railroad.wikisort.org - Station

Barry Links railway station lies south of the village of Barry, west of Carnoustie in Angus, Scotland. It is sited 8 miles 67 chains (14.2 km) from the former Dundee East station, and is on the Dundee to Aberdeen line, between Monifieth and Golf Street.[4] The station is managed by ScotRail, who provide all the services at the station.

Barry Links Scottish Gaelic: Machair Bharraidh[1]
General information
Location	Barry, Angus Scotland
Coordinates	56.4932°N 2.7456°W / 56.4932; -2.7456
Grid reference	NO542336
Managed by	ScotRail
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	BYL[2]
History
Original company	Dundee and Arbroath Railway
Pre-grouping	Caledonian Railway
Post-grouping	LMS
Key dates
31 July 1851	Opened as Barry[3]
1 April 1919	Renamed as Barry Links[3]
Passengers
2016/17	24
2017/18	52
2018/19	122
2019/20	638
2020/21	184
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

In 2016/17, Barry Links was the least used railway station in the UK with just 24 entries and exits.[5]

History

The station was opened on 31 July 1851 by Dundee and Arbroath Railway, and was named Barry.[3] The station was renamed to its current name on 1 April 1919,[3] presumably to avoid confusion with Barry station, in South Wales.

Facilities

Both platforms have shelters and benches, whilst platform 2 also has cycle racks. Only platform 2 has step-free access.[6] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.

Passenger volume

In the Strategic Rail Authority's 2002/03 financial year, only three fare-paying people (excluding season ticket holders) boarded trains at Barry Links station, and five disembarked, making it the least-used station in the United Kingdom, tied with Gainsborough Central. In the 2011/12 statistics, Barry Links had the seventh lowest passenger numbers. The low numbers reflect the fact that the service was very sparse at the time. In the 2016/17 statistics, Barry Links again became the least used station in Britain, receiving only 24 entries and exits.[5][7]

In March 2019, ScotRail apologized for previous poor services across the network and offered season ticket holders, on affected routes, unlimited travel anywhere on the ScotRail network for selected weekends in March–May 2019.[8] This then meant passengers were to buy the cheapest season ticket available between Golf Street and Barry Links, in order to take advantage of this promotion. As a result, the year 2019/20 saw a massive increase in passenger entries/exits to the station.

Passenger Volume at Barry Links[5]

	2002-03	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21
Entries and exits	8	26	28	44	98	94	90	74	86	52	40	60	68	24	52	122	638	184

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

As of May 2022, there is a total of four trains per day (two in each direction): southbound, there is an 06:18 to Dundee and an 07:54 to Glasgow Queen Street, whilst northbound there is an 18:11 and an 18:48, both to Arbroath. There is no Sunday service.[9]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Monifieth		ScotRail Dundee–Aberdeen line Mondays-Saturdays only		Golf Street
	Historical railways
Buddon Line open; station closed		Caledonian Railway and North British Railway Dundee and Arbroath Railway		Carnoustie Line and station open

References

Bibliography

• Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.

External Links

• Video footage of the station on YouTube

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