Carstairs railway station
Carstairs 
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North end (Glasgow end) of the station
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| Location | |
| Place | Carstairs |
| Local authority | South Lanarkshire |
| Coordinates | 55°41′29″N 3°40′09″W / 55.6913°N 3.6692°WCoordinates: 55°41′29″N 3°40′09″W / 55.6913°N 3.6692°W |
| Grid reference | NS952454 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | CRS |
| Managed by | Abellio ScotRail |
| Owned by | Network Rail |
| Number of platforms | 2 |
| Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries |
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| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2011/12 |
 13,548 |
| – Interchange |
3,113 |
| 2012/13 |
20,610 |
| – Interchange |
 3,103 |
| 2013/14 |
33,398 |
| – Interchange |
617 |
| 2014/15 |
43,388 |
| – Interchange |
10,389 |
| 2015/16 |
84,796 |
| – Interchange |
9,994 |
| Passenger Transport Executive | |
| PTE | SPT |
| History | |
| 15 February 1848 | Station opened |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Carstairs from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
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Carstairs railway station in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, is a major junction station on the West Coast Main Line (WCML), situated close to the point at which the lines from London Euston to Glasgow Central and Edinburgh diverge. Constructed originally by the Caledonian Railway, the station is operated today by Abellio ScotRail and is also served by one TransPennine Express trains service per day between Preston and Glasgow Central. All other services by TransPennine Express and services operated by CrossCountry, Virgin Trains East Coast and Virgin Trains West Coast pass the station, but do not stop.
Just south of the station, there is an important triangular junction (Carstairs Junction) where the WCML divides. The north-westerly route goes via Motherwell to Glasgow and the north-easterly route goes towards Edinburgh, where the East Coast Main Line begins. The southbound route goes towards Carlisle and London. The line between Edinburgh and Glasgow is the only part of the West Coast Main Line used by Virgin Trains East Coast services. Carstairs is also a marshalling point and the final boarding point (both sleeping car and overnight coach) in Scotland for the Lowland Caledonian Sleeper trains from Glasgow and Edinburgh to London Euston.
Northbound (Down) WCML services usually pass the station on an avoiding line (known as the Down Main), away from the platform line (known as the Down platform), but northbound services coming off the chord from Edinburgh (ECML and Cross Country) usually pass Platform 1: they can be signalled from Platform 2, but this rarely happens. However, all southbound (Up) services must pass Platform 2 (on the Up Main), as there is no avoiding line on that side of the station. The Up Main and Down Platform lines are both signalled for bi-directional working, and are often used as passing loops for passenger and freight services. For example, the early morning departure for Glasgow Central from North Berwick will wait at the Down Platform as a fast Transpennine service from Manchester passes.
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