Hamilton Central railway station
Hamilton Central railway station serves Hamilton, South Lanarkshire in Scotland, lying on the Argyle Line. It is situated in the town centre, adjacent to the Hamilton bus station, as well as the Regent Shopping Centre, Hamilton's main shopping location. In March 2007, SPT announced a redevelopment of the bus and railway stations into a combined interchange, which was completed in winter 2012.
History
The station used to have four lines running through between two platforms. The western platform is the original one. The other platform with ticket office is a replacement. It was built approximately where the southbound through line ran and then replaced the original. There was a turntable just to the south of the station on the east. The semi-circular retaining wall can still be seen. There was a signal box opposite at John Street level accessed from John Street. The goods yard was to the north of the station, encompassing the whole of the current bus station and car park. The goods yard entrance and main Station entrance was from adjacent to the top cross. There was a large retaining wall that ran from the cross up Quarry Street to about where the Quarry street steps now sit. The entry road ran adjacent to the wall and curved away from the wall as it approached the station and yard entrances. The Quarry street steps replaced an office, at street level, and set of steps leading down to the main Station platform. There is also an entrance to the other platform on the south side of the bridge. It has a grand arched stone portico but is sealed now with an ornate design facing the pavement. The steps are still existing but the archway to the platform is walled up.In addition there was a line that went from the position of the disused pedestrian bridge opposite South Park Road The line through the station was electrified in 1974, as part of the wider project to wire the northern end of the West Coast Main Line.
In 2016, construction began on a new, covered, passenger footbridge between the platforms. The new bridge will be compliant with disability regulations and feature lifts from the platforms to the bridge itself. In order to accommodate this the booking office on platform 2 and the waiting shelter on platform 1 have both been demolished, with tickets currently being sold from a temporary cabin next to the platform 2 entrance. Once the new bridge is completed in 2017, the existing footbridge will be removed and new passenger facilities constructed.