Lanark railway station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
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Platform 2 at Lanark railway station, looking towards the ticket office
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| Location | Lanark, South Lanarkshire Scotland |
| Coordinates | 55°40′25″N 3°46′20″W / 55.6735°N 3.7723°W |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Station code | LNK |
| Fare zone | L3 |
| History | |
| Original company | Lanark Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Caledonian Railway |
| Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway |
| Key dates | |
| 5 June 1855 | Station opened |
| Traffic | |
| Passengers (2017/18) |  0.304 million |
| Passengers (2018/19) | 0.292 million |
| Passengers (2019/20) | 0.280 million |
| Passengers (2020/21) | 30,996 |
| Passengers (2021/22) |  0.144 million |
Lanark railway station is in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, and is managed by ScotRail and is the southern terminus of the Argyle Line.
The station is located on Bannatyne Street, Lanark, which is staffed part-time (open Monday-Saturday 06:20 until 20:25) and has a car park with 31 spaces, including two disabled bays.
History
Lanark station opened in 1855, as the terminus of a short branch line off the Caledonian Railway's West Coast Main Line. The branch had a triangular junction with the main line to allow trains from Lanark to head west towards Carluke or east to Carstairs. The eastern curve closed in the 1960s.
There was another triangular junction closer to Lanark station itself, and this is just north of the golf course and the embankments are still clearly visible. (summer 2017)
These were the two curves leading from the Lanark branch towards Muirkirk and Ayrshire and Lanark racecourse halt of course.
In 1864, a line south from Lanark to Douglas was opened, and in 1874 it was extended to Muirkirk in Ayrshire, where it formed an end-on junction with the Glasgow and South Western Railway, though that line closed in 1964.
In 1974, the Lanark branch was included in the West Coast Main Line "Electric Scots" electrification project by British Rail.
Current services
There is a peak half hourly and an off peak hourly ScotRail to Glasgow Central High Level via Shieldmuir, Motherwell and Bellshill.
Alternate services on this route formerly ran via Holytown and all trains continued via the Argyle Line to the north west suburbs of the city, but following a recast of the timetable in the wake of the electrification of the Whifflet Line, these now run to/from High Level instead and run fast beyond Cambuslang.
There are no southbound or eastbound services, as the branch only has a northbound chord connecting it to the West Coast Main Line (WCML) at Lanark Junction.
There have been calls for the southbound chord to be reconnected to allow direct services from Lanark to Edinburgh, although the route has subsequently been re-used for housing.
| Preceding station |  National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | ScotRail Argyle Line |
Carluke | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Carstairs | Caledonian Railway Main Line |
Cleghorn | ||
| Terminus | Caledonian Railway Branch to Douglas & G&SWR |
Sandilands | ||
