Kilwinning overtakes Ayr as Ayrshire's busiest train station after Ayr Station Hotel fire

Kilwinning overtook Ayr as Ayrshire’s busiest station last year following the Ayr Station Hotel fire.

Passenger numbers at Ayr fell by more than 135,000 in 2023-24 as the town went without train services following the devastating blaze there in September 2023.

Last year was the first time Ayr was not the region's busiest station, according to statistics published by the Office for Road and Rail which go back to 1997-98.

Ayr recorded 684,190 passenger entries and exits - a drop of 16.7-per cent - while Kilwinning saw 709,802 - an increase of more than 115,000 or 20.1-per cent.

Most stations across Ayrshire saw an increase in passenger numbers, except those south of Prestwick which were affected by the Station Hotel fire.

Overall, there were 5.62 million rail passengers across Ayrshire’s stations in 2023-24 which marked an increase of 686,010 (13.8-per cent) from the previous year.

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Passenger numbers have struggled to recover following the Covid-19 pandemic but have increased year-on-year since 2020-21.

In Ayrshire, rail passenger numbers peaked at almost 8.9 million in 2018-19.

Irvine was third-busiest with 628,382 passenger entries and exits - an increase of 14.1-per cent - while Kilmarnock was fourth-busiest at 412,662 - an increase of 16.1-per cent

Barrhill was Ayrshire’s quietest station with just 3,874 passenger entries and exits.

Passenger entries and exits at Ayrshire stations:

1. Kilwinning - 709,802

2. Ayr - 684,190

3. Irvine - 628,382

4. Kilmarnock - 412,662

5. Largs - 383,736

6. Prestwick Town - 372,800

7. Troon - 370,634

8. Glengarnock - 282,374

9. Saltcoats - 260,294

10. Stewarton - 210,384

11. Ardrossan South Beach - 171,736

12. Dalry - 161,684

13. Barassie - 136,726

14. West Kilbride - 124,900

15. Ardrossan Harbour - 107,452

16. Stevenston - 97,974

17. Prestwick International Airport - 78,304

18. Kilmaurs - 69,916

19. Dunlop - 66,244

20. Auchinleck - 61,900

21. Newton-on-Ayr - 57,950

22. Girvan - 56,814

23. Fairlie - 36,164

24. Maybole - 35,930

25. New Cumnock - 22,192

26. Ardrossan Town - 17,304

27. Barrhill - 3,874

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