Whitecraigs railway station is a railway station serving the Whitecraigs

Whitecraigs

Whitecraigs is an affluent, dormitory area of the towns of Giffnock and Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire within the county of Renfrewshire, in the West central Lowlands of Scotland. It is located South of Glasgow. Its' close proximity to Glasgow effectively makes it a suburb, although it is...

 and Davieland areas of the towns of Giffnock

Giffnock

Giffnock is a wealthy, dormitory suburb of Glasgow in the East Renfrewshire Council area, within the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...

 and Newton Mearns

Newton Mearns

Newton Mearns is a suburban town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. It lies southwest of Glasgow City Centre on the main road to Ayrshire, above sea level. It has a population of approximately 22,637.The town is part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...

, East Renfrewshire

East Renfrewshire

East Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975 it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas of Renfrewshire and Inverclyde...

, Greater Glasgow

Greater Glasgow

Greater Glasgow is an urban settlement in Scotland consisting of all localities which are physically attached to the city of Glasgow, forming with it a single contiguous urban area...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. The station is managed by First ScotRail

First ScotRail

ScotRail Railways Ltd. is the FirstGroup-owned train operating company running domestic passenger trains within Scotland, northern England and the cross-border Caledonian Sleeper service to London using the brand ScotRail which is the property of the Scottish Government...

 and lies on the Neilston branch of the Cathcart Circle

Cathcart Circle Lines

The Cathcart Circle Lines form a suburban railway route linking Glasgow to Cathcart via a circular line, with branches to Newton and Neilston. All of the routes serve Glasgow's southern suburbs, i.e. on the south bank of the River Clyde...

.
The line here forms the boundary which separates Newton Mearns

Newton Mearns

Newton Mearns is a suburban town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland. It lies southwest of Glasgow City Centre on the main road to Ayrshire, above sea level. It has a population of approximately 22,637.The town is part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation...

 and Giffnock

Giffnock

Giffnock is a wealthy, dormitory suburb of Glasgow in the East Renfrewshire Council area, within the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...

 across Ayr Road.

History

The station was originally opened as part of the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway

Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway

The Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway was a railway company in Scotland built in the late 19th century that provided services between Ardrossan and Glasgow, with branches to Irvine and Kilbirnie. The line was operated by the Caledonian Railway with an aim to compete with the Glasgow and South...

 on 1 May 1903. In some timetables the station was known as Whitecraigs for Rouken Glen.

Since electrification in 1962

Since the line was electrified in 1962 the basic service has been a half hour service throughout the day (Mondays to Saturdays), with additional peak hour trains (Mondays to Fridays). From 2005 a half hourly Sunday service has also been provided.

Class 303

British Rail Class 303

The British Rail Class 303 electric multiple units, also known as "Blue Train" units, were introduced in 1960 for the electrification of the North Clyde and the Cathcart Circle lines in Strathclyde...

 "Blue Train" electric multiple units provided almost all trains services for many years thereafter, being joined by the similar Class 311

British Rail Class 311

The British Rail Class 311 alternating current electric multiple units were built by Cravens at Sheffield in 1967. They were intended for use on the line from to and , which was electrified in 1967.-Appearance:...

 from 1967. Services are now mainly operated by the Class 314

British Rail Class 314

British Rail Class 314 alternating current electric multiple units were built by BREL at York works in 1979. They were the third variety of British Rail's then-standard 1972 design for suburban EMUs, which eventually encompassed 755 vehicles and five classes...

 EMUs.