The busiest of Hamilton's two railway stations, both located on the Hamilton Circle Line, Hamilton West (referred to in Gaelic as Hamaltan an Iar) is situated in a shallow cutting beneath Clydesdale Street, a half-mile (1 km) northwest of the town centre. It serves the several significant organisations; namely the headquarters of South Lanarkshire Council, Hamilton Sheriff Court and the Hamilton campus of the University of the West of Scotland. This station opened in 1849 as the terminus of the Hamilton Branch of the Clydesdale Junction Railway, owned by the Caledonian Railway. It remained the only station in the town until Hamilton Central opened in 1876. A series of mineral lines servicing local collieries once coalesced here and there were once large engine sheds associated with the station and extensive sidings to the northwest. Now part of the Argyle Line suburban rail network, the station comprises two platforms and rather utilitarian station buildings. It is operated by ScotRail, is staffed part-time and is used by 921,250 passengers per annum in 2016-17, a significant increase on the 756,516 passengers who used the station in 2009-10. Hamilton West is preceded by Hamilton Central Railway Station, a half-mile (1 km) to the southeast, and followed by Blantyre, 2 miles (3 km) to the northwest.