Breich railway station
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| General information | |||||
| Location | Breich, West Lothian Scotland | ||||
| Coordinates | 55°49′39″N 3°40′03″W / 55.8275°N 3.6675°W | ||||
| Grid reference | NS956606 | ||||
| Manager | ScotRail | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | BRC[2] | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 9 July 1869 | Opened[3] | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2020/21 |  220 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  3,638 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 4,484 | ||||
| 2023/24 | 6,036 | ||||
| 2024/25 | 5,924 | ||||
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Breich railway station is a rural railway station serving the village of Breich in West Lothian, Scotland. It is located on the Shotts Line, 14 miles (23 km) from Mossend North Junction, and is located between Addiewell and Fauldhouse.[4] It was the sixth-least-used station in the UK until 2018-19 and was the second-least-used in Scotland, after Barry Links as well as being the least used station in West Lothian.[5][6]
History
[edit]
The station was opened by the Caledonian Railway on their Cleland and Midcalder Line on 9 July 1869.[3] Breich is named after the nearby Breich Water.[7] The station pre-dates the present-day village of Breich.[7]
The surrounding area, although now very rural, was once highly industrialised with several collieries, lime works and iron workings nearby, together with the Levenseat Branch of the North British Railway and the originally 4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm) Scotch gauge Wilsontown, Morningside and Coltness line with its old terminus station of Longridge,[7] which opened in 1845 and closed in 1848.[8]
Proposed closure
[edit]
On 21 June 2017, Network Rail announced that they had begun consultation on the proposed closure of the station due to low patronage and if retained will avoid heavy expenditure to update the station prior to electrification of the line,[9][10] claiming that the low patronage at the station would not justify the cost of improving the station - approximately £1.4 million - to meet modern accessibility standards.[11][12] It would have been the first station in Scotland to close in over 30 years,[10] after Balloch Pier in 1986.[11] A petition was started to "Save Breich Station".[11] Some commented that, if closed, a precedent would be set to close stations "by stealth".[11]
In November 2017, after the 12 week consultation, the Scottish Government confirmed that the station would remain open and would have improved service levels following upgrades to the station and electrification.[13]
The station was closed temporarily from 23 June 2018 for 12 weeks during redevelopment as part of a £2.4 million project to make it suitable for new electric trains.[14] The redevelopment included work to the platforms in order to make them compliant in both height and length for the new services, as well as ensuring ramped access to both platforms and improvements to station facilities such as new waiting shelters and ticket machines.[14] The footbridge was removed at this time with access gained from the upgraded road overbridge.[15]
Facilities
[edit]A ticket office and waiting room was still present in 1962 as shown by the photograph of that date, together with a linesman's brick hut building, both on the Glasgow bound platform.
By 2018, the station's facilities had been reduced to a single shelter (on the Edinburgh-bound platform), a bench on the Glasgow-bound platform, a help point and station announcements.[11]
The station was rebuilt in 2018 and consequently lost the old pedestrian overbridge and wooden shelter. It has new platforms, two modern style passenger shelters, additional outside seating and electronic travel information displays.[14] Access from platform 1 to 2 is via the rebuilt road overbridge.
Passenger volume
[edit]In 2014–15, Breich was the tenth least-used station in Britain, with 92 passenger exits and entries.[16] The Times reported that the station had one regular commuter in 2003.[17]
West Lothian Council's Route Utilisation Strategy suggests that if there was an increase in service frequency on the Shotts Line more services could stop at Breich. This could help future developments in the Breich and Longridge areas.[18]
| 2004–05 | 2005–06 | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2008–09 | 2009–10 | 2010–11 | 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | 2014–15 | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entries and exits | 118 | 53 | 75 | 303 | 200 | 116 | 68 | 90 | 102 | 64 | 92 | 138 | 48 | 102 | 342 | 2,550 | 220 | 3,638 | 4,484 | 6,036 | 5,924 |
The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.
Services
[edit]Before the increase in services, the station was served by one eastbound towards Edinburgh and one westbound train towards Glasgow Central per day, on weekdays and Saturdays. There was no Sunday service.[20] From May 2019, an hourly service was introduced on weekdays and Saturdays, and a 2 hourly service on Sundays.[21]
| Preceding station |  National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Addiewell | ScotRail Shotts Line |
Fauldhouse | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Addiewell Line and station open |
Caledonian Railway Cleland and Midcalder Line |
Fauldhouse | ||
| Newpark Loop line and station closed |
Caledonian Railway Cleland and Midcalder Line Addiewell Loop |
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References
[edit]- ↑ Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
- ↑ "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
- 1 2 Butt (1995), page 43
- ↑ Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (2021). Railway Track Diagrams; 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (7th ed.). Frome: TRACKmaps. pp. .page. ISBN 978 1999627140.
- ↑ "Station usage 2013-14 data | Office of Rail and Road". 4 December 2014.
- ↑ "Least used railway station Redcar British Steel gets visitor boost". BBC News. 14 January 2020.
- 1 2 3 "View: Linlithgowshire Sheet XII.SW (includes: West Calder; Whitburn) - Ordnance Survey Six-inch 2nd and later editions, Scotland, 1892-1960". maps.NLS.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ↑ Butt (1995), page 149
- ↑ "Breich station: proposed closure – public consultation – Network Rail". www.NetworkRail.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- 1 2 "Station with three passengers faces closure". BBC News. BBC. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Caton 2018, pp. 223–232.
- ↑ "Public consultation begins over Breich station closure proposal - The Railway Magazine". 30 June 2017. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2026.
- ↑ "Breich Station future secured". www.gov.scot. Retrieved 13 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Breich Station closure is platform for £2.4m redevelopment". Network Rail Media Centre. Retrieved 13 September 2026.
- ↑ "UK railway news round-up". Railway Gazette.
- ↑ "Revealed: Britain's busiest and quietest stations". BBC News. 15 December 2015.
- ↑ Harris, Gillian (8 December 2003). "The daily commuter who has a railway station all to himself". Retrieved 13 September 2026.
- ↑ "Network Rail - resource not found" (PDF). www.NetworkRail.co.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ↑ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
- ↑ Table 224 National Rail timetable, May 2016
- ↑ Table 209 National Rail timetable, May 2026
Bibliography
[edit]- 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.
- Caton, Peter (2018). Remote Stations. Leicestershire: Matador. ISBN 978-1-78901-408-2.
External links
[edit]
- Train times and station information for Breich railway station from National Rail
- Commentary and video on Breich and Longridge Railway Stations
