Edinburgh to Bathgate Line
| Edinburgh–Bathgate line | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| System | National Rail |
| Locale |
Edinburgh Scotland |
| Operation | |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
The Edinburgh–Bathgate line is a railway line in East Central Scotland. It is also known as the Bathgate branch and was originally operated by the Edinburgh and Bathgate Railway.
Having only carried freight traffic to and from Bathgate (mainly automotive traffic) since passenger services ceased over the line in 1956, the line was reopened to passenger services in March 1986 by British Rail. Lothian Regional Council provided substantial funding toward the project, which was intended to help ease commuting difficulties to and from Edinburgh as road congestion worsened in the mid 1980s, and to alleviate some of the hardship caused by West Lothian's industrial decline. (Since passenger services had ceased in 1956, the remaining shale oil industry became extinct, coal mining was virtually ended by 1986, and the Bathgate plant of British Leyland was slated for closure.)
Economies were made in the project delivery - specifically three miles of railway were removed and between Cawburn Jn and Carmondean Jn, a single line was provided, serving Uphall railway station and Livingston North railway station. The passenger line continued to the terminus at Bathgate while a freight only line (the former Down line) ran between Carmondean Jn and Bathgate yard.
The line succeeded in respect of patronage; usage was well above predictions and over the years, Sunday trains were introduced, and the basic weekday service doubled from hourly to every thirty minutes each way.
From the lines reopening in 1986 by British Rail until electrification, passenger train services were operated by diesel multiple units (at first mainly Class 101s, then from 1987 mainly Class 150s and then (2008-9) Class 158 or Class 170s.)
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