Motherwell to Edinburgh

A ticket to Edinburgh from Motherwell not passing via Glasgow is £6.60 single with my disabled railcard however at night you can't get a train from Motherwell direct to Edinburgh. To avoid Glasgow you can go to Coatbridge Central walk to Coatbridge Sunnyside and catch the train there. The gaurd says that's not allowed and the £6.60 ticket is not permitted. Somehow I suspect he is right.

marko4ever34 said:

A ticket to Edinburgh from Motherwell not passing via Glasgow is £6.60 single with my disabled railcard however at night you can't get a train from Motherwell direct to Edinburgh. To avoid Glasgow you can go to Coatbridge Central walk to Coatbridge Sunnyside and catch the train there. The gaurd says that's not allowed and the £6.60 ticket is not permitted. Somehow I suspect he is right.

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Unfortunately he appears to have been correct in this instance. It is permissible to go from Motherwell to Edinburgh via Coatbridge Central, Cumbernauld and Falkirk High if you like, and if you have an Any Permitted ticket you can travel via Glasgow and Coatbridge Sunnyside to Edinburgh, but it's not permissible to combine the two - whilst avoiding travelling via Glasgow - at Coatbridge.

Unfortunately the route via Coatbridge Central and Sunnyside is just over 3 miles longer than the shortest route, and the lack of a Routeing Point at Coatbridge means it isn't a mapped route. However, I'm struggling to find a time when it's fastest to go along that route - even in the late evening. Am I missing something? The fastest routes not via Glasgow are either the direct XC via Carstairs; changing at Cumbernauld and Falkirk High; or changing at Bellshill.

Thanks for this well look at this 21:47 from Motherwell to Coatbridge Central then walking to Sunnyside and arriving Haymarket 23:04 verses 21:50 via Glasgow Central arriving 23:29. I also needed to be in Edinburgh at that time to catch the last Fife circle train. Out of interest why is there is no direct at night from Motherwell to Edinburgh!?

marko4ever34 said:

Thanks for this well look at this 21:47 from Motherwell to Coatbridge Central then walking to Sunnyside and arriving Haymarket 23:04 verses 21:50 via Glasgow Central arriving 23:29. I also needed to be in Edinburgh at that time to catch the last Fife circle train. Out of interest why is there is no direct at night from Motherwell to Edinburgh!?

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When it comes to ScotRail a main factor will be the drivers that do this route via both Carstairs and via Shotts to and via Motherwell are based at Motherwell and I believe it’s only one link - and probably the seniority link that are passed for these routes.

The Conductors that cover these two routes- again Via/to/from Motherwell to Edinburgh via Carstairs or Shotts are based at Glasgow Central.

No Edinburgh drivers or conductors are passed for via Motherwell and Carstairs. They are passed for Glasgow Central to Edinburgh via Shotts end to end only.

You could do it Motherwell to Bellshill and change there onto a via Shotts service to Edinburgh, but the problem is the evening service thins out dramatically in the evening on this route and i’m not sure if it’s a valid routing either.

156478 said:

You could do it Motherwell to Bellshill and change there onto a via Shotts service to Edinburgh, but the problem is the evening service thins out dramatically in the evening on this route and i’m not sure if it’s a valid routing either.

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Yes, this is a valid route.

The only direct service I'm aware of is that crack of dawn service onto the Shotts line, leaving about 0555, as well as those going via Carstairs.

It's not valid purely because there is no 'fixed link' between Central and Sunnyside.

It's valid as far as Central, of course.

Were you charged the excess?