| Cathcart Circle Lines | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Class 314s at Cathcart North Junction in 2011 | |||
| Overview | |||
| Status | Operational | ||
| Owner | Network Rail | ||
| Locale | |||
| Termini | |||
| Stations | 21 | ||
| Service | |||
| Type | Heavy rail | ||
| System | National Rail | ||
| Services | 4 | ||
| Operator(s) | ScotRail | ||
| Rolling stock | |||
| Technical | |||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | ||
| Electrification | 25 kV 50 Hz AC | ||
| |||
TheCathcart Circle Lines form a mostly suburbanrailway route linkingGlasgow (Central) toCathcart via a circular line, with branches toNewton andNeilston, on the south bank of theRiver Clyde. They are part of theStrathclyde rail network.
The lines were built by theCathcart District Railway (Cathcart Circle) and theLanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway (Newton and Neilston lines). The first part opened on 1 March 1886[1] as a double line from Glasgow Central toMount Florida then single to Cathcart, doubled on 26 May 1886.[2] The circular route back to Central station viaShawlands and Maxwell Park was completed on 2 April 1894.
The Newton and Neilston branches were built to provide a through route from theLanarkshire coalfields to ports such asArdrossan on theAyrshire coast. There is still a junction with other lines at Newton, but the track beyond Neilston has been lifted.
The lines originally carried significant amounts of freight, but commuter trains are the only regular users now.Football Specials sometimes run to Mount Florida andKing's Park for major matches atHampden Park.
When the lines were built much of the land around them was open countryside. The existence of a commuter railway was a major factor in the development of Glasgow's southern suburbs, although until electrification in 1962 there was virtually no passenger service beyond Kirkhill[3] by this route.
On weekdays the services have provided a vital transport link for school pupils and college students at nearby schools and higher education establishments, contributing to passenger numbers on top of the commuter traffic.
The lines underBritish Railways wereelectrified on Monday 28 May 1962 at the standard25 kV AC, but originally 6.25 kV betweenPollokshields East and Mount Florida because of limited clearances. The "Blue Trains",Class 303 units, which had dual voltage capability, replaced steam trains and early diesel units.
There was a trial run on the previous day,[4] with over 5,500 passengers reported as using the new trains in their first morning rush hour.
Most of the track consists ofjointed rail.
The lines comprise the following:
The Cathcart Circle was built by theCathcart District Railway and runs a circular route with both the eastern and western sections splitting from each other just beforePollokshields East railway station with the western section running throughPollokshields West,Maxwell Park,Shawlands,Pollokshaws East andLangside stations before meeting with the eastern section again atCathcart station. The eastern section runs throughPollokshields East,Queens Park (Glasgow),Crosshill andMount Florida stations before it reachesCathcart.
The Newton Line was built by theLanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway. It diverges from the Circle via a dive under junction south ofMount Florida and at Cathcart South Junction (south ofCathcart). The link at Cathcart South junction was put in place during electrification. From here it runs in an easterly direction towardsNewton, where it joins with both the Hamilton branch of theArgyle Line and theWest Coast Main Line (WCML). The Newton Line therefore provides a diversionary path for WCML expresses whenever engineering works close the fast lines via Cambuslang.
The Neilston Line was built by theL&AR. It diverges from the Circle atCathcart. The line used to connect to theGlasgow South Western Line atLugton but was cut back to the current terminus atNeilston as part of theBeeching cuts in 1964. The section beyondNeilston was also not included in the 1962 electrification of the line.
Round the west side of the Circle onto the L&AR lines eastbound, terminating atKirkhill. East side services ran to Newton, with many extended toMotherwell via theClydesdale Junction Railway.
The basic service every 30 minutes was Glasgow Central to Neilston via Mount Florida; Central to Motherwell via Mount Florida; Glasgow Central to Kirkhill via Maxwell Park; and Cathcart Circle (Inner and Outer).
This included the Hamilton Circle and resulted in east side services terminating at Newton. Peak services from east and west sides operated to Motherwell via Blantyre and Hamilton.
The major change was the extension of west side services from Kirkhill to Newton.
Until May 1984 there were four trains an hour on the Newton branch (two via Maxwell Park and two via Queen's Park) and two trains an hour in each direction around the Circle, in addition to the services on the Neilston branch.
From May 1984, both the Newton and Neilston services remained two per hour, none turned back at Kirkhill and only one ran the full circle each way.[5]
Services were operated byFirst ScotRail, with services usingClass 314electric multiple units.
The basic service (Monday to Sunday) is every 30 minutes from Glasgow Central to Neilston via Mount Florida and every hour from Glasgow Central to Newton via Mount Florida, Glasgow Central to Newton via Maxwell Park and the inner and outer Circle service (does not operate on Sundays).
This frequency gives a 30-minute service on the west side of the Circle, Neilston and Newton branches, three trains per hour at Cathcart and four trains per hour between Glasgow Central and Mount Florida. These service levels are less than those of the 1960s.
At peak times the above services combine to have trains running approximately every 5–10 minutes between Glasgow Central and Cathcart, where line capacity permits. Several trains are formed of the maximum six cars at these times. Commuter levels on this line are quite high and therefore a high density service is required at such busy periods.
The line now features a number of different services, with frequencies similar to those before theCOVID-19 pandemic. Basic service levels (Monday to Sunday, off-peak) give two trains per hour betweenGlasgow Central andNeilston, one train per hour betweenNewton andGlasgow Central viaMaxwell Park and one train per hour betweenNewton andGlasgow Central viaCrosshill. There are also two trains per hour which operate a loop service from Glasgow Central to Glasgow Central via Cathcart. One train per hour operates clockwise, calling first atPollokshields East, and the other anti-clockwise. A daily express service also operates between Neilston and Glasgow Central in the morning peak, serving all stations between Neilston andMuirend, then operating non-stop to Glasgow Central.
Services are predominantly operated by theClass 380, withClass 318 andClass 320 units often operating during peak hours for extra capacity.
Upon electrification in 1962,Class 303s. Following electrification of theInverclyde Line in 1967,Class 311 units were also used. Following the introduction of theClass 318 in 1986, they made occasional trips onto the Circle. The Class 311 were withdrawn in 1990, and following the introduction of theClass 334 the Class 303 were withdrawn in 2002 and a major redeployment of the fleet took place, resulting in theClass 314s taking over the line.
In 2014Class 314s primarily operated the Circle (includingNewton,Neilston services).
From December 2016,Class 320s were introduced to the line, working the Circle and Newton via Maxwell Park routes to permit an increase in Class 314 workings on theInverclyde Line. This was due to a number of Class 380s being reserved for driver training on the newly electrifiedGlasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk High route. From the December 2018 timetable change, Class 380s began operating most Neilston services, along with some Circle and Newton services. During 2019 the withdrawal ofClass 314s from the ScotRail network took place, and as of 2024 a mixture of Class318s,320s and380s operate the lines.
There have been proposals to convert the lines to atram line, but never beyond the initial suggestion stage. Most recently, in December 2008Transport Scotland's Strategic Transport Projects Review suggested an upgrade of the Circle to light rail as part of a wider light rail network for Glasgow, incorporating both new lines and re-purposed older alignments.[6] If taken forward, this proposal was supposed to have been implemented during the period 2012 - 2022, in line with the scope of the strategic review.[6]
The Cathcart Circle has been identified as one of the heavy rail lines that would be converted to metro as part of the proposals for the Glasgow Metro project. No timescale or budget has been released so far, but it is anticipated that it would be one of the first metro lines given that most of the infrastructure is already in place.[7]
A new station on the Neilston line atBalgray situated south of the town ofBarrhead inEast Renfrewshire is currently under construction as of July 2025[8] with an expected opening date of autumn 2026[9] the station will be located slightly to the west of the planned but never constructedLyoncross station.
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