First railway station closure for 31 years

Plans to close the first railway station in Scotland for 31 years have been announced by Network Rail.

Breich Station in West Lothian has just three passengers a week.

If confirmed, the unstaffed station on the Edinburgh-glasgow line via Shotts would be the first Scottish closure since 1986 when Balloch Pier Station on Loch Lomond shut. The move has been prompted by the £1.4 million cost of replacing its footbridge as part of electrification of the line, which would be saved.

It is understood the station is likely to have stayed open otherwise.

Only one train a day in each direction stops at Breich, which was opened in 1869, with no trains on Sundays.

It served just 138 passengers in 2015-16 – an average of 2.6 passengers a week.