Barry Links railway station
Station in Angus, Scotland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Barry, Angus Scotland | ||||
| Coordinates | 56.4932°N 2.7456°W | ||||
| 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 | |||||
| 2020/21 |  184 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  244 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 470 | ||||
| 2023/24 | 666 | ||||
| 2024/25 | 450 | ||||
| |||||
| |||||
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] even though the line through the station had opened thirteen years earlier.[6] The station was renamed to its current name on 1 April 1919,[3] presumably to avoid confusion with Barry station, in South Wales. It is situated between the village of Barry to the north and Barry Links, the coastal links to the south, hence the name.[7]
Facilities
Both platforms have shelters and benches, whilst platform 2 also has cycle racks. Only platform 2 has step-free access.[8] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the conductor on the train. There is a level crossing (named Barry West) at the west end of the station which provides road access to the links, as well as a footbridge.
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][9]
In March 2019, ScotRail apologised 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.[10] 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.[citation needed] As a result, the year 2019/20 saw a massive increase in passenger entries/exits to the station.
| 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 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entries and exits | 26 | 28 | 44 | 98 | 94 | 90 | 74 | 86 | 52 | 40 | 60 | 68 | 24 | 52 | 122 | 638 | 184 | 244 | 470 | 666 | 450 |
The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.
Services
As of May 2026, there is a total of three trains per day: southbound, there are two morning trains (one to Dundee and one to Glasgow Queen Street), whilst northbound there is one evening train to Arbroath. There is no Sunday service.[12]
| 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 | ||
