Network Rail has appointed Story Contracting Ltd to design a new station on the Neilston line in the area south of Barrhead in East Renfrewshire.

The station will be built off Balgraystone Road, between existing stations at Patterton and Neilston. It will have car parking and will be served by bus and active travel routes.

The station will be named Balgray, after the reservoir that it will stand next to.

The Glasgow City Region City Deal, which is a £1.13billion partnership between eight local authorities, the Scottish Government and the UK Government, is funding the building of the new station. It will be developed and built in partnership with East Renfrewshire Council, and will improve public transport links between Barrhead, the 1350-acre Dams to Darnley Country Park, and Glasgow.

Preparation work for the proposed station site is already underway, and further information about the station is available here.

A public information drop-in will take place on Tuesday 12 December, 3-7pm, at the Auchenback Resource Centre, Aurs Drive, Barrhead.

The Glasgow City Region City Deal includes 27 projects, 21 of which are major infrastructure schemes, aimed to drive economic growth across the City Region. The projects will create fifteen thousand construction jobs while work is underway and twenty-nine thousand jobs once completed.

The design of a new station comes alongside the Glasgow-to-Barrhead electrification project, which is part of a Scottish Government investment to decarbonise passenger services. The project recently completed a six-week programme of major engineering works to prepare the Barrhead line for electrification by the end of 2023.

Alex Hynes, managing director of Scotland‘s Railway, said: “I’m delighted that the proposal to locate a new station south of Barrhead is taking another significant step forward.

“New stations have the potential to transform the communities they serve, support growth in travel for work and leisure, and provide opportunities for local people by improving connectivity, in this case, primarily into Glasgow.

“Scotland’s Railway will work closely with East Renfrewshire Council over the coming months to prepare the design plans for the new station.”

John MacArthur, Managing Director, Story Contracting (Scotland) said: “We are extremely proud to be appointed as the trusted partner to deliver the next step towards a significant new station.

“We are looking forward to working alongside Network Rail and East Renfrewshire Council to design a solution which will improve connectivity for passengers and benefit the local community.”

East Renfrewshire Council Leader Owen O’Donnell said: “It’s great to see work progressing on the Glasgow City Region Deal-funded rail station in Barrhead.  This station will bring huge benefits for the existing community in Barrhead as well as residents from the new housing developments nearby, providing improved access to jobs, education and services. It also allows for a much-improved public transport link to Dams to Darnley Country Park.”