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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 View of Dumbarton Central station, looking east | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Dumbarton,West Dunbartonshire Scotland | ||||
| Coordinates | 55°56′47″N4°34′02″W / 55.9465°N 4.5673°W /55.9465; -4.5673 | ||||
| Grid reference | NS397755 | ||||
| Owned by | Network Rail | ||||
| Managed by | ScotRail | ||||
| Transit authority | SPT | ||||
| Platforms | 3 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | DBC | ||||
| Fare zone | D2 | ||||
| History | |||||
| Original company | Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway &Caledonian and Dunbartonshire Junction Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | Caledonian Railway &North British Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | LMS &LNER | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 15 July 1850 | Opened | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2019/20 |  0.718 million | ||||
| Interchange | 0.103 million | ||||
| 2020/21 | 75,242 | ||||
| Interchange | 8,003 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  0.310 million | ||||
| Interchange | 53,273 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 0.399 million | ||||
| Interchange | 50,889 | ||||
| 2023/24 | 0.461 million | ||||
| Interchange | 57,956 | ||||
Listed Building – Category A | |||||
| Designated | 31 January 1984 | ||||
| Reference no. | LB24877[2] | ||||
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Dumbarton Central railway station serves the town ofDumbarton inWest Dunbartonshire, Scotland. This station is on theWest Highland Line and theNorth Clyde Line,15+3⁄4 miles (25.3 km) northwest ofGlasgow Queen Street.
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The station was opened on 15 July 1850 by theCaledonian and Dumbartonshire Junction Railway[citation needed] on their route fromBalloch Pier toBowling, where travellers could join steamships on theRiver Clyde to get to Glasgow. Connections with theGlasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway at Dalreoch Junction and at Bowling put the station on a through route betweenGlasgow Queen Street andHelensburgh Central by 1858. The company was subsequently absorbed by theEdinburgh and Glasgow Railway in 1862 and eventually became part of theNorth British Railway three years later. However, in 1891, the North British was forced to come to an agreement with the rivalCaledonian Railway to give the latter access to Balloch (and theLoch Lomond steamships) over C&DJR metals in order to prevent the building of a competing route by the Caledonian company - this resulted in theLanarkshire and Dumbartonshire Railway arriving fromPossil viaMaryhill Central in 1896.[citation needed] Trains on theWest Highland Railway also began serving the station following its completion on 1 August 1894 and these continue to call here to this day.
The station was built with twoisland platforms to permit convenient interchange between the various services that called, although only three faces remain in use (the former down loop on the southbound side having been removed). The Helensburgh and Balloch lines were electrified byBritish Railways as part of the 1960North Clyde Line electrification scheme, but most of the L&DR route was closed (other than the short section through neighbouringDumbarton East) when passenger services to Possil viaDalmuir Riverside were withdrawn on 5 October 1964 as a result of theBeeching Axe. As of 2022, the loop platform on the south side of the station receives no regular services.[3]
It is a category A listed building under the Town and Country Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.[4]
| 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entries and exits | 718,088 | 75,242 | 309,658 |
| Interchanges | 102,905 | 8,003 | 53,273 |
The statistics cover twelve-month periods that start in April.
The station is located on the North Clyde line, with frequent services to Helensburgh, Balloch, Glasgow and Edinburgh, and it is the last station on the North Clyde line where trains on the West Highland line between Glasgow and Oban and Mallaig call before diverging from the line just beforeCraigendoran.[citation needed]
As of March 2025, the typical off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) and trains per day (tpd) is:[6]
The typical service on Sundays is:
The Highland Sleeper service also calls in each direction daily (except Saturday nights southbound and Sunday mornings northbound), giving the station a direct link to/fromLondon Euston viaEdinburgh Waverley,Crewe and theWest Coast Main Line, and providing an additional service toFort William.[citation needed]
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dalmuir | ScotRail West Highland Line | Helensburgh Upper | ||
| Dalmuir | Caledonian Sleeper Highland Caledonian Sleeper | Helensburgh Upper | ||
| Dumbarton East | ScotRail North Clyde Line | Dalreoch | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Dumbarton East Line and Station open | Caledonian Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway | Terminus | ||
| Bowling Line closed; Station open | Caledonian &North British Railway Caledonian and Dunbartonshire Junction Railway | Dalreoch Line and Station open | ||
