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Kirkcaldy railway station

Coordinates: 56°06′43″N 3°10′02″W / 56.1119°N 3.1671°W / 56.1119; -3.1671
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Kirkcaldy

Scottish Gaelic: Cair Chaladain[1]
National Rail
The southbound platform in September 2011
General information
LocationKirkcaldy, Fife
Scotland
Coordinates56°06′43″N 3°10′02″W / 56.1119°N 3.1671°W / 56.1119; -3.1671
Grid referenceNT275916
Managed byScotRail
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeKDY
Key dates
20 June 1847Opened
1964Re-built
1991South platform re-built
Passengers
2018/19Decrease 1.110 million
 Interchange  19,728
2019/20Decrease 1.008 million
 Interchange  Increase 20,044
2020/21Decrease 0.139 million
 Interchange  Decrease 2,787
2021/22Increase 0.579 million
 Interchange  Increase 11,887
2022/23Increase 0.642 million
 Interchange  Decrease 2,124
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road
The station, circa 1910, facing north. In the background is the Barry, Ostlere and Shepherd Caledonia Linoleum Works.

Kirkcaldy railway station is a railway station in the town of Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is on the Fife Circle Line and principal East Coast Main Line, 26 miles (42 km) north east of Edinburgh Waverley. British Transport Police maintain a small office on Platform 1.

The station is located on Station Road,[2] with an entrance on Whyte Melville Road. There are car parks on either side with an extension on the Whyte Melville Road side for Edinburgh commuter traffic.[3] The station building is situated on the Edinburgh platform. In the building is a ticket office (at street level), toilets, public phone, photo booth and shop.[4]

Platforms are adjoined by a connecting subway and a flight of stairs. Two lifts have recently been installed for north and south platform access.

There are waiting rooms on both platforms and CCTV is in operation. Train running information is provided via CIS displays, automatic announcements and customer help points.

There are three main railway station bus stops located on Bennochy Road (off Station Road) with access to the car park. A further two bus stops are located on Whyte Melville Road, one of which is adjacent to the entrance and the other opposite University of Dundee Nursing Kirkcaldy Campus.[2]

History

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A proposal to bring two railway lines to the town had been suggested as far back as 1836, but neither plan succeeded. This led for pressure to support a new line from Burntisland to Newport-on-Tay and Tayport via Kinghorn, Kirkcaldy, Markinch and Cupar in 1840. However, it was three years before Parliament even acknowledged this essential plan. A unanimous decision was passed in favour by both the House of Lords and Commons.[5] Kirkcaldy railway station, along with now defunct stations in Sinclairtown and Dysart, finally opened on 20 June 1847[5][6] as part of the Edinburgh and Northern Railway, which terminated at Cupar. Train services were later taken over by the North British Railway, which was absorbed by the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923. The nationalised British Railways took over in 1948.

Originally, only the south platform was covered, until a re-fit of the station was undertaken towards the end of the 19th century.[5] In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the station was surrounded by various linoleum works, which had sidings allowing the product to be shipped via the main line.[7]

The station buildings survived intact until they were re-built in 1964, probably as part of the controversial town centre redevelopment plan. A fire in the late 1980s led to the destruction of the south platform. A new south platform had to be built again from scratch, and this was officially re-opened again to the public in 1991.[8]

Services

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A northbound service calls at Kirkcaldy
The "Boy in the Train" by Mary Campbell Smith (1869-1960) is a well known poem about Kirkcaldy, featuring arrival at Kirkcaldy Railway Station and the smell of the linoleum factories nearby. It is now mounted above the stairs to platform 1 in Kirkcaldy Railway Station.

Southbound

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There is also a limited service to North Queensferry and Dalmeny.

On Sundays, there are two semi-fast trains per hour to Edinburgh and one all-stations local service.

Northbound

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  • 1 train per day to Glenrothes with Thornton (peak time)
  • 1 train per hour to Perth
  • 1 train per hour to Dundee
  • 9 services per day to Aberdeen. ScotRail Edinburgh to Aberdeen services do not usually stop at Kirkcaldy (except during the a.m peak and in the late evening). 4 London North Eastern Railway services call during the daytime.[9] The Caledonian Sleeper also calls, but only to set down. CrossCountry's one train per day to Aberdeen also calls here.

On Sundays, there are hourly services to Dundee and northbound along the Fife Circle, plus two-hourly services to Aberdeen.

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Kinghorn   ScotRail
Edinburgh–Dundee line
  Markinch
Kinghorn   ScotRail
Fife Circle Line
  Markinch
Glenrothes with Thornton   ScotRail
Fife Circle Line
 
Kinghorn   ScotRail
Levenmouth rail link
  Cameron Bridge
Inverkeithing   Caledonian Sleeper
Highland Caledonian Sleeper
  Leuchars
Inverkeithing   London North Eastern Railway
Northern Lights
(London – Aberdeen)
  Leuchars
Inverkeithing   CrossCountry
Cross Country Route
  Markinch
  Historical railways  
Sinclairtown
Line open, station closed
  North British Railway
Edinburgh and Northern Railway
  Kinghorn
Line and station open

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
  2. ^ a b "fifedirect.org.uk: Kirkcaldy Railway Station".
  3. ^ "Fife Today - Four-minute trip just to buy a ticket ..."
  4. ^ Kirkaldy station facilities National Rail Enquiries
  5. ^ a b c Eunson: Old Kirkcaldy (1998) p33
  6. ^ Eunson: Old Dysart (1998) p24
  7. ^ Historic Environment Scotland (1929). "Kirkcaldy, general view, showing Barry, Ostlere and Shepherd Caledonia Linoleum Works, Station Road and Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery. Oblique aerial photograph taken facing north-west. (1315469)". Canmore.
  8. ^ Kirkcaldy Civic Society (2000), Page 3
  9. ^ GB National Rail Timetable May 2016, Table 229

Sources

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  • Yonge, John (May 1987). Gerald Jacobs (ed.). British Rail Track Diagrams - Book 1: ScotRail (1st ed.). Exeter: Quail Map Company. ISBN 0-9006-0948-6.
  • Yonge, John (February 1993). Gerald Jacobs (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams - Book 1: Scotland and the Isle of Man (2nd ed.). Exeter: Quail Map Company. ISBN 0-9006-0995-8.
  • Yonge, John (April 1996). Gerald Jacobs (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams - Book 1: Scotland and the Isle of Man (3rd ed.). Exeter: Quail Map Company. ISBN 1-8983-1919-7.
  • Yonge, John (2007). Gerald Jacobs (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams - Book 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (Quail Track Plans) (fifth ed.). Bradford on Avon: Trackmaps (formerly Quail Map Co). ISBN 978-0-9549866-3-6. OCLC 79435248.
  • Station information from Fife Council