Dunbar railway station
Looking north from the reinstated second platform (2020) | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland | ||||
| Coordinates | 55°59′55″N 2°30′52″W / 55.9985°N 2.5145°W | ||||
| Grid reference | NT680784 | ||||
| Managed by | ScotRail | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Tracks | 3 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | DUN | ||||
| History | |||||
| Original company | North British Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | North British Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | London and North Eastern Railway | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 16 June 1846 | Opened[2] | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2020/21 | 66,300 | ||||
| 2021/22 | 0.252 million | ||||
| 2022/23 | 0.319 million | ||||
| 2023/24 | 0.399 million | ||||
| 2024/25 | 0.416 million | ||||
Listed Building – Category B | |||||
| Designated | 11 January 1988 | ||||
| Reference no. | LB24857[3] | ||||
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Dunbar railway station serves the town of Dunbar, in East Lothian, Scotland. It is located on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) and is a two platform station. It is 29 miles 5 chains (46.8 km) from Edinburgh Waverley and 364.1 miles (586.0 km) from London King's Cross.[4]
History
The station, which was first opened by the North British Railway in June 1846, had two platforms and an overall roof. The northbound platform loop line was taken out of use and lifted in the early 1970s, whilst the platform itself and the station roof were both removed during the modernisation and electrification by British Rail of the northern end of the ECML in 1987–88.
For approximately five months in 1979, it was the terminus for a shuttle service to Edinburgh Waverley; it was provided after the ECML was blocked due to the collapse of Penmanshiel Tunnel. Buses linked Dunbar with Berwick-upon-Tweed, from where rail services to London King's Cross resumed.
Accidents and incidents
- On 3 January 1898, an express passenger train collided with a freight train that was being shunted. One person was killed and 21 were injured.[5]
Layout
Platform one is located on a loop adjacent to the main through lines. The second platform is on the main northbound line, which has had trains stopping there since 15 December 2019.
Prior to December 2019, the line on which the main platform is located was bi-directional; this meant that trains travelling to/from London or Edinburgh had to take it in turns to use the station if they were scheduled to stop there. Preliminary work into a new second platform began in October 2015.[6] In December 2018, Network Rail announced that Amco had been appointed the contractors for the construction of the second platform, which would start in summer 2019 and was intended to have the works completed by early 2020.
Construction of the new platform necessitated a new footbridge with lifts; improvements to the station car park were carried out as part of the project. The bridge was completed ahead of schedule and the new platform opened in December 2019.[7][8] Final fitting work and completion of the car park continued; however, it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]
With all northbound services now using the second platform and no longer using the main platform loop, with the exception of all terminating ScotRail services from Edinburgh; this now leaves Syston in Leicester as the only example of a single-platformed main line railway station used on a major route.
Facilities
The station is fully staffed, with the ticket office open throughout the week (Monday-Friday 05:55-21:30, Saturday 06:25-20:40 and Sunday 11:15-21:30). Self-service ticket machines are also provided for use outside these times and for collecting pre-paid tickets. There are toilets, a payphone and vending machines on the concourse. Train running information is provided by manual announcements, digital customer information system displays, a help point and timetable posters. Level access is available from the entrance and concourse to the platform.[10]
The station entrance lies to the east, adjacent to the southbound platform. The northbound platform is accessible via a footbridge with lifts.
Services
The station is served by four train operating companies, which provide the following general off-peak service in trains per hour/day (tph/tpd):
- 2 tpd to Edinburgh Waverley
- 1 tpd to Birmingham New Street.
London North Eastern Railway:[12]
- 4 tpd to Edinburgh Waverley
- 4 tpd to London Kings Cross
- 1 tpd to York
- 1 tpd to Newcastle.
- 1 tp2h to Edinburgh Waverley, via Musselburgh (stopping service).
- 1 tp2h to Edinburgh Waverley
- 1 tp2h to Newcastle.
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berwick-upon-Tweed, Alnmouth or Newcastle | CrossCountry Cross Country Route |
Edinburgh Waverley | ||
| Reston, Berwick-upon-Tweed or Alnmouth | London North Eastern Railway East Coast Main Line |
Edinburgh Waverley | ||
| Reston | TransPennine Express North Route |
East Linton | ||
| Terminus | ScotRail Edinburgh-Dunbar |
East Linton | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Innerwick Line open, station closed |
North British Railway NBR Main Line |
East Linton Line and station open (resited) | ||
References
Citations
- ^ Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
- ^ Butt (1995)
- ^ "Station Road, Dunbar railway station and Station Lodge". Historic Scotland. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
- ^ Yonge, John (December 2007) [1987]. Jacobs, Gerald (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (5th ed.). Bradford on Avon: Trackmaps. map 11. ISBN 978-0-9549866-3-6.
- ^ Trevena, Arthur (1981). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 2. Redruth: Atlantic Books. p. 9. ISBN 0-906899-03-6.
- ^ Dunbar railway station could get second platform in three years Archived 11 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine East Lothian Courier news article 8 April 2016; Retrieved 9 February 2017
- ^ "Amco awarded Dunbar railway station upgrade contract" (Press release). Network Rail. 12 December 2018. Archived from the original on 14 December 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
- ^ "Second platform at Dunbar station opened". 30 December 2019. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ Smith, Claire (3 July 2020). "Covid-19 | Network Rail restarts major projects in Scotland". New Civil Engineer. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ "Dunbar (DUN)". National Rail. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- ^ "Timetables". CrossCountry. 14 December 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- ^ "Our timetables". LNER. 14 December 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- ^ "Train timetables". ScotRail. 14 December 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- ^ "Timetables". TransPennine Express. 14 December 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
Sources
- 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.
- Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.