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Breich - Public Consultation on Station Closure

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DuncanS

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As the title says, Network Rail looking to shut down a station,

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/running-the-railway/our-routes/scotland/breich-station/

2.6 journies a week!
Major costs in redeveloping the station for electrification.


edit for their reasons for proposed closure,

Network Rail has concluded that Breich station should be closed for the following reasons:-
• The patronage at the station is expected to remain low
• The ongoing operating costs of the station represent poor value for money to the public
• The closure of the station will have very little impact on rail users
• The option to retain the station has a (negative) Net Present Value3 of -£1.7 million based on renewal costs avoided alone
• The option to retain the station once the electrification scheme has been completed has a (negative) Net Present Value of -£3.09m. The closure will avoid station rebuild costs of £1.4 million associated with the Shotts Electrification Programme.
 
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tbtc

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• The option to retain the station has a (negative) Net Present Value3 of -£1.7 million based on renewal costs avoided alone
• The option to retain the station once the electrification scheme has been completed has a (negative) Net Present Value of -£3.09m. The closure will avoid station rebuild costs of £1.4 million associated with the Shotts Electrification Programme.

Worth quoting these figures, as any debate about closing a barely-used station tends to get the response "but it's not hurting anyone, it's only a minimal cost" etc.

Three million quid, for a station that doesn't see three passengers each week?

I know that not every station is in line for electrification in the near future, and that this "one-off" event has kind of forced Network Rail's hand, but the costs of upgrading other basket-case stations to modern accessibility standards etc.

I'd rather we bit the bullet and closed a handful of stations properly, rather than the nonsense of one-a-week train services, permanent rail replacement buses etc.
 

swt_passenger

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I'd rather we bit the bullet and closed a handful of stations properly, rather than the nonsense of one-a-week train services, permanent rail replacement buses etc.

+1 here. Newhaven Marine I'm looking at you. Trouble is the issue of station closures is very similar to the issue of 'cuts' - whoever is asking for them...
 

thenorthern

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Etruria may have been the last one to close without a direct replacement in 2005.

Wasn't there plants to rebuild the former footbridge from Gerogemas Junction at Breich station as the current one isn't very stable I don't think.
 

snowball

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Etruria may have been the last one to close without a direct replacement in 2005.

Wasn't there plants to rebuild the former footbridge from Gerogemas Junction at Breich station as the current one isn't very stable I don't think.

In view of the low usage it seems scarcely worth bothering (even if the station were to remain open) when it's close to the A706 road bridge which has just been rebuilt for electrification and now has a footway.
 

Ianno87

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Etruria may have been the last one to close without a direct replacement in 2005.

Wasn't there plants to rebuild the former footbridge from Gerogemas Junction at Breich station as the current one isn't very stable I don't think.

Later closures have been the Oldham Loop station in 2009 (mostly directly replaced by tram stops on the same site or nearby - Oldham Werneth probably being the most remote from any replacement stop)

And Rochester in 2015, for the relocation of the station eastwards closer to the town centre.
 

Kite159

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The bridge in question



I did note when I visited the station (shocking the guard as "nobody ever gets off at Breich") that the footbridge looked low (similar to the rusty footbridge at Addiewell), but I was thinking more along the lines of the footbridge getting removed and Breich becoming like Pilning (and Polesworth) and only have one platform.

Although the platform was low (and mostly loose stones) so that probably upgrading the platform(s) to 'standard' height probably put the cost up.

----

I suspect if Breich goes, the future doesn't look bright for Springfield if the wires ever go towards Dundee
 
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Baxenden Bank

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Which was the last permanent closure? Norton Bridge?

Folkestone Harbour in 2014 - but not properly served since 2001
Various Oldham Loop stations 2009 - as said above, replaced directly or very close to.
Abercynon North 2008 - but replaced close to.
Kings Cross Thameslink 2007 - but replaced close to.
North Woolwich branch stations - 2006 - replaced by DLR close to.
Garston - 2006 - but replaced by Liverpool Airport Parkway
Etruria - 2005 - probably the last true closure with no real replacement or alternative nearby.
 

InOban

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I seem to recall that it's not even in Breich, although there's not much to it anyway - an abandoned mining village I think. It used to have one regular commuter, now retired.
 

PaulLothian

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I seem to recall that it's not even in Breich, although there's not much to it anyway - an abandoned mining village I think. It used to have one regular commuter, now retired.

Just a few minutes' walk from the village. Nevertheless it would make more sense, in the highly unlikely event of a huge future surge in demand, to build a new station with car park to the east of the present station.
 

thenorthern

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I seem to recall that it's not even in Breich, although there's not much to it anyway - an abandoned mining village I think. It used to have one regular commuter, now retired.

I think the village is named after the station but there is a Breich village about a quarter of a mile from the station. There was a bar and hotel but that closed and caught fire a couple of years ago.

There was a commuter in Breich who caught the train into Edinburgh 3 days a week but I think he retired a couple of years ago.

When did it last have a decent service?

I know its been at least 25 years since it had a regular service but I wouldn't be surprised if its always been a limited stop station.
 

Blindtraveler

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I have been to Breich, blink and youl miss it if Im honest. I arrived and departed by bus from Lanarck/To Fauldhouse Station and whilst the majority of services in this area are subsidised the money would IMO be better spent subsidising the 2 routes through the village both of which connect with rail services directly at dedicated interchanges.
 

thenorthern

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I have always found the platform at Breich to be a really annoying at its gravel on the platform.

Given that in England its the Department for Transport who has the final say on closure is it still the case in Scotland or is it the Scottish Parliament?

Given that Norton Bridge closure is likely to now happen, Folkestone Harbour has closed and a couple of short parliamentary lines have closed could this be a sign of things to come?

According to news reports the last station to close in Scotland was Balloch Pier in 1986 which was a strange closure as its was one of the few electrified stations to close.
 

Strathclyder

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It was only a matter of time before the final nail was driven in for Breich. As saddened as I am to see any station bite the dust, it's better to give it a dignified closure as opposed to stringing it out through this weekdays-only, two trains a day set-up that's been the norm for so many years now. As Blindtraveler has noted above, the money currently spent on keeping the station open could be better spent on subsidizing/improving bus links through the village to/from existing transport interchanges, Fauldhouse being just one example.

Given that in England its the Department for Transport who has the final say on closure is it still the case in Scotland or is it the Scottish Parliament?
It is Transport Scotland (effectively Scotland's answer to the DfT) that has the final say on matters such as this, not the Scottish Parliament.

According to news reports the last station to close in Scotland was Balloch Pier in 1986 which was a strange closure as its was one of the few electrified stations to close.
The primary reason Balloch Pier remained open as long as did was due to the steamer service operated by the Maid of the Loch. Once that ceased in 1981, there was little reason for it to remain open, yet it continued to stagger on until September 1986, being closed as part of the 1984 Strathclyde Rail Review.
 

Xenophon PCDGS

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As Blindtraveler has noted above, the money currently spent on keeping the station open could be better spent on subsidizing/improving bus links through the village to/from existing transport interchanges, Fauldhouse being just one example.

Has there been any recent intimation from any official source concerning those village bus links mentioned above?
 

yorksrob

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Do we trust NR's figures ? The bridge is obviously an issue, but raising the platform sounds like unnecessary gold plating.

Will this open up a Pandora's box that we don't want opening.
 

Blindtraveler

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Both bus routes are council tenders and have seen some cuts of late. In terms of connectivity/interchange the bus service connects directly at Livingston bus terminal where buses to Bathgate station are regular and at the other end they terminate at Fauldhouse station with less than aminutes walk between bus and train. The longer route to Lanarck terminates in the bus/rail interchange with easy access. Of note this is the only station out of the ones directly served to have abooking office.

Thr opprtations are I believe still in the hands of Blue Bus who seam to run a good show
 

a_c_skinner

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Looking at the map it doesn't seem an immediately obvious place for a busy station but with the level of service the level of patronage is actually rather good. I remain concerned that one way to make a station too poorly used to maintain is to stop few trains at it.
 

snowball

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It is Transport Scotland (effectively Scotland's answer to the DfT) that has the final say on matters such as this, not the Scottish Parliament.
Surely it's legally the Scottish Ministers. Saying it's Transport Scotland makes it seem the final decision can be taken by civil servants.
 

najaB

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According to news reports the last station to close in Scotland was Balloch Pier in 1986...
Was that after Errol? I thought that was 1986/87 ish.

Edit: Nevermind, according to Wikipedia it was 1985.
 
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thenorthern

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Has there been any recent intimation from any official source concerning those village bus links mentioned above?

I haven't seen any but given that Breich station is currently used by about 2.6 passengers per week I doubt many residents know the station exists.

Do we trust NR's figures ? The bridge is obviously an issue, but raising the platform sounds like unnecessary gold plating.

Will this open up a Pandora's box that we don't want opening.

With Breich the platforms are odd in that they aren't tarmacked but instead covered in gravel some of which has grass growing out of it. With the line being upgraded I would think the regulators would require new platforms.

Breich isn't the only station that would need a large amount of modification for electrification, many stations have footbridges with steps that will need to be replaced, Addiewell I think also has a partial gravel platform and finally I think Livingston South's timber platforms which have been in place since it opened in 1984 will be replaced.
 

PaulLothian

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I think the village is named after the station but there is a Breich village about a quarter of a mile from the station. There was a bar and hotel but that closed and caught fire a couple of years ago. ...

I know its been at least 25 years since it had a regular service but I wouldn't be surprised if its always been a limited stop station.

This got me going on local history for a corner of my county that I haven't really researched at all, despite having worked around the area 40 years ago.

The original local mine was Woodmuir Colliery (coal) and I believe there were some miners' cottages there, south of the current village. The council housing in Breich appears to have been built to replace that former accommodation, and seems to have been in effect a new village, as it doesn't appear on any pre-war maps in the National Library of Scotland collection. The colliery closed in 1963, since when there has been almost no employment in the village.

The local river (in the valley to the north) is the Breich Water, and the bridge crossing it on the old route between Linlithgow and Lanark (now the A706) is the Breich Bridge. To the south of the bridge is a crossroads, leading east to Loganlea, and west now only to a farm, which I think may have been at one time the original high road to the west from the Livingston area. It would seem likely that the current Breich crossroads and the adjacent Breich Inns in turn used the name after that stretch of the route was relocated. Haven't so far a precise date for that, but probably the early Victorian era. The station and subsequently the new village all inherited the name.

I could never work out the rationale for the station being built - the directly competing station, at Longridge, appears to have closed two decades before Breich was built, so no competition there.
 

thenorthern

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This got me going on local history for a corner of my county that I haven't really researched at all, despite having worked around the area 40 years ago.

The original local mine was Woodmuir Colliery (coal) and I believe there were some miners' cottages there, south of the current village. The council housing in Breich appears to have been built to replace that former accommodation, and seems to have been in effect a new village, as it doesn't appear on any pre-war maps in the National Library of Scotland collection. The colliery closed in 1963, since when there has been almost no employment in the village.

The local river (in the valley to the north) is the Breich Water, and the bridge crossing it on the old route between Linlithgow and Lanark (now the A706) is the Breich Bridge. To the south of the bridge is a crossroads, leading east to Loganlea, and west now only to a farm, which I think may have been at one time the original high road to the west from the Livingston area. It would seem likely that the current Breich crossroads and the adjacent Breich Inns in turn used the name after that stretch of the route was relocated. Haven't so far a precise date for that, but probably the early Victorian era. The station and subsequently the new village all inherited the name.

I could never work out the rationale for the station being built - the directly competing station, at Longridge, appears to have closed two decades before Breich was built, so no competition there.

Looked at old maps Breich village seems to have appeared in around 1900 as "Breich Terrace", Breich station itself opened in 1869 and I think it may be named after Breich Water. At the time though there were a lot of mines in the area so I think it might have something to do with that.

Looking at the old BR Scottish Region timetable from 1948 Breich used to have a regular service and most trains called there.

Looking at the map again Breich inn which was at the crossroads where the station is but burnt down about 5 years ago was there long before the railway and Breich Bridge a bit north of the railway is older than the railway itself. I think it might have something to do with it as well.
 
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MidnightFlyer

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... finally I think Livingston South's timber platforms which have been in place since it opened in 1984 will be replaced.

Isn't a rebuild (scope unspecified) proposed for Livingston South as part of the juicing of the Shotts line? It's specifically highlighted amongst its benefits so I'm presuming it's getting more attention than the other stations on the route.
 
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