000 and 2001....

 "Voyager", First TransPennine Express
First TransPennine Express
First TransPennine Express is a British train operating company. It is a joint operation between First Group and Keolis . It operates regular passenger services in northern England, including services linking the west and east coasts across the Pennines...

 Class 185
British Rail Class 185
The Class 185 Pennine Desiro is a diesel multiple-unit passenger train of the Desiro type built by Siemens in Germany for the British train operating company First TransPennine Express.51 units were acquired, representing an investment of £250 million....

 "Pennine", Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...

 Class 221
British Rail Class 221
The Class 221 Super Voyager is a class of British diesel-electric multiple-unit express trains built by Bombardier Transportation between 2001 and 2002, entering service on 12 April 2002....

 "Super Voyager", Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...

 Class 390
British Rail Class 390
The Class 390 Pendolino is a type of train used in Great Britain. They are electric multiple units using Fiat's tilting train pendolino technology and built by Alstom. Fifty-three 9-car units were originally built for Virgin Trains from 2001 to 2004 for operation on the West Coast Main Line , with...

 "Pendolino" and East Coast InterCity 225
British Rail Class 91
The British Rail Class 91 is a class of , electric locomotives ordered as a component of the East Coast Main Line modernisation and electrification programme of the late 1980s. The Class 91s were given the auxiliary name of InterCity 225 to indicate their envisaged top speed of...


(from 9 December 2007) can also be seen.
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