Stranraer railway station

Stranraer railway station (formerly known as Stranraer Harbour railway station) is a railway station that serves the town of Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The station is 94.5 miles (151 km) southwest of Glasgow and is the terminus of the Glasgow South Western Line. It has two platforms (although only one of these is currently in use) and is staffed on a part-time basis. Stranraer station remains owned by Stena Line and not Network Rail

The station is located on the east pier of Stranraer Harbour, formerly used by ferry services to Northern Ireland.

History
The station was opened on 1 October 1862 by the Portpatrick Railway; however, the current station buildings date from 1877 under the Portpatrick Railways Act 1877. The original facility was a concrete platform. Passengers and mail were meant to use the station at Portpatrick. The Portpatrick ferry service was never successful as, despite its apparently attractive location and significant initial investment, the harbour there was unsuitable as it was too small and insufficiently sheltered.

A ferry service had commenced by 1861 but passengers made their way from Stranraer Town station to the steamers, not Stranraer Harbour station. The first daily ferry service started on 1 October 1862 to Larne and was provided by PS Briton. However, it only lasted until 31 December 1863. Originally named Stranraer Harbour, the station name was simplified to Stranraer by 1996.

The Stena Line ferry service to Larne was moved to Belfast on 12 November 1995. P&O Ferries still sails there from nearby Cairnryan. Stena stopped serving Stranraer on 21 November 2011, having invested £200 million on a new route to Loch Ryan Port, near Cairnryan. ScotRail has cut services to Stranraer since the ferry services started departing from further up Loch Ryan and ferry passengers who travel by rail now face a long journey to Ayr by bus.

The line that runs from Stranraer station was temporarily closed between August and November 2018 due to the closures of platform 3 and 4 of Ayr station. This was caused by the adjacent hotel building that was found to be structurally unsound, which was then subsequently secured and services then resumed.

Services 2023
Due to the first fire at Ayr Station Hotel, There is an emergency timetable operating from the station and as a result there is only 2 train to/from Girvan departing at 0704 and 1305 Monday to Saturdays and 1041 and 1441 on Sundays, All other services are cancelled and replaced by buses to Girvan and Ayr. It is currently unknown when a normal service will resume due to the damage of the station hotel

7 days a week, There is a daily service of 5 trains per day to Ayr, running to an irregular 2 to 4 hourly frequency, 2 of these trains extend to Kilmarnock and one continues to Glasgow. On Sundays, All trains terminate at Ayr.

All services are again suspended, and this continues as of May 2024, being replaced by buses due to another fire at the hotel.

Bus link to Cairnryan ferry terminals
In September 2013 a bus link, route 350 operated by McLeans, was introduced between the railway station and the P&O Ferries and Stena Line ferry terminals at Cairnryan. The bus also serves the centre of Stranraer. Note this service meets all trains but does not operate on Sundays. As of 2017 the 350 service was rerouted and no longer calls at Stranraer station.

Future
The station is the southern terminal of the South West Scotland Community Rail Partnership which comprises local Community Councils, representation from South Ayrshire Council, ScotRail as well as private individuals. SWSCRP has adopted the station and has provided tubs, shrubs and plants. These are tended to by South West Scotland Station Adopters Gardening Group.

Plans by Dumfries & Galloway Council, to close the station and replace it by a new structure a few hundred metres further east to create a new transport hub for Stranraer have been ditched and the ring-fenced money used on other projects. On 21 November 2011, Stena Line operations ceased at Stranraer and were transferred a few miles up Loch Ryan to Cairnryan.