Inverclyde Line
AClass 314 train leaves Gourock pierhead to run along the south bank of the Firth of Clyde towards Glasgow
Overview
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	Inverclyde Scotland
Stations	22
Service
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	ScotRail
Rolling stock	Class 380 Class 318 Class 320 Class 385
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	25 kV 50 Hz AC
Route map (Click to expand)

v t e Inverclyde Line
Legend
Glasgow Central (St Enoch) Cardonald Hillington East Hillington West Paisley Gilmour Street Ayrshire Coast Line Paisley St James Bishopton Langbank Woodhall Port Glasgow Whinhill Drumfrochar Branchton IBM Inverkip Wemyss Bay Bogston Cartsdyke Greenock Central Greenock West Fort Matilda Gourock
Detailed View Glasgow Central Argyle Line Glasgow Subway Argyle Line St Enoch River Clyde Bridge Street Bridge Street Glasgow Subway West Street City Union Line West Coast Main Line General Terminus and Glasgow Harbour Railway Shields Road Paisley Canal Line Ibrox Govan Branch Cardonald Glasgow and Renfrew District Railway Hillington East Hillington West Arkleston Junction Paisley and Renfrew Railway Paisley and Barrhead District Railway White Cart Water Paisley Gilmour Street Paisley St James Ayrshire Coast Line Walkinshaw Junction Paisley and Barrhead District Railway Black Cart Water River Cart Linwood River Gryfe Georgetown Bishopton Bishopton Tunnels Langbank Woodhall Port Glasgow Devol Burn Wemyss Bay Junction Bogston Greenock & Ayrshire Railway James Watt Dock 66D Ladyburn locomotive shed Cartsdyke Cartsburn Tunnels Greenock Central Whinhill Anne St Tunnel Greenoch Lynedoch Upper Greenock Wellpark Tunnel Greenock West Drumfrochar Greenock Princes Pier Newton Street Tunnel Branchton Fort Matilda Ravenscraig IBM Gourock Dunrod toArgyll Daff Glen Inverkip Inverkip Tunnel Wemyss Bay Goods toBute Wemyss Bay

TheInverclyde Line is a railway line running fromGlasgow Central station throughPaisley (Gilmour Street) and a series of stations to the south of theRiver Clyde and theFirth of Clyde, terminating atGourock andWemyss Bay, where it connects toCaledonian MacBrayne ferry services. The line has been in operation since the 1840s between Glasgow andGreenock and was the first passenger service to follow theRiver Clyde to the coast. The line waselectrified in 1967.

The line was opened by theGlasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway on 31 March 1841, and initially ran fromBridge Street railway station in Glasgow to a terminus at Cathcart Street,Greenock (later renamed Greenock Central railway station), with the section between Glasgow, and Paisley Gilmour Street being run by theGlasgow and Paisley Joint Railway. For the first time a railway took passengers right down theRiver Clyde, taking about one hour whereasClyde steamers took around twice as long. The terminus was a short walk from Custom House Quay, Greenock, and the railway was very popular with passengers who boarded steamers there to visit holiday resorts down theFirth of Clyde or to commute in summer to their villas around the shores of thefirth.^[1][2]

On 9 July 1847 the railway merged with theCaledonian Railway and became their main outlet to the coast. TheGreenock and Wemyss Bay Railway opened its branch line on 13 May 1865 with its trains being operated by the Caledonian Railway, but its steamer operations were slow to live up to their promise and when in 1869 theGlasgow and South Western Railway opened its station at Princes Pier, Greenock, the Cathcart Street station was effectively bypassed and the Caley lost trade. They had been trying for some time to organise an extension to Gourock, and having gained Parliamentary approval in 1884 they spent three years in construction which involved extensive tunnelling, and opened Gourock railway station on 1 June 1889. In August 1893 the Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway amalgamated with the Caledonian Railway.^[1]

In the 1923 grouping, the line became part of theLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). The line waselectrified in 1967, seven years after theNorth Clyde Line. The electricClass 311 trains were specially built for the line in 1967, althoughClass 303 trains were also used.

As of 2025, the line is mainly operated by Class 318s, Class 320s, Class 380s and Class 385s, The Inverclyde line uses the sameGlasgow and Paisley Joint Railway tracks as theAyrshire Coast Line until Paisley Gilmour Street; although the two lines occupy different sets of platforms at Paisley Gilmour Street. From Paisley, the line heads toPort Glasgow station, after which it branches. The main route heads throughGreenock toGourock, where it connects with ferry services toDunoon andKilcreggan. The branch heads through the southern suburbs of Greenock toWemyss Bay, where it connects with ferry services toRothesay on the island ofBute (From 1 October 2015, for a period of 24 weeks, the ferry to Rothesay left from Gourock. This was due to essential improvement work being carried out at Wemyss Bay linkspan)

As of June 2024, for most of the day four trains an hour operate each way on the Glasgow to Port Glasgow stretch, two of which run to Gourock and the other two running to Wemyss Bay. The Gourock trains are express services stopping only at Paisley Gilmour Street and Bishopton between Glasgow and Port Glasgow, while the Wemyss Bay trains stop at all stations. This changes after 7 pm and on Sunday: the Wemyss Bay line is reduced to one train an hour, which runs express between Glasgow and Port Glasgow, and the Gourock trains stop all stations.

TheGlasgow Airport Rail Link toGlasgow Airport would have branched off from the Inverclyde Line nearPaisley St. James station.^[3] In December 2006, theScottish Executive gave the final go-ahead for the new link to be constructed; however, the project was subsequently cancelled in September 2009.

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