Glasgow South Western Line

Glasgow South Western Line
A coal train from Ayrshire heads towards England
Overview
Type	Heavy rail, Rural Rail
System	National Rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Scotland North West England
Termini	Newcastle Carlisle East Kilbride Glasgow Central Stranraer
Stations	26
Operation
Owner	Network Rail
Operator(s)	Abellio ScotRail
Rolling stock	Class 156 "Super Sprinter"
Technical
Number of tracks	Double track and Single line with Passing loops
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)
Operating speed	80 mph (129 km/h) maximum

The Glasgow South Western Line is a mainline railway in Scotland that runs from Glasgow to Kilmarnock, and then either Carlisle via Dumfries, or Stranraer via Ayr, with a branch to East Kilbride.

The line was built by several railway companies during the 19th century:

The Glasgow, Barrhead and Neilston Direct Railway and Glasgow and Kilmarnock Joint Railway were amalgamated to form the Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway jointly operated by the Glasgow and South Western Railway and Caledonian Railway.

The lines forming the East Kilbride branch were operated by the Caledonian Railway.

Until 1923 the line via Dumfries was in competition with the North British Railway and Caledonian Railway as one of the mainlines into Scotland. With the passing of the Railways Act 1921 (Grouping Act) the line became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS).

In 1948, with nationalisation the line became part of the Scottish Region of British Railways. During the Beeching Axe in the 1960s many of the railway's branch lines were closed, including the direct route between Dumfries and Stranraer, via Galloway on the Portpatrick and Wigtownshire Joint Railway and Castle Douglas and Dumfries Railway, leaving the present 'Y' shaped railway. The former G&SWR terminus at Glasgow St Enoch was also closed in this period (in 1966), with all services rerouted into Glasgow Central.