Kildonan railway station
Kildonan ![]() | |
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Scottish Gaelic: Cill Donnain[1] | |
![]() Kildonan station as it was in September 2018, taken from the level crossing at the southern end of the station. | |
Location | |
Place | Kildonan near Helmsdale |
Local authority | Highland |
Coordinates | 58°10′15″N 3°52′09″W / 58.1708°N 3.8691°WCoordinates: 58°10′15″N 3°52′09″W / 58.1708°N 3.8691°W |
Grid reference | NC901217 |
Operations | |
Station code | KIL |
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 |
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2013/14 |
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2014/15 |
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2015/16 |
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2016/17 |
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History | |
Original company | Sutherland and Caithness Railway |
Pre-grouping | Highland Railway |
Post-grouping |
London, Midland and Scottish Railway British Railways |
28 July 1874 | Opened |
National Rail – UK railway stations | |
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Kildonan from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
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Kildonan railway station is a railway station near Kildonan Lodge in the Highland council area in the north of Scotland. It is located on the Far North Line. Trains stop on request.
The station opened on 28 July 1874.[2] On 7 February 1884 there was an accident at the station. A special fish train from Wick approached the station when it derailed and ploughed up several hundred yards of track. The fireman, Alexander Campbell of Wick, died and the engine driver, David Mathieson of Wick was badly injured.[3]
In 1952 the station was awarded a special class award in the British Railway (Scottish Region) Best Kept Stations Competition.[4]
It is currently served by four trains each day (Mon-Sat) to Inverness and four trains in the opposite direction to Wick (via Thurso), with one train in each direction on a Sunday.[5] Due to the extremely sparse and small population it serves, Kildonan is currently the 5th least used railway station in the United Kingdom, as of 2016-17, and the least used on the Far North Line. It is also the least used station in the United Kingdom that has a full (i.e. not restricted) service and the least used station with a train at least once every day of the week.
The station is 111 miles 5 chains (178.7 km) from Inverness, and has a single platform which is long enough for a three-coach train.[6]
On the 10 June 2018, it was announced that Hitrans had proposed the station for closure, shaving four minutes off journey times on the Inverness to Thurso/Wick route and put application in to Transport Scotland to consider the proposals.[7] However following objections by three local councillors Hitrans had withdrawn the application.[8]
External links
- Train times and station information for Kildonan railway station from National Rail
Preceding station | ![]() |
Following station | ||
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Helmsdale | Abellio ScotRail Far North Line |
Kinbrace | ||
Historical railways | ||||
Salzcraggie Platform Line open, station closed |
Highland Railway Sutherland and Caithness Railway |
Borrobol Platform Line open, station closed |
References
- ↑ Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. "Gaelic/English Station Index". Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
- ↑ "The Sunderland and Caithness Railway". The Scotsman. British Newspaper Archive. 27 July 1874. Retrieved 14 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
- ↑ "The Accident on the Highland Railway". Edinburgh Evening News. British Newspaper Archive. 8 February 1884. Retrieved 10 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
- ↑ "Awards to North Stations". Aberdeen Evening Express. British Newspaper Archive. 29 November 1952. Retrieved 14 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
- ↑ Table 239 National Rail timetable, May 2016.
- ↑ Brailsford 2017, map 20C.
- ↑ "Axe looms for Highland station with just 76 passengers year". The Scotsman. 10 June 2018.
- ↑