Aviemore railway station

Aviemore National Rail
Scottish Gaelic: An Aghaidh Mhòr[1]
Under the canopy on Platform 1
Location
Place Aviemore
Local authority Highland
Coordinates 57°11′19″N 3°49′44″W / 57.1886°N 3.8288°W / 57.1886; -3.8288Coordinates: 57°11′19″N 3°49′44″W / 57.1886°N 3.8288°W / 57.1886; -3.8288
Grid reference NH895123
Operations
Station code AVM
Managed by Abellio ScotRail
Owned by Network Rail
Number of platforms

3 (2 National rail)

(1 Strathspey Steam Railway)
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2012/13 Increase 0.136 million
– Interchange  Increase 59
2013/14 Increase 0.141 million
– Interchange  Increase 82
2014/15 Increase 0.151 million
– Interchange  Decrease 37
2015/16 Increase 0.152 million
– Interchange  Increase 56
2016/17 Decrease 0.145 million
– Interchange  Decrease 50
History
Original company Inverness and Perth Junction Railway
Pre-grouping Highland Railway
Post-grouping LMS
3 August 1863 Station opened
1898 Station rebuilt and expanded
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Aviemore from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Aviemore railway station serves the town and tourist resort of Aviemore in the Highlands of Scotland. The station, which is owned by Network Rail (NR) and managed by Abellio ScotRail, is on the Highland Main Line between Perth and Inverness, and is also the southern terminus of the Strathspey preserved railway.

History

Strathspey railway services have operated from this station since 1998.

The line was opened by the Inverness and Perth Junction Railway (I&PJR) in 1863,[2] subsequently becoming part of the Highland Railway.

The current station was opened in 1898,[3] to designs by the architect William Roberts[4] when the "direct" line to Inverness via Slochd was built, making Aviemore an important junction and replacing the original 1863 building. William Roberts also provided an engine shed to the north of the station in 1896.

It became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway after the Grouping of 1923, then passed on to the Scottish Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.

The original I&PJR line to Forres fell victim to the Beeching Axe, closing to passengers in October 1965.

When Sectorisation was introduced by British Rail in the 1980s, the station was served by Scotrail until the Privatisation of British Rail.

In 1998 the station was restored and refurbished, and the Strathspey Railway was finally allowed to use the island platform. The island platform's three buildings were restored and brought back into use, having been derelict for many years, and a fourth was built from scratch. The new building comprises a ticket hall, booking office and shop, and the three original buildings are waiting rooms (with historical displays), staff offices, and toilets. Parking, reached from the Rothiemurchus road in the south of the village, is on the station's east side, and passenger access to the Strathspey part of the station is via a foot-crossing across the junction spur. This foot crossing also provides disabled access to platform 2. This is the second biggest railway station in Highland (Council area), after Inverness.

Following the moving of services, the Strathspey Railway closed their Aviemore (Speyside) railway station. The platform remains, as fears over asbestos contamination have stalled its removal. The original footbridge also still stands but is unsafe.

Description

Road access to the NR station building is from Grampian Road, to the west of the line. A canopied island platform, connected to the station building by a footbridge, lies beyond the two main-line tracks, and the further (eastern) platform face of this island is used by Strathspey trains. The junction between the Strathspey Railway and Network Rail lies to the south of the station and is controlled from the station signal box, which also controls a large portion of the main line either side of here (from Kingussie all the way to Culloden Moor since 1979) as well as the immediate station area.[5]

The station is 83 miles 31 chains (134.2 km) from Perth, and has a passing loop 40 chains (800 m) long, flanked by two platforms. Platform 1 on the down (northbound) line can accommodate trains having fourteen coaches, whereas platform 2 on the up (southbound) line can hold fifteen.[6]

Services

Services are provided by Abellio ScotRail, Caledonian Sleeper, and London North Eastern Railway on the Highland Main Line and Strathspey Railway on the former Inverness and Perth Junction Railway to Boat of Garten and Broomhill.

In the May 2016 timetable, there are seven trains each weekday to Edinburgh Waverley (including the Highland Chieftain to London King's Cross) and four to Glasgow Queen Street southbound, plus the overnight sleeper to London Euston (the latter doesn't run southbound on Saturday nights & northbound on Sundays). Northbound there are twelve departures to Inverness.

On Sundays there are five trains to Edinburgh (including the King's Cross service) and two to Glasgow, along with seven to Inverness.[7]

From 2018, this station will be one of those to benefit from a package of timetable enhancements introduced by Transport Scotland and Scotrail. The current Perth to Inverness timetable will increase to hourly each way, with trains south of there running on alternate hours to Edinburgh & Glasgow. Journey times will also be reduced by 10 minutes to both cities.[8]

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Kingussie   Abellio ScotRail
Highland Main Line		   Carrbridge
Kingussie   London North Eastern Railway
East Coast Main Line		   Carrbridge
Kingussie   Caledonian Sleeper
Highland Caledonian Sleeper		   Inverness
  Heritage railways
Terminus   Strathspey Railway   Boat of Garten
  Historical railways  
Kincraig
Line open; station closed		   Highland Railway
Left arrow Inverness and Perth Junction Railway Right arrow
   Boat of Garten
Line and station open
  Highland Railway
Inverness and Aviemore Direct Railway Right arrow
   Carrbridge
Line and station open

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
  2. ↑ Butt (1995), page 21
  3. ↑ RAILSCOT
  4. ↑ The Buildings of Scotland, Highland and Islands. John Gifford. Yale University Press. 1992. ISBN 0-300-09625-9
  5. ↑ Scottish Signal Boxes Archived 20 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Jessop, R; "Ronrail"; Retrieved 2013-12-20
  6. ↑ Brailsford 2017, map 19D.
  7. ↑ GB eNRT May 2016 Edition, Table 229
  8. ↑ "‘Rail revolution’ means 200 more services and 20,000 more seats for Scots passengers" Archived 20 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine.Transport Scotland press release 15 March 2016; Retrieved 18 August 2016

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 (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
  • 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.
  • Station on navigable O.S. map
  • RAILSCOT on Inverness and Aviemore Direct Railway
  • RAILSCOT on Inverness and Perth Junction Railway

Further reading

  • "Aviemore station reopens after £2.2m restoration". RAIL. No. 333. EMAP Apex Publications. 17–30 June 1998. p. 10. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.
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