Fort Matilda railway station

Fort Matilda
Scottish Gaelic: Gearastan Matilda
Looking west as a train leaves for Gourock
Location
Place	Fort Matilda
Local authority	Inverclyde
Coordinates	55°57′32″N 4°47′43″W / 55.9589°N 4.7953°WCoordinates: 55°57′32″N 4°47′43″W / 55.9589°N 4.7953°W
Grid reference	NS250754
Operations
Station code	FTM
Managed by	Abellio ScotRail
Number of platforms	2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	83,544
2005/06	93,550
2006/07	98,510
2007/08	0.109 million
2008/09	0.119 million
2009/10	0.124 million
2010/11	0.122 million
2011/12	0.122 million
2012/13	0.124 million
2013/14	0.121 million
History
Original company	Caledonian Railway
Pre-grouping	Caledonian Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
1 June 1889	Opened
5 February 1973	Temporarily closed
20 April 1973	Reopened
October 1993	Closed
?	Reopened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Fort Matilda from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Fort Matilda railway station lies at the far western edge of the town of Greenock, Scotland. It is a non-staffed station, and is the last stop before the terminus of Gourock on the Inverclyde Line out of Glasgow Central station.

History

The station was opened by the Caledonian Railway on 1 June 1889 when the Greenock line was extended to Gourock. It was closed temporarily between 5 February and 20 April 1973. It closed again in October 1993.^[1] The station has continued in use on an unmanned basis, with passengers getting their tickets on the train.

In 2011 the station building was taken over by the Greenock & District Model Railway Club, which obtained necessary approvals and funding from the Railway Heritage Trust and the Stations Community Regeneration Fund for conservation work and improvements to make the building into a clubhouse. Features such as external doors and screens are to be restored to their original appearance, and when completed accommodation will also be made available to other groups as well as use by the model railway club.^[2]

Gallery

• 
  A busy commuter station in the west end of Greenock, but by 2007 most of the building was boarded up and disused. Lyle Hill can be seen beyond.

References

1. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 99. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
2. "Model Rail Club's Station Restoration Is On Track". inverclydenow. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2012.

External links

• Train times and station information for Fort Matilda railway station from National Rail
• "Website of the Greenock & District Model Railway Club". Retrieved 11 April 2012.