Partick () is an interchange station in the Partick area of Glasgow, Scotland. Along with the adjacent bus station, it forms one of the main transport hubs in Glasgow. As of 2022, it is the fifth-busiest station in Scotland. The station is served by Glasgow Subway and ScotRail services and was one of the first to receive bilingual English and Gaelic signs, due to the significant Gaelic-speaking population in the surrounding Partick area.
History
The first station in the area was the North British Railway's , opened in 1887 slightly to the north of the existing site on the opposite side of the Dumbarton Road. Soon after, the Glasgow Subway opened and its Merkland Street station, slightly to the south of the existing station site, opened in December 1896. Neither was independently known as "Partick station" as there were two other railway stations in Partick between the late 19th and mid-20th centuries: (later renamed Kelvin Hall station) to the east with and to the west.
Argyle Line opening
The Beeching Axe of the 1960s closed and , both on the Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway link to the Stobcross Railway and Glasgow Central Railway, leaving just the two stations in Partick, with Partickhill station - which escaped closure owing to being on the newly electrified (1960) North Clyde line from Queen Street Low Level, served by the 'Blue Trains', with a major pre-electrification refurbishment in 1958. It stood a few hundred yards north of Merkland Street. The amalgamation of the two stations to a single site came in 1979, as a major refurbishment of the Glasgow Subway coincided with the Greater Glasgow Passenger Transport Executive's decision to reopen part of the Glasgow Central Railway, which had been axed by Beeching, as the Argyle Line and connecting it to the North Clyde system just east of Partick. Both stations were closed (Merkland Street had been since the Subway works began in May 1977, whilst Partickhill remained in service for several months after the Argyle Line opened, until replaced by the current Partick station) and replaced by British Rail with a new combined Partick station in the middle. The platforms at Partickhill are still visible from the North Clyde/Argyle Line, although access to Dumbarton Road is now blocked. The Merkland Street station buildings are no longer visible.
The station is one of the primary stations on the Argyle Line and North Clyde Line of the Glasgow suburban rail network. These lines primarily provide services to the east and west although the station itself is orientated north–south with two platforms. Statistically, it is the tenth busiest railway station in Scotland and the fifth busiest passenger interchange when subway and bus journeys from the site are included.
National Rail
Partick station is on a busy section of the Strathclyde rail network, served by all services on the Argyle Line and North Clyde Line.
Eastbound Argyle Line trains serve and , before continuing to , , via or , as well as . Eastbound North Clyde Line trains operate to , , eastbound, via . Westbound services operate to and via , and to .
Many journeys that interchange between the Argyle and North Clyde lines require passengers to change at Partick, as it is the closest station to central Glasgow with direct services to both and main line stations.
November 1979 (from opening of Argyle Line) There were 15 trains per hour at opening of the Argyle Line in November 1979. 2 tph to , via and 1 tph to , via and 2 tph to , via and 1 tph to , via and 1 tph to , limited stop via 2 tph to 2 tph to , limited stop 2 tph to via 2 tph High Street to
2010/2011 (From 12 December 2010) There are a total of 14 trains per hour, off-peak, in each direction. 2 tph to , via 2 tph to , via 2 tph to (limited stop) 2 tph to (limited stop) 2 tph to , via Singer (limited stop) 1 tph to , via and 1 tph to , via and 1 tph to , via 1 tph to , via
2016
The basic frequency still remains 14tph each way, but following a major timetable recast in December 2014 some routes have been changed. The main alteration has been the incorporation of the Whifflet Line into the Argyle Line timetable and the consequent removal of trains to Lanark via Belshill (passengers for those stations now have to change at or Glasgow Central, as they run to/from Central High Level). Springburn line services have now also been extended to Cumbernauld eastbound and Dumbarton Central westbound on weekdays, with an hourly service to Cumbernauld via Springburn starting/terminating here on Sundays.