New station on track for Balgray

The new Balgray station is on track since Network Rail  appointed Story Contracting Ltd to design a railway station on the Neilston line in the area south of Barrhead. 

The station will be located off Balgraystone Road, between Patterton and Neilston stations. Plans for the site include car parking as well as bus and active travel routes.  

The name of the proposed new station will be Balgray, as it will be located next to Balgray Reservoir. The name is an old Scottish place name meaning either Bal (settlement) or Balg (bulge or bag shaped body of water).    

Funded by the Glasgow City Region City Deal, and to be delivered in partnership with East Renfrewshire Council, the new station will improve public transport links between Barrhead, the Dams to Darnley Country Park, and Glasgow. 

The Glasgow City Region City Deal is a £1.13billion partnership between eight local authorities, the Scottish Government and the UK Government. It includes 27 projects, 21 of them major infrastructure schemes. These will drive economic growth across the City Region and create 15,000 construction jobs while work is underway and 29,000 jobs when work is finished. 

Initial work to investigate the proposed station site is already underway.  

“I’m delighted that the proposal to locate a new station south of Barrhead is taking another significant step forward,” Alex Hynes, managing director of Scotland’s Railway, said.

“New stations have the potential to transform the communities they serve, support growth in travel for work and leisure, and provide opportunities for local people by improving connectivity, in this case, primarily into Glasgow,” Hynes added. “Scotland’s Railway will work closely with East Renfrewshire Council over the coming months to prepare the design plans for the new station.” 

“We are extremely proud to be appointed as the trusted partner to deliver the next step towards a significant new station,” John MacArthur, Managing Director, Story Contracting (Scotland) said. 

“We are looking forward to working alongside Network Rail and East Renfrewshire Council to design a solution which will improve connectivity for passengers and benefit the local community,” MacArthur added.  

The work to design a new station on the Neilston line comes alongside the ongoing Glasgow – Barrhead electrification project, part of a Scottish Government investment to decarbonise passenger services across Scotland’s Railway, which recently completed a six-week programme of major engineering works to prepare the Barrhead line for electrification by the end of this year. 

“It’s great to see work progressing on the Glasgow City Region Deal-funded rail station in Barrhead.  This station will bring huge benefits for the existing community in Barrhead as well as residents from the new housing developments nearby, providing improved access to jobs, education, and services. It also allows for a much-improved public transport link to Dams to Darnley Country Park,” East Renfrewshire Council Leader Owen O’Donnell said. 

Those who want to find out more about the plans for the new station are invited to attend a public information drop-in on Tuesday 12th December, 3.00pm-7.00pm, at the Auchenback Resource Centre, Aurs Drive, Barrhead.