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Dunbar railway station

Coordinates: 55°59′55″N 2°30′52″W / 55.9985°N 2.5145°W / 55.9985; -2.5145
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Dunbar

Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Bàrr[1]
National Rail
Looking north from the reinstated second platform (2020)
General information
LocationDunbar, East Lothian,
Scotland
Coordinates55°59′55″N 2°30′52″W / 55.9985°N 2.5145°W / 55.9985; -2.5145
Grid referenceNT680784
Managed byScotRail
Platforms2
Tracks3
Other information
Station codeDUN[2]
History
Original companyNorth British Railway
Pre-groupingNorth British Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
16 June 1846Opened[3]
Passengers
2020/21Decrease 66,300
2021/22Increase 0.252 million
2022/23Increase 0.319 million
2023/24Increase 0.399 million
2024/25Increase 0.416 million
Listed Building – Category B
Designated11 January 1988
Reference no.LB24857[4]
Location
Map
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

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.[5]

History

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The station was first opened by the North British Railway on 22 June 1846.[6]

Between August and November 1948, the line through the station was affected by severe flooding, causing trains to be diverted via Carlisle.[6]

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.[7]

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.[citation needed]

Accidents and incidents

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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.[8]

Layout

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The station seen in 2012, looking south, before the installation of the new platform

Platform one is located on a loop adjacent to the main through lines. The second platform is on the main northbound line. 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.[9] Preliminary work into a new second platform began in October 2015.[10] 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.[11]

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.[12][13] Final fitting work and completion of the car park continued; however, it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[14]

Facilities

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The station is fully staffed, with the ticket office open throughout the week. 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.[15]

Passenger volume

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Passenger Volume at Dunbar[16]
2002–03 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 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 224,552 266,142 288,282 299,172 332,377 339,094 318,976 333,916 362,852 374,216 400,065 425,952 452,848 449,282 460,440 477,986 473,884 66,300 252,348 319,280

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

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The station is served by four train operating companies, which provide the following general off-peak service in trains per hour/day (tph/tpd):

CrossCountry

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London North Eastern Railway

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ScotRail

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TransPennine Express

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  • 1 tp2h to Edinburgh Waverley
  • 1 tp2h to Newcastle.[20]
Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Berwick-upon-Tweed   CrossCountry
Cross Country Route 		  Edinburgh Waverley
Alnmouth    
Newcastle    
Reston   London North Eastern Railway
East Coast Main Line 		  Edinburgh Waverley
Berwick-upon-Tweed    
Alnmouth    
Reston   TransPennine Express
North Route 		  East Linton
Terminus   ScotRail
Edinburgh–Dunbar 		 
  Historical railways  
Innerwick
Line open, station closed 		  North British Railway
NBR Main Line 		  East Linton
Line and station open (resited)

References

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  1. ^ Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
  2. ^ "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  3. ^ Butt (1995)
  4. ^ "Station Road, Dunbar railway station and Station Lodge". Historic Scotland. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ a b Quick 2023, p. 171.
  7. ^ https://www.railscot.co.uk/locations/D/Dunbar/
  8. ^ Trevena, Arthur (1981). Trains in Trouble: Vol. 2. Redruth: Atlantic Books. p. 9. ISBN 0-906899-03-6.
  9. ^ Bridge, Mike, ed. (2017). TRACKatlas of Mainland Britain: A Comprehensive Geographic Atlas Showing the Rail Network of Great Britain (3rd ed.). Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. p. 86. ISBN 978 1909431 26 3.
  10. ^ 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
  11. ^ "Amco wins Dunbar railway station upgrade". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ "Second platform at Dunbar station opened". 30 December 2019. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ "Dunbar (DUN)". National Rail. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
  16. ^ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  17. ^ "Timetables". CrossCountry. 14 December 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
  18. ^ "Our timetables". LNER. 14 December 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
  19. ^ "Train timetables". ScotRail. 14 December 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
  20. ^ "Timetables". TransPennine Express. 14 December 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2026.

Bibliography

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