Beauly railway station

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Beauly National Rail
Scottish Gaelic: A' Mhanachainn
265px
Location
Place Beauly
Local authority Highland
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Grid reference NH520457
Operations
Station code BEL
Managed by Abellio ScotRail
Number of platforms 1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05  26,616
2005/06 Increase 28,384
2006/07 Increase 35,860
2007/08 Increase 41,878
2008/09 Increase 52,422
2009/10 Decrease 51,094
2010/11 Decrease 49,858
2011/12 Increase 54,540
2012/13 Increase 55,236
2013/14 Increase 57,946
History
Original company Inverness and Ross-shire Railway
Pre-grouping Highland Railway
Post-grouping London, Midland and Scottish Railway
11 June 1862 Opened
13 June 1960 Closed
15 April 2002 Reopened
National RailUK railway stations

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Beauly from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Beauly railway station serves the village of Beauly in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is the first stop after leaving Inverness station, heading north on the Kyle of Lochalsh Line and the Far North Line.

History

The Inverness and Ross-shire Railway, which was to be a line between Inverness and Invergordon, was authorised in 1860, and opened in stages.[1] The first section, that between Inverness and Dingwall, opened on 11 June 1862,[2] and one of the original stations was that at Beauly.[3] It had two platforms and a passing loop.

The station closed a nearly a century later, on 13 June 1960,[3] along with most of the others between Inverness and Bonar Bridge. This was due to increasing competition from motorbuses, particularly those of Highland Omnibuses Ltd.[4]

Following a local campaign, the station was reopened in 2002. A new platform, shelter and car park were built in a £250,000 project.[5] The platform is the shortest in Great Britain, only long enough for a single carriage and measuring 15.06 metres (49.4 ft) in 2013 compared with Conon Bridge's 15.08 metres (49.5 ft).[6] Normally operated by Class 158 trains, there is only one door in operation. Announcements are made on the train as to which door this will be. The original station building is now used for offices and housing.

The reopening of the station led to 75% of local commuters switching from road to rail.[7] Beauly has therefore provided a boost to campaigns to open small basic local stations. In 2007/8 with its population of just 1,164 Beauly's usage to population ratio (36 annual journeys per head) ranked as one of the highest in Britain.

Plans to reopen nearby Conon Bridge railway station in a similar style[8] were fulfilled on 8 February 2013.[9]

Services

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Inverness   Abellio ScotRail
Kyle of Lochalsh Line
Far North Line
  Muir of Ord
Historical railways
Clunes
Line open, station closed
  Highland Railway
Inverness and Ross-shire Railway
  Muir of Ord
Line and station open

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, p. 32
  3. 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, p. 161
  5. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links