Dunbar railway station serves the town of Dunbar, in East Lothian, Scotland. It is located on the East Coast Main Line (ECML) and is a two platform station. It is from and from .
The station, which was first opened by the North British Railway in June 1846, had two platforms and an overall roof. The northbound platform loop line was taken out of use and lifted in the early 1970s, whilst the platform itself and the station roof were both removed during the modernisation and electrification by British Rail of the northern end of the ECML in 1987âÂÂ88.
For approximately five months in 1979, it was the terminus for a shuttle service to Edinburgh Waverley; it was provided after the ECML was blocked due to the collapse of Penmanshiel Tunnel. Buses linked Dunbar with , from where rail services to London King's Cross resumed.
Platform one is located on a loop adjacent to the main through lines. The second platform is on the main northbound line, which has had trains stopping there since 15 December 2019.
Prior to December 2019, the line on which the main platform is located was bi-directional; this meant that trains travelling to/from London or Edinburgh had to take it in turns to use the station if they were scheduled to stop there. Preliminary work into a new second platform began in October 2015. In December 2018, Network Rail announced that Amco had been appointed the contractors for the construction of the second platform, which would start in summer 2019 and was intended to have the works completed by early 2020.
Construction of the new platform necessitated a new footbridge with lifts; improvements to the station car park were carried out as part of the project. The bridge was completed ahead of schedule and the new platform opened in December 2019. Final fitting work and completion of the car park continued; however, it was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With all northbound services now using the second platform and no longer using the main platform loop, with the exception of all terminating ScotRail services from Edinburgh; this now leaves in Leicester as the only example of a single-platformed main line railway station used on a major route.
The station is fully staffed, with the ticket office open throughout the week (Monday-Friday 05:55-21:30, Saturday 06:25-20:40 and Sunday 11:15-21:30). Self-service ticket machines are also provided for use outside these times and for collecting pre-paid tickets. There are toilets, a payphone and vending machines on the concourse. Train running information is provided by manual announcements, digital customer information system displays, a help point and timetable posters. Level access is available from the entrance and concourse to the platform.
The station entrance lies to the east, adjacent to the southbound platform. The northbound platform is accessible via a footbridge with lifts.
The station is served by four train operating companies, which provide the following general off-peak service in trains per hour/day (tph/tpd):