IBM (Halt) Closure & Possible Re-opening

[Gadget88]

Personally I am disgusted another station is closing. We should be adding more stations not removing them I blame the government and Scotrail. Stirling trains will soon skip Polmont next month. I fear we are going back to the Beeching rail cuts.

 

[Jorge Da Silva]

Personally I am disgusted another station is closing. We should be adding more stations not removing them I blame the government and Scotrail. Stirling trains will soon skip Polmont next month. I fear we are going back to the Beeching rail cuts.

I am not in favour of closures but I see no reason why this SHOULD remain open in the short term, and unlike Beeching the station is remaining where it is and could reopen pending a redevelopment.

 

[InOban]

https://www.scotsman.com/news/trans...bs-running-riot-in-derelict-factory-1-4833257

Precisely.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Personally I am disgusted another station is closing. We should be adding more stations not removing them I blame the government and Scotrail. Stirling trains will soon skip Polmont next month. I fear we are going back to the Beeching rail cuts.

I'm not sure how recasting a timetable to remove stops from one service set and place them into a brand new one constitutes a return to the 1960s... Practically every rail-connected town in Scotland has seen an increase in basic service provision over the past decade, and that's before we consider those lines and stations reopened or being juiced up. I have my scepticism both about IBM's predicament and the December timetable changes in the Central Belt, but given the explosion across Scotland over the past few years I don't think the Mad Axeman will be about any time soon, certainly not for political reasons.

 

[Elwyn]

Personally I am disgusted another station is closing. We should be adding more stations not removing them I blame the government and Scotrail..

This is a station with no passengers. I repeat - no passengers. And you feel that it is a good idea to keep it operational? Frankly, I am puzzled at the logic that leads to that conclusion.

 

[Gadget88]

Because if they think they can close one station you can be assured more will come and they will only keep profitable ones open. We have seen this happen with buses over recent years places being cut off.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Because if they think they can close one station you can be assured more will come and they will only keep profitable ones open. We have seen this happen with buses over recent years places being cut off.

You can't really compare the service provision and governance structures of rail and bus operations though, the two modes themselves are vastly different. Every county in the UK has seen bus services disappear over the last decade, over the same course of time we have seen no railway stations closed (except now arguably IBM), minimal service decreases, and, as I said, an explosion in the amount of new and enhanced services.

 

[pdeaves]

Personally I am disgusted another station is closing.

Another? You make it sound like they are a dime a dozen. What was the last proper closure (as opposed to resiting like Rochester and Bromsgrove)? Probably Norton Bridge in 2004 (correct me if I'm wrong). How many new and reopened stations have we had in recent years?

The network is still expanding.

 

[Elwyn]

I am pretty sure they are not closing this station. It’s just not being used until such time as there is a market. That’s what normal businesses do. You don’t market a product nobody wants.


We don't know the exact legal situation but there seems a general consensus that there is something special here that allows the operators to suspend services. It’s probably not going through formal statutory closure procedures because it isn’t a normal station and because it’s not being closed either.


I get no sense that the Scottish Government or rail companies want to close lots of stations. The Scottish Government have recently been looking at proposals to re-open a number of lines and stations. They just don’t want to waste time and money having trains calling at this one at the moment, because nobody is using it. (And that aspect doesn’t appear to be in dispute). I commend them for their common sense.

 

[LOL The Irony]

Because if they think they can close one station you can be assured more will come and they will only keep profitable ones open. We have seen this happen with buses over recent years places being cut off.

What on earth are you on about? It's having it's services suspended until such time when it would be possible to reopen it, aka when the site gets redeveloped into housing or another business estate. It has also been closed at the request of the police to try and prevent crime taking place on what remains of the site. In fact if the police didn't get involved, ScotRail would probably still be serving there, oblivious to the fact that it's serving nothing.

 

[507021]

What on earth are you on about? It's having it's services suspended until such time when it would be possible to reopen it, aka when the site gets redeveloped into housing or another business estate. It has also been closed at the request of the police to try and prevent crime taking place on what remains of the site. In fact if the police didn't get involved, ScotRail would probably still be serving there, oblivious to the fact that it's serving nothing.

This article says it was the local population who initially requested services to IBM Halt were suspended.

 

[Hadders]

I am pretty sure they are not closing this station. It’s just not being used until such time as there is a market. That’s what normal businesses do. You don’t market a product nobody wants.


We don't know the exact legal situation but there seems a general consensus that there is something special here that allows the operators to suspend services. It’s probably not going through formal statutory closure procedures because it isn’t a normal station and because it’s not being closed either.


I get no sense that the Scottish Government or rail companies want to close lots of stations. The Scottish Government have recently been looking at proposals to re-open a number of lines and stations. They just don’t want to waste time and money having trains calling at this one at the moment, because nobody is using it. (And that aspect doesn’t appear to be in dispute). I commend them for their common sense.

What on earth are you on about? It's having it's services suspended until such time when it would be possible to reopen it, aka when the site gets redeveloped into housing or another business estate. It has also been closed at the request of the police to try and prevent crime taking place on what remains of the site. In fact if the police didn't get involved, ScotRail would probably still be serving there, oblivious to the fact that it's serving nothing.

I don't have a huge issue with IBM being closed if there are no passengers and no prospect of passengers in the future. If they do want to close the station then the correct procedure should be followed.

As for mothballing, again I don't have a huge problem with it. However, there should be an official statement on the position from Transport Scotland. It's not acceptable to have to rely on rumour, gossip, hearsay or press reports. Let's face it, the press isn't exactly known for it's accuracy when it comes to reporting about the railway.

 

[Altnabreac]

This article says it was the local population who initially requested services to IBM Halt were suspended.

Also confirms that the stop infrastructure will be maintained by Scotrail and the calls will be reinstated once there is a site to actually serve. Everyone happy basically.

 

[mmh]

So we've learned:

- The station isn't being "closed"
- The required steps happened to withdraw service to it
- Nobody with a valid reason wants it to remain served

Yet somehow this is a slipperly slope to Crewe being closed.

If you've not sent them yet, please don't don't send your letters to MPs / MSPs!

 

[Hadders]

This article says it was the local population who initially requested services to IBM Halt were suspended.

But I didn't think there was any local population....

As I've said upthread there should be an official comment on the position from Transport Scotland.

 

[A Challenge]

This doesn't make sense, as surely having no services did mean the station is closed, as that is why tickets to Wedgwood are accepted on a bus service, so the station isn't closed.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

What was the last proper closure (as opposed to resiting like Rochester and Bromsgrove)? Probably Norton Bridge in 2004 (correct me if I'm wrong).

In respect of the actual formal station closure date of Norton Bridge, my records show a date of 10th December 2017.

 

[LOL The Irony]

This doesn't make sense, as surely having no services did mean the station is closed, as that is why tickets to Wedgwood are accepted on a bus service, so the station isn't closed.

Services are being suspended until such time it is viable to re-open because of the crime taking place on the site and the fact it's not useful to anyone.

 

[Bletchleyite]

This doesn't make sense, as surely having no services did mean the station is closed, as that is why tickets to Wedgwood are accepted on a bus service, so the station isn't closed.

But Wedgwood and Barlaston do (did) serve a useful purpose, albeit not a very busy one. They were closed for reasons of operational convenience, and one (you probably don't need both) is going to reopen.

Norton Bridge served some sort of purpose, albeit not a *very* useful one. But it was closed because the line through it was effectively closed...well, moved a couple of miles to the west. If the GWML is moved inland in Cornwall to avoid the almost-annual closure, the same will happen, no doubt, to some stations there.

IBM is different - it serves no purpose! I suppose they could negotiate bus ticket acceptance, but wouldn't that just cost them a load of money while enthusiasts went for a play?

Crikey, Kildonan is probably the most threatened vaguely useful station in Scotland, and I doubt they will close that in the same way if they ever do.

 

[Journeyman]

Personally I am disgusted another station is closing. We should be adding more stations not removing them I blame the government and Scotrail. Stirling trains will soon skip Polmont next month. I fear we are going back to the Beeching rail cuts.

Good grief. There hasn't been a station closure in Scotland since 1986 (Errol) and in that time we've seen several line reopenings, a number of new stations, widespread electrification, considerable fleet renewal and increased frequencies just about everywhere.

The last attempt at closing a station - Breich, used by just 48 people last year, resulted in a decision to spend two million quid of taxpayers' money on a rebuild! Personally, I think that's disgusting. Yes, I'm pro-rail, but in a world of limited resources, we should spend the cash where it's useful. IBM station has no current legitimate uses, there's no housing nearby, and it's fuelling anti-social behaviour and crime.

 

[Bletchleyite]

The last attempt at closing a station - Breich, used by just 48 people last year, resulted in a decision to spend two million quid of taxpayers' money on a rebuild! Personally, I think that's disgusting. Yes, I'm pro-rail, but in a world of limited resources, we should spend the cash where it's useful. IBM station has no current legitimate uses, there's no housing nearby, and it's fuelling anti-social behaviour and crime.

Quite. A better way (involving obscure stations) to spend that £2m would have been, for instance, to close Breich and open a station at Halkirk on the Far North - a settlement that has inexplicably not had one for a long time when the nearby non-stations still exist, and all it'd need would be a short platform with a bench and a bus shelter so probably come in at that price.

 

[Journeyman]

Quite. A better way (involving obscure stations) to spend that £2m would have been, for instance, to close Breich and open a station at Halkirk on the Far North - a settlement that has inexplicably not had one for a long time when the nearby non-stations still exist, and all it'd need would be a short platform with a bench and a bus shelter so probably come in at that price.

Absolutely, it's insane that Altnabreac has a station and Halkirk doesn't. I live in Winchburgh, and a station there would get significant use, far more than Breich will ever get. We've been promised one, but there's no sign of it yet, and we've just had the frequency of our buses to Edinburgh halved.

That said, I love the fact that Altnabreac station still exists, and the time I spent exploring the area around it ten years ago was fascinating, even though there's literally nothing there.

 

[LOL The Irony]

Personally I am disgusted another station is closing.

I'm pretty sure the police & local residents are disgusted that a useless station is helping fuel anti-social behaviour in the local area.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Absolutely, it's insane that Altnabreac has a station and Halkirk doesn't. I live in Winchburgh, and a station there would get significant use, far more than Breich will ever get. We've been promised one, but there's no sign of it yet, and we've just had the frequency of our buses to Edinburgh halved.

That said, I love the fact that Altnabreac station still exists, and the time I spent exploring the area around it ten years ago was fascinating, even though there's literally nothing there.

Altnabreac serves more than IBM does, there's the station house, assuming someone lives there at the moment.

There also isn't an antisocial behaviour problem, other than by errant deer

 

[Journeyman]

Altnabreac serves more than IBM does, there's the station house, assuming someone lives there at the moment.

There also isn't an antisocial behaviour problem, other than by errant deer

Haha, indeed! There's four houses in the immediate vicinity of the station, and at the time I was there (ten years ago) only two showed signs of occupation. As I walked out the station to do a bit of hiking between trains, a dog appeared from one of the houses and proceeded to join me for the entire duration of my eight-mile walk! I didn't see any people, though...

I'd strongly recommend reading "Tiny Stations" by Dixe Wells, he describes meeting a very interesting character not far from Altnabreac.

 

[Highlandspring]

What was the last proper closure (as opposed to resiting like Rochester and Bromsgrove)? Probably Norton Bridge in 2004 (correct me if I'm wrong). How many new and reopened stations have we had in recent years?

The last formal station closure in Scotland was Balloch Pier on 28th September 1986, though a temporary station next to Meadowbank stadium in Edinburgh closed in 1988 having opened in 1986 for the Commonwealth Games and was only used for events There.

Since Balloch Pier closed 32 years ago there have been around 55 station openings (as opposed to relocations) in Scotland alone.

 

[Altnabreac]

To be fair I’m at IBM just now having found a way for it to serve a slightly useful purpose by going for a walk.

I’ve walked the Greenock Cut (a footpath beside an irrigation channel on the hills above IBM) before but never headed down to IBM.

If anyone is planning a visit I thoroughly recommend what I have just done which is to alight at Drumfrochar and head up the hill to the Cut. A level walk on a good path for about 4km takes you to the hillside above IBM. There is a decent grassy path down the hill to the station with only one slightly derelict farm gate at the overbridge to get past.

I don’t think this is enough of a useful purpose to keep it open until development takes place but it is a lovely walk if anyone is coming out here anyway.

 

[sprunt]

I'm by no means saying that a service is justified, but what exactly is it that these alleged rampaging gangs of yobs are vandalising? According to the posters on this thread who've been to have a look, there's nothing there any more.

 

[Esker-pades]

I'm by no means saying that a service is justified, but what exactly is it that these alleged rampaging gangs of yobs are vandalising? According to the posters on this thread who've been to have a look, there's nothing there any more.

There is one building still standing. It's structurally sound (I assume, otherwise it would have been pulled down).

However, I think it's more to do with anti-social behaviour and wanting to discourage it.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Meanwhile, in Japan...

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/railway-company-plans-close-station-13628010

Anybody who has to commute on a regular basis will know the pain of cancelled services and unreliable timetables all too well.

Wouldn't it be great if the services would revolve around our lives and turn up exactly when we need them to?
So you can just imagine the groans and despairs from commuters when the Hokkaido Railway Company announced it was going to close down a rural station in the north of Japan.

Well, not quite. It turned out the remote station was being used by only one person each day.

Every school day at 7.04am, a girl would hop on the train at Kami-Shirataki station, then at 5.08pm she would return again.

After the railway company discovered the identity of the station's only customer, it did something amazing.


Rather than press ahead with the closure, Hokkaido decided it would keep the station open until the girl graduates from high school.