Dumbarton Central railway station

Dumbarton Central Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Breatann Meadhain
View of Dumbarton Central station, looking east
General information
Location	Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire Scotland
Coordinates	55.9465°N 4.5673°W / 55.9465; -4.5673
Grid reference	NS397755
Owned by	Network Rail
Managed by	ScotRail
Transit authority	SPT
Platforms	3
Other information
Station code	DBC
Fare zone	D2
History
Original company	Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway & Caledonian and Dunbartonshire Junction Railway
Pre-grouping	Caledonian Railway & North British Railway
Post-grouping	LMS & LNER
Key dates
15 July 1850	Opened
Passengers
2018/19	0.756 million
Interchange	0.125 million
2019/20	0.718 million
Interchange	0.103 million
2020/21	75,242
Interchange	8,003
2021/22	0.310 million
Interchange	53,273
2022/23	0.399 million
Interchange	50,889
Listed Building – Category A
Designated	31 January 1984
Reference no.	LB24877
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Dumbarton Central railway station serves the town of Dumbarton in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. This station is on the West Highland Line and the North Clyde Line, 15+3⁄4 miles (25.3 km) northwest of Glasgow Queen Street.

History

The station was opened on 15 July 1850 by the Caledonian and Dumbartonshire Junction Railway on their route from Balloch Pier to Bowling, where travellers could join steamships on the River Clyde to get to Glasgow. Connections with the Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway at Dalreoch Junction and at Bowling put the station on a through route between Glasgow Queen Street and Helensburgh Central by 1858. The company was subsequently absorbed by the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in 1862 and eventually became part of the North British Railway three years later. However, in 1891, the North British was forced to come to an agreement with the rival Caledonian Railway to give the latter access to Balloch (and the Loch Lomond steamships) over C&DJR metals in order to prevent the building of a competing route by the Caledonian company - this resulted in the Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Railway arriving from Possil via Maryhill Central in 1896. Trains on the West Highland Railway also began serving the station following its completion on 1 August 1894 and these continue to call here to this day.

The station was built with two island platforms to permit convenient interchange between the various services that called, although only three faces remain in use (the former down loop on the southbound side having been removed). The Helensburgh and Balloch lines were electrified by British Railways as part of the 1960 North Clyde Line electrification scheme, but most of the L&DR route was closed (other than the short section through neighbouring Dumbarton East) when passenger services to Possil via Dalmuir Riverside were withdrawn on 5 October 1964 as a result of the Beeching Axe. As of 2022, the loop platform on the south side of the station receives no regular services.

Building

It is a category A listed building under the Town and Country Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

Passenger Volume

Passenger Volume at Dumbarton Central

	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22
Entries and exits	718,088	75,242	309,658
Interchanges	102,905	8,003	53,273

The statistics cover twelve-month periods that start in April.

Services

North Clyde Line / Argyle Line

Mondays-Saturdays, six trains per hour go southeastbound to Glasgow Queen Street and beyond. 2tph are limited stop to Edinburgh, 2tph run to Springburn & Cumbernauld via Yoker and 2tph via Singer to Airdrie. Sunday services are via Singer to Edinburgh Waverley and via Yoker, alternating between Motherwell via Whifflet and Larkhall. Northwestbound services run twice-hourly each to Balloch and Helensburgh Central (the other 2tph terminate here).

West Highland Line

Services to/from Glasgow Queen Street towards Oban (6 trains per day weekdays, 3 on Sundays) and to Fort William and Mallaig (3 per day weekdays, 1 or 2 on Sundays depending on the time of year) call here.

The Highland Sleeper service also calls in each direction daily (except Saturday nights southbound and Sunday mornings northbound), giving the station a direct link to/from London Euston via Edinburgh, Crewe and the West Coast Main Line.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Dalmuir		ScotRail West Highland Line		Helensburgh Upper
Dalmuir		Caledonian Sleeper Highland Caledonian Sleeper		Helensburgh Upper
Dumbarton East		ScotRail North Clyde Line		Dalreoch
	Historical railways
Dumbarton East Line and Station open		Caledonian Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway		Terminus
Bowling Line closed; Station open		Caledonian & North British Railway Caledonian and Dunbartonshire Junction Railway		Dalreoch Line and Station open

References

Sources

• 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.
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.