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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ayr railway station, withAbellio ScotRailClass 380s in the bay platforms | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Ayr,South Ayrshire Scotland | ||||
| Coordinates | 55°27′30″N4°37′33″W / 55.4583°N 4.6258°W /55.4583; -4.6258 | ||||
| Grid reference | NS340214 | ||||
| Managed by | ScotRail | ||||
| Transit authority | SPT | ||||
| Platforms | 4 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | AYR | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 12 January 1886 | Opened | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2020/21 |  0.239 million | ||||
| Interchange | 6,783 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  0.726 million | ||||
| Interchange | 30,337 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 0.821 million | ||||
| Interchange | 52,388 | ||||
| 2023/24 | 0.684 million | ||||
| Interchange | 41,806 | ||||
| 2024/25 | 0.796 million | ||||
| Interchange | 38,459 | ||||
Listed Building – Category B | |||||
| Designated | 10 January 1980 | ||||
| Reference no. | LB21808[2] | ||||
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Ayr railway station serves the town ofAyr inSouth Ayrshire,Scotland. It is situated in Smith Street, offBurns Statue Square. The station, which is managed byScotRail, is on theAyrshire Coast Line,41+1⁄2 miles (66.8 km) south-west ofGlasgow Central.
The station was opened on 12 January 1886 by theGlasgow and South Western Railway.[3] This was the third station to be named 'Ayr' in the town: theoriginal station, located on the formerGlasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway, opened in 1839. When theAyr and Dalmellington Railway was opened in 1856, a station calledAyr Townhead was opened on the south side of the town. When the original Ayr station was closed on 1 July 1857,[3] Townhead station was renamed 'Ayr', however this second station closed the same day the current station opened.[3] The current station was built just 300 yards (270 m) south of the previous station.[3]The Glasgow and South Western Railway became part of theLondon Midland and Scottish Railway during theGrouping of 1923, passing on to theScottish Region of British Railways during thenationalisation of 1948.
Whensectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served byScotRail until theprivatisation of British Rail.
Ayr station consists of two through platforms, and twobay platforms to the north.[4] The northbound platform station building used to be located on the ground floor of the four-storey hotel attached to the station, but has now relocated to a new-build ticket hall and entrance at the north end of the bay platform, due to the hotel building being condemned and partially destroyed. The southbound platform has a large single storeysandstone building.[4] The glazed canopy that covers a small section of all four platforms and the waiting area was originally much larger than its current size.[4]
The station has one of eight remaining ticket offices on the Ayr toGlasgow Central line, the others beingPrestwick Town,Troon,Irvine,Kilwinning,Johnstone,Paisley Gilmour Street and Glasgow Central. In December 2006, the station received automatic ticket barriers as part of ScotRail's revenue protection policy.[5]
The hotel attached to the station was originally opened by the Glasgow and South Western Railway in June 1886 and it became part of theBritish Transport Hotels (BTH) atnationalisation.[6] Future PresidentWoodrow Wilson stayed in the hotel during his cycling trip in Britain in 1899.[7] It was sold by BTH in October 1951[6] and has changed ownership a number of times, having been owned byStakis Hotels,Quality, andSwallow Hotels. Together with the railway station building, it is a category B listed building.[2]
The Station Hotel was derelict and was on the Buildings at Risk register for Scotland.[8] Its poor condition had necessitated an exclusion zone that covered a portion of the station platforms and tracks.[9]
On 25 September 2023, asevere blaze ripped through the building, destroying the roof and causing extensive damage to the interior. The fire resulted in severe rail disruptions throughout the Ayrshire region, with stations inactive as far north as Irvine and as far south as Girvan.[10]
Ayr used to have anIntercity twice-dailyLondon Euston service (one daytime and one sleeping car train) which ran to/fromStranraer viaBarassie to theGlasgow South Western Line, which ceased in the early 1990s. In the 1980s theRoyal Scot started from Ayr. Following completion of the electrification of the Ayrshire Coast Line the train operated in push-pull mode withClass 87 orClass 90. In the early 1990s with the restructuring ofBritish Rail the train ceased to start from Ayr.
The Ayr to Glasgow service is one of the busiest on therail network in Scotland and can suffer from serious overcrowding at peak times. To alleviate this, in June 2005 ScotRail extended the length of trains departing Ayr between 0643 and 1813 on weekdays to six cars wherever possible. Between 2002 and 2011 the Glasgow - Ayr route were served byClass 334s and 1986–2011Class 318s.
There are trains from Ayr toGlasgow Central every half hour daily, except for Sundays during the winter timetable (October–May), when the frequency is hourly. From May 2011, most services on Ayrshire and Inverclyde lines were operated byClass 380s. By the end of June 2011 Class 318 and 334 had been largely replaced, however on rare occasions they were still being used.
There are also less frequent services (operated byClass 156DMUs) from Ayr toGirvan (roughly every two hours),Stranraer (six per day) andKilmarnock (two-hourly). There is a limited service to Stranraer on Sundays (three trains only).
There are three trains per hour from Ayr toGlasgow Central during weekdays consisting of two limited stop services and one all stations service. On Sundays there is a half-hourly service to Glasgow.
There are also less frequent services (operated byClass 156DMUs) from Ayr toGirvan (roughly every hour),Stranraer (six per day) andKilmarnock (two-hourly). On Sundays there are three trains to Stranraer. As of early 2014, there are four daily services to Edinburgh Waverley direct, via Carstairs.
On Monday to Saturday, at off peak periods, there are four trains per hour to Glasgow (two fast and two stopping).
There are five trains per day to Edinburgh via Glasgow and Motherwell.
There is a regular hourly service to Girvan, there are ten trains to Kilmarnock, running a two hourly frequency (with extras during the morning and evening).
There are eight services to Stranraer, running every two hours (with a four-hour gap in the evening).
On Sunday, there is a half-hourly service to Glasgow, there are five trains to Girvan and Stranraer but there is no service to Kilmarnock.[11]
On Monday to Saturday, at off peak periods, there are two trains per hour to Glasgow Central. During peak, three trains per hour will run to Glasgow Central and during evenings one train per hour will run. The direct service to Edinburgh no longer runs
There is an irregular hourly/2 hourly service to Girvan with 4 of these trains extending to Stranraer.
There are six trains to Kilmarnock, also running irregularly at a frequency of 1 an hour to every 4 hours
Sunday services remain the same.[12]
All services from Ayr to Girvan/Stranraer were operated by replacement buses due to the exclusion zone that was place around the hotel. On Monday to Saturday there was a two-hourly service from Ayr to Kilmarnock operated byClass 156 DMUs. Ayr to Glasgow Central services ran at reduced capacity. Trains could not be longer than four carriages.[13]
On 1 November 2018, ScotRail reinstated the service from Ayr to Stranraer. The first service to run was the 16:59 service from Stranraer to Glasgow. It was the first train to run south of Ayr for two months.[14]
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | ScotRail Ayrshire Coast Line | Newton-on-Ayr | ||
| Maybole | ScotRail Glasgow South Western Line | Prestwick Town | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| AllowayLine and station closed | Glasgow and South Western Railway Maidens and Dunure Railway | Connection withA&DR at Alloway Junction | ||
| Maybole Junction Line open; station closed | Glasgow and South Western Railway Ayr and Dalmellington Railway | Newton-on-Ayr Line and station open | ||
| Connection withA&DR at Hawkhill Junction | Glasgow and South Western Railway Ayr to Mauchline Branch | Auchincruive Line open; station closed | ||
Stena Line passengers travelling on through "Rail & Sail" tickets toBelfast are provided with a free coach service direct from Ayr station toCairnryan. This departs from outside the main entrance.[15]
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairnryan Harbour (via connecting coach orStranraer) | Stena Line Cairnryan-Belfast | York Street orBelfast Grand Central (viaPort of Belfast) | ||
| Cairnryan Harbour (viaStranraer) | P&O Ferries Cairnryan-Larne | Larne Harbour | ||
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