Beauly railway station
From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The short platform at Beauly, looking southeast | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Beauly, Highland Scotland | ||||
| Coordinates | 57°28′42″N 4°28′12″W / 57.4783°N 4.4699°W | ||||
| Grid reference | NH520457 | ||||
| Managed by | ScotRail | ||||
| Platforms | 1 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | BEL[2] | ||||
| History | |||||
| Original company | Inverness and Ross-shire Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | Highland Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 11 June 1862 | Opened[3] | ||||
| 13 June 1960 | Closed[3] | ||||
| 15 April 2002 | Reopened[4] | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2018/19 |  48,270 | ||||
| 2019/20 | 46,510 | ||||
| 2020/21 | 14,918 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  30,178 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 36,588 | ||||
| |||||
Beauly railway station is a railway station in the village of Beauly, in the Highland council area of Scotland. Located on the Far North Line, it is 10 miles 12 chains (16.3 km) down the line from Inverness, and is the first intermediate station on the line, before reaching Muir of Ord.[5] ScotRail, which manages the station, operates all services.
History
[edit]
Original station
[edit]The Inverness and Ross-shire Railway, which was to be a line between Inverness and Invergordon, was authorised in 1860, and opened in stages.[6] The first section, between Inverness and Dingwall, opened on 11 June 1862,[7] and Beauly was one of the stations built for the original line.[3] It had two platforms, a passing loop and a goods shed with sidings that was equipped with a 1½-ton crane.[8][9] The station was host to an LMS caravan from 1936 to 1939.[10]
The station closed nearly a century later, on 13 June 1960,[3] along with all other stations between Inverness and Dingwall. This was due to increasing competition from motorbuses, particularly those of Highland Omnibuses Ltd.[11]
2002 reopening
[edit]
Following a local campaign, the station was reopened on 15 April 2002.[4] A new single platform, shelter and car park were built in a £250,000 project.[12] The platform is the shortest in Great Britain: at the length of 15.06 metres (49 ft 5 in),[13] it is shorter than a single carriage of a Class 158 train that is usually used on this line.
Facilities
[edit]There is a small car park at the station, in which there are cycle racks and lockers. On the platform, there is a modern waiting shelter, in which there is a payphone.[14] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.
Passenger volume
[edit]| 2002–03 | 2004–05 | 2005–06 | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2008–09 | 2009–10 | 2010–11 | 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | 2014–15 | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entries and exits | 21,337 | 26,616 | 28,384 | 35,860 | 41,878 | 52,422 | 51,094 | 49,858 | 54,536 | 55,236 | 57,946 | 57,446 | 59,406 | 52,870 | 51,522 | 48,270 | 46,510 | 14,918 | 30,178 | 36,588 |
The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.
Services
[edit]As of the May 2022 timetable, on weekdays and Saturdays, the station sees 11 trains northbound (3 to Wick via Thurso, 4 to Kyle of Lochalsh, 1 to Dingwall, 1 to Invergordon, 1 to Ardgay and 1 to Tain), and 13 trains southbound to Inverness. On Sundays, the station sees 6 trains northbound (1 to Wick, 1 to Kyle of Lochalsh, 1 to Invergordon and 3 to Tain), and 6 trains southbound.[16]
| Preceding station |  National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inverness | 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
[edit]- ^ 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.
- ^ Deaves, Phil. "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d Butt 1995, p. 30.
- ^ a b Quick 2022, p. 73.
- ^ Bridge, Mike, ed. (2017). TRACKatlas of Mainland Britain: A Comprehensive Geographic Atlas Showing the Rail Network of Great Britain (3rd ed.). Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. p. 99. ISBN 978-1909431-26-3.
- ^ Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, p. 31.
- ^ Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, p. 32
- ^ "Beauly station on OS 25inch map Inverness-shire - Mainland X.3 (Combined)". National Library of Scotland. 1893. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ The Railway Clearing House (1970) [1904]. The Railway Clearing House Handbook of Railway Stations 1904 (1970 D&C Reprint ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles Reprints. p. 46. ISBN 0-7153-5120-6.
- ^ McRae 1997, p. 22.
- ^ Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, p. 161
- ^ "Full steam ahead for Beauly Station". Highland Council. 15 April 2002. Archived from the original on 26 June 2002. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
- ^ Milner, Chris (August 2013). "Size matters: Beauly has the shortest platform". The Railway Magazine. 159 (1, 348): 88.
- ^ "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
- ^ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
- ^ eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 219
Bibliography
[edit]- Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508
- McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Foxline.
- Quick, Michael (2022). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain: A Chronology (PDF) (5th ed.). London: Railway and Canal Historical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
- Vallance, H. A.; Clinker, C.R.; Lambert, Anthony J. (1985). The Highland Railway (4th ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-946537-24-0.
External links
[edit]
- Train times and station information for Beauly railway station from National Rail
- Inverness and Ross-shire Railway - RailScot
- Beauly Station on navigable 1947 O.S. map