Altnabreac railway station

Altnabreac National Rail
Scottish Gaelic: Allt nam Breac[1]
Altnabreac railway station
Location
Place Altnabreac
Local authority Highland
Coordinates 58°23′18″N 3°42′21″W / 58.3882°N 3.7059°W / 58.3882; -3.7059Coordinates: 58°23′18″N 3°42′21″W / 58.3882°N 3.7059°W / 58.3882; -3.7059
Grid reference ND003456
Operations
Station code ABC
Managed by Abellio ScotRail
Number of platforms 1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2012/13 Increase 296
2013/14 Decrease 138
2014/15 Increase 240
2015/16 Increase 312
2016/17 Increase 356
History
Original company Sutherland and Caithness Railway
Pre-grouping Highland Railway
Post-grouping LMSR
28 July 1874 Opened[2]
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Altnabreac from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Altnabreac railway station is a rural railway station serving the area of Altnabreac, in the Highland council area of Scotland; a settlement in which the station is itself the main component. The station is on the Far North Line, within the former county of Caithness, 23 miles (37 km) as the crow flies west of Wick (27½ route miles by rail[3]).

One of Britain's most isolated stations, it is a request stop used almost solely by walkers and those who enjoy visiting obscure locations.

History

The station was opened by the Sutherland and Caithness Railway on 28 July 1874[2] and later absorbed by the Highland Railway.[4] Taken into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923, the line then passed on to the Scottish Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.

When Sectorisation was introduced by British Rail, the station became part of ScotRail until the Privatisation of British Rail.

The reason for the station's construction is a mystery. At the time of construction it was 8 miles (13 km) from the nearest village and 10 miles (16 km) from the nearest road.[5] The only source of traffic at the station, Lochdhu Lodge approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the south, was not built until 1895 and the Altnabreac School was not built until 1930. However it had passing loop with a water tank, so may have been established for purely operational reasons.

Train approaching the station.

The station is 133 miles 76 chains (215.6 km) from Inverness, and has a single platform which is long enough for a four-coach train.[6]

Services

In the May 2017 timetable, there are four trains north to Wick via Thurso and three south to Inverness from Mon-Sat (if requested). There is a fourth Wick to Inverness service, but this is not advertised to stop at Altnabreac. There is a single train each way on Sundays.[7]

The apparent almost 100% increase in patronage over the last few years may be due to a change in the methods used to measure passenger numbers; see Usage Notes.[8] Despite these increases, Altnabreac remains the 24th-least-used station in Britain and 3rd on the Far North line according to 2016-17 statistics.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Forsinard   Abellio ScotRail
Far North Line		   Scotscalder
  Historical railways  
Forsinard
Station and Line open		   Highland Railway
Sutherland and Caithness Railway
   Scotscalder
Station and Line open

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
  2. 1 2 Butt (1995), page 15
  3. ↑ British Rail Passenger Timetable, summer 1992, p1342
  4. ↑ "The Sunderland and Caithness Railway". The Scotsman. British Newspaper Archive. 27 July 1874. Retrieved 14 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  5. ↑ "They're just loco - Britain's most bizarre train stations". The Express. 31 March 2014.
  6. ↑ Brailsford 2017, map 20D.
  7. ↑ Table 239 National Rail timetable, May 2017
  8. ↑ Office of Rail Regulation: Station Usage

Sources

  • Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
  • Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
  • Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.