FTS 2012-2013
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why is there not a better service between ayr and kilmarnock ?
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Kilmarnock - Ayr: Why is there not a more frequent service?
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Probably because they hate each other.
FTS 2012-2013
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haha! good point
mister-sparky
Member
Lack of demand. Lack of carriages. Lack of money. Lack of being bothered. Lack of staff. Could be anything.
Based on my distant recollections, I believe the line actually closed in the mid 1960's and only reopened again by default as a consequence of long distance trains from the south to Stranraer via Ayr being routed this way, via Kilmarnock and Barrassie, instead of the previous routing where trains left the main line at Mauchline and reached Ayr via Annbank. Most of this route has long since closed
Prior to closure in the 1960's, the Ayr to Kilmarnock service ran using a single coach railbus between the two towns. When the line reopened (can't remember exactly when that was), it did not do so specifically as an Ayr to Kilmarnock service but rather as a mix of longer distance services - e.g daytime and overnight services between London Euston to Stranraer Hbr, with these trains calling Dumfries, Kilmarnock, Troon, Ayr and the rest. I think there were also some Newcastle to Stranraer trains as well, which still run today.
Because of this, the service was sparse and infrequent, being only single figure services per day each way for a number of years and long gaps between services. Some of the timings also detracted from the usefulness as a local service, with the overnight train ex Euston calling at Kilmarnock at around 0330hrs and a southbound Euston leaving Ayr at around 2300 or later. However, the service frequency increased substantially when Glasgow to Girvan and some Glasgow to Stranraer trains were also re-routed this way from the more direct route via the Ayrshire coast, giving a much more even spread of services over the day. Again, can't remember when that was.
Other readers are correct in citing lack of demand being insufficient to sustain a service based purely on point to point flows between the two towns. The main pull for both towns for commuting and high end shopping is towards Glasgow rather than between each other. However, because the trains that do run cater for a mix of long and short distance flows other than specifically Ayr-Kilmarnock, there is a much more frequent service between the two than would otherwise be the case. Overall, the service is much better now than what it used to be when the route was initially reinstated, and it is certainly a lot better than having no service as at all, as was the case from mid 1960's onwards.
Other readers may well be able to elaborate further on this.
Prior to closure in the 1960's, the Ayr to Kilmarnock service ran using a single coach railbus between the two towns. When the line reopened (can't remember exactly when that was), it did not do so specifically as an Ayr to Kilmarnock service but rather as a mix of longer distance services - e.g daytime and overnight services between London Euston to Stranraer Hbr, with these trains calling Dumfries, Kilmarnock, Troon, Ayr and the rest. I think there were also some Newcastle to Stranraer trains as well, which still run today.
Because of this, the service was sparse and infrequent, being only single figure services per day each way for a number of years and long gaps between services. Some of the timings also detracted from the usefulness as a local service, with the overnight train ex Euston calling at Kilmarnock at around 0330hrs and a southbound Euston leaving Ayr at around 2300 or later. However, the service frequency increased substantially when Glasgow to Girvan and some Glasgow to Stranraer trains were also re-routed this way from the more direct route via the Ayrshire coast, giving a much more even spread of services over the day. Again, can't remember when that was.
Other readers are correct in citing lack of demand being insufficient to sustain a service based purely on point to point flows between the two towns. The main pull for both towns for commuting and high end shopping is towards Glasgow rather than between each other. However, because the trains that do run cater for a mix of long and short distance flows other than specifically Ayr-Kilmarnock, there is a much more frequent service between the two than would otherwise be the case. Overall, the service is much better now than what it used to be when the route was initially reinstated, and it is certainly a lot better than having no service as at all, as was the case from mid 1960's onwards.
Other readers may well be able to elaborate further on this.
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That's basically it. A Feb 1981 Cook timetable (the one I have to hand) gives the sleeper plus one pair Stranraer-Carlisle and one Ayr-Carlisle. The former had replaced the daytime London train. IIRC services only started running through to Newcastle with Sprinterisation (and have since become Glasgow-NCL).
Going back to the original question, as a wild generalisation, there was little town-to-town rail travel (as opposed to suburb-to-city) until relatively recently, for two reasons:
(1) buses were frequent and convenient
(2) people tended not to commute to work from one centre of employment to another.
Which is why only the biggest city suburban networks survived Beeching - and why town-to-town travel has grown massively with more "flexible" patterns of employment - and rail has benefited.
Mind you, another way of looking at Kilmarnock-Ayr is to say that it's a spinoff from electrification: initially, the timetable seemed to be based on "what can we do with the unit that works the Girvan shuttle to increase revenue"
Going back to the original question, as a wild generalisation, there was little town-to-town rail travel (as opposed to suburb-to-city) until relatively recently, for two reasons:
(1) buses were frequent and convenient
(2) people tended not to commute to work from one centre of employment to another.
Which is why only the biggest city suburban networks survived Beeching - and why town-to-town travel has grown massively with more "flexible" patterns of employment - and rail has benefited.
Mind you, another way of looking at Kilmarnock-Ayr is to say that it's a spinoff from electrification: initially, the timetable seemed to be based on "what can we do with the unit that works the Girvan shuttle to increase revenue"
gingerheid
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The attempt at a usable service started in 1996, with additional services to the Stranraer / Girvan to Carlisle / Newcastle services being provided under the branding "The Burns Line".
I was never sure why. There didn't seem to be a need to re-route some Stranraer - Glasgow services via Kilmarnock (extending the journey time so that that it would be faster to change at Ayr) and there didn't seem to be much benefit to providing a small number of trains between Ayr and Kilmarnock at erratic times when the bus service was so much more frequent.
I was never sure why. There didn't seem to be a need to re-route some Stranraer - Glasgow services via Kilmarnock (extending the journey time so that that it would be faster to change at Ayr) and there didn't seem to be much benefit to providing a small number of trains between Ayr and Kilmarnock at erratic times when the bus service was so much more frequent.
Photohunter71
Member
Who'd want to go to Kilmarnock anyway?!! Only joking!
Services between Kilmarnock and Glasgow have also improved massively since the 1980s.
The first time I went to Kilmarnock was in 1983 and then there were only about 4 - 5 trains per day to Glasgow.
Now there are two per hour for most of the day, with a new station at Kilmaurs, and the line has recently been double tracked as much as possible South of Barrhead.
The bus services between Kilmarnock and Ayr are much more frequent, and some run directly along the A77, also serving Prestwick Airport on the way.
The first time I went to Kilmarnock was in 1983 and then there were only about 4 - 5 trains per day to Glasgow.
Now there are two per hour for most of the day, with a new station at Kilmaurs, and the line has recently been double tracked as much as possible South of Barrhead.
The bus services between Kilmarnock and Ayr are much more frequent, and some run directly along the A77, also serving Prestwick Airport on the way.
mister-sparky
Member
"New station at Kilmaurs" - which is 30 years old this May...
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