Laurencekirk railway station

Laurencekirk Scottish Gaelic: Eaglais Labhrainn
Laurencekirk station after restoration and reopening
General information
Location	Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire Scotland
Coordinates	56.8368°N 2.4653°W / 56.8368; -2.4653
Grid reference	NO717718
Managed by	ScotRail
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	LAU
Classification	DfT category F1
History
Original company	Aberdeen Railway
Pre-grouping	Caledonian Railway
Post-grouping	LMS
Key dates
1 November 1849	Opened
4 September 1967	Closed
17 May 2009	Re-opened
Passengers
2019/20	88,566
2020/21	8,778
2021/22	45,386
2022/23	60,670
2023/24	80,682
Listed Building – Category B
Designated	8 March 2001
Reference no.	LB47653
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Laurencekirk railway station is a railway station serving the communities of Laurencekirk and The Mearns in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The station was reopened on 18 May 2009 at a cost of £3 million. It is sited 210 miles 44 chains (338.8 km) from Carlisle, and is between Montrose and Stonehaven, on the Dundee to Aberdeen line. There is a crossover at the north end of the station, which can be used to facilitate trains turning back if the line south to Montrose is blocked.

History

A freight train passing the site of the former station in 2008 before construction started to reopen it

The station was opened on 1 November 1849 by the Aberdeen Railway, which ran from Aberdeen in the north to Guthrie (just outside Arbroath) to the south. The line joined the North British, Arbroath and Montrose Railway north of Montrose at Kinnaber Junction and Arbroath and Forfar Railway at the triangular junctions at Friockheim and Guthrie. The station was closed on 4 September 1967 by British Railways.

Re-opening

The modern station seen in 2014

The residents of Laurencekirk, many of whom now commute to Aberdeen and Dyce had successfully campaigned for the station to be reopened – the official announcement being made during December 2006 that the station would open in December 2007, to be funded by Transport Scotland and the Regional Transport Partnership Nestrans. The announcement of December 2007 for the re-commencement of services to and from Laurencekirk was ultimately overly ambitious and it was announced in early 2008 that the station would be finished and ready for the December 2008 timetable change. However, in a New Release from Transport Scotland, the opening date was given at Spring 2009. The station was reopened by the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure & Climate Change, Stewart Stevenson on 17 May 2009.

The station building, which had fallen into poor overall condition was refurbished during Spring 2008, and a new car park with 70 parking spaces was built by Aberdeenshire Council and Nestrans, across the railway line from the station building, together with a small number of disabled parking spaces next to the station building. First ScotRail made provisional plans for 19 trains to serve the station each day, made up of 10 northbound services and 9 southbound services, with southbound services serving both Edinburgh and Glasgow. ScotRail will also be responsible for gritting and snow-clearing at the station.

On the first anniversary of the reopening of the station, it was revealed that almost double the expected number of passengers had used it – 64,000 people as opposed to a projection of 36,000.

Facilities

Although the station is unstaffed, both platforms are equipped with shelters and benches. Platform 1 also has a help point and is adjacent to the car park, whilst platform 2 has a ticket machine. Both platforms have step-free access, and are connected by a footbridge, which also has a ramp.

Passenger volume

Passenger Volume at Laurencekirk

	2009–10	2010–11	2011–12	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2015–16	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19	2019–20	2020–21	2021–22	2022–23
Entries and exits	56,496	73,594	86,138	92,470	102,770	112,914	104,488	96,002	95,848	86,332	88,566	8,778	45,386	60,670

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

As of the May 2022 timetable, Laurencekirk is served by an hourly stopping service which runs between Montrose and Inverurie. Some services also extend to Perth or Glasgow Queen Street westbound, and Inverness eastbound (although some terminate short at Aberdeen or Dyce). A limited service operates on Sundays, northbound to Aberdeen and southbound to Glasgow Queen Street, Edinburgh Waverley and Perth.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Montrose		ScotRail Dundee–Aberdeen line		Stonehaven
Montrose To Montrose		ScotRail Aberdeen Crossrail		Stonehaven To Inverurie
	Historical railways
Marykirk Line open; station closed		Caledonian Railway Aberdeen Railway		Fordoun Line open; station closed

Bibliography

• Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. CN 8983.
• Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
• Quick, Michael (2022). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain: A Chronology (PDF) (5th ed.). London: Railway and Canal Historical Society.

External links

• Train times and station information for Laurencekirk railway station from National Rail