Suggestions for improving rail access to Stranraer

[John Griffiths]

Moderator note: Split from https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/stranraer-station.186815/#post-4126561

A restoration of the Stranraer to Carlisle line would/ have implications for freight transit from the northern half of Ireland to Great Britain.

 

[John Griffiths]

Probably from Cairnryan rather than Stranraer.

 

[Clayton]

A restoration of the Stranraer to Carlisle line would/ have implications for freight transit from the northern half of Ireland to Great Britain.

Best not start that one again! General view is that wouldn’t be enough freight to make rail worthwhile. N Ire doesn’t have a massive population

 

[Craig2601]

Best not start that one again! General view is that wouldn’t be enough freight to make rail worthwhile. N Ire doesn’t have a massive population

Is there a thread on the reopening on the forum? I couldn’t find one anywhere.

 

[MarkyT]

The station really needs moving closer to the town centre. It's current position at the tip of the pier is ludicrous with no ferry service to connect with, especially when the approach alignment actually passes closer to the town en route. An intermodal passenger hub could be established at the new site to connect with local buses, including a road shuttle to the new ferry port if desired. There are also plans for a large mixed use development on the the east pier, which is still owned by Stena.

 

[Bevan Price]

The station really needs moving closer to the town centre. It's current position at the tip of the pier is ludicrous with no ferry service to connect with, especially when the approach alignment actually passes closer to the town en route. An intermodal passenger hub could be established at the new site to connect with local buses, including a road shuttle to the new ferry port if desired. There are also plans for a large mixed use development on the the east pier, which is still owned by Stena.

Does the old trackbed to Stranraer Town station still exist, or has it been built over?

 

[MadMac]

Does the old trackbed to Stranraer Town station still exist, or has it been built over?

Appears to still exist per Google Earth. As others have alluded to, it wasn't really any nearer to the actual town centre than the current station.

 

[sprunt]

This is based entirely on looking at Google Maps, so there may be something I'm not aware of that would prevent this, but it looks to me as if the best alternative location for a new station would be at the land end of the pier. It looks like it would need some land to be reclaimed on the north-east side of the pier for a platform (again, I'm just saying that knowing nothing of the complexities involved) but on the other side the land seems mostly to be taken up with a big road loop that could easily be cut across to make space for a station building.

 

[30907]

This is based entirely on looking at Google Maps, so there may be something I'm not aware of that would prevent this, but it looks to me as if the best alternative location for a new station would be at the land end of the pier. It looks like it would need some land to be reclaimed on the north-east side of the pier for a platform (again, I'm just saying that knowing nothing of the complexities involved) but on the other side the land seems mostly to be taken up with a big road loop that could easily be cut across to make space for a station building.

This thread from earlier in the year might help - maps and summary of options.

https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...it-be-made-more-so.175882/page-2#post-3818948

 

[John Griffiths]

Best not start that one again! General view is that wouldn’t be enough freight to make rail worthwhile. N Ire doesn’t have a massive population

I must confess I don't have stats. But on a recent visit I was very surprised by the high volume of HGV traffic on the A75. Surely it would be a good thing if at least some of this could be diverted on to rail; and easy(ish) rail transit to most parts of GB (and by tunnel to mainland Europe) would be good for the economy of SW Scotland, NI, and further afield.