East Linton railway station is a railway station serving the village of East Linton, Scotland. The original station opened in 1846 and closed in 1964. A new station, on a different site, opened on 13 December 2023.[1] It is on the East Coast Main Line, six miles (9.7 km) west of Dunbar.
History
The main line of the North British Railway, between Edinburgh (North Bridge) and Berwick-upon-Tweed, was authorised either on 4 July 1844[2] or on 19 July 1844,[3] and opened to the public on 22 June 1846.[4][2][5] One of the original stations was Linton, which was flanked by Drem towards Edinburgh and Dunbar towards Berwick.[6] The initial service was of five trains each way on weekdays, and two on Sundays.[4]
The main line ran roughly east–west through Linton.[7]East Fortune station, between Drem and Linton, opened 1848.[8] Linton station was renamed East Linton in December 1864.[8][5]
Facilities
In 1904 the station was able to handle all classes of traffic (goods, passengers, parcels, wheeled vehicles, livestock, etc.) and there was a goods crane capable of lifting 3 long tons (3,048 kg).[9]
Maps of the period show that East Linton station had platforms on both sides of the double-track main line which were linked by a footbridge; the station building was on the southern (westbound) platform; the goods yard with its crane was on the south side of the main line on the western side of the station. The maps also show long sidings each side of the line to the west of the station, a goods shed and weighing machine in the goods yard, a signal box opposite the goods shed and several signals.[10]
Decline and closure
View of the original station building
Unlike Drem and Dunbar, both East Linton and East Fortune were listed for closure in the first Beeching report, and duly closed on 4 May 1964.[8][11]
New station
A study published in 2013 proposed that East Linton and Reston stations be reopened.[12]
When Abellio ScotRail took over the franchise in April 2015, they committed to reopening both stations as part of the local Berwick service by December 2016. Although Scottish Government and local authority funding was secured, a decision was taken between Transport Scotland and East Lothian Council to integrate the construction of East Linton railway station within a larger programme of works in the next rail investment period of 2019 to 2024.[13]
Contractors started survey work in early 2020 at the proposed site of the station, which is to the west of the old station site.[14]
Plans for the railway station were published in October 2020 and submitted in early 2021.[15] East Lothian Council's planning committee approved the proposals, which cleared the way for a station open in the village for the first time in more than half a century. Preparatory work started in November 2021 with main construction work starting in February 2022 and finishing in November 2023. The first timetabled train services, operated by ScotRail and TransPennine Express, began on 13 December 2023.
The station has two 518-foot (158 m) platforms, connected by lifts and a footbridge, and a car park with 114 spaces.[16]
Services
On Monday to Fridays, ScotRail provides five trains per day to Edinburgh and six per day to Dunbar. TransPennine Express also provide five trains per day to Newcastle (one of which extends to Liverpool Lime Street), with a sixth train which operates as far as Berwick-upon-Tweed, and five trains per day to Edinburgh.[17]
On Saturdays, there are four ScotRail and seven TransPennine Express services to Edinburgh. In the other direction, there are five ScotRail services to Dunbar, five TransPennine Express services to Newcastle, and two TransPennine Express services to Berwick-upon-Tweed.
On Sundays, there are four TransPennine Express services to Edinburgh, four to Newcastle, and one to Berwick-upon-Tweed. ScotRail services do not call at East Linton on Sundays.
The frequency on services is uneven, meaning that there are gaps of between fifteen minutes and five hours between trains depending on the time of day.
Ellis, Cuthbert Hamilton (September 1959) [1955]. The North British Railway (2nd ed.). Shepperton: Ian Allan. 813/284/15 959.
Jones, Ben (March 2020). "Survey work starts at East Linton". The Railway Magazine. Vol. 166, no. 1, 428. Horncastle: Morton's Media. p. 84. ISSN0033-8923.
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