Beauly railway station

For the proposed station in Essex, see Beaulieu Park railway station. For the station in the Hampshire, see Beaulieu Road railway station.

Beauly

Scottish Gaelic: A' Mhanachainn[1]
National Rail
The short platform at Beauly, looking southeast
General information
LocationBeauly, Highland
Scotland
Coordinates57°28′42″N 4°28′12″W / 57.4783°N 4.4699°W / 57.4783; -4.4699
Grid referenceNH520457
Managed byScotRail
Platforms1
Other information
Station codeBEL[2]
History
Original companyInverness and Ross-shire Railway
Pre-groupingHighland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
11 June 1862Opened[3]
13 June 1960Closed[3]
15 April 2002Reopened[4]
Passengers
2019/20Decrease 46,510
2020/21Decrease 14,918
2021/22Increase 30,178
2022/23Increase 36,588
2023/24Increase 38,376
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

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

Beauly station in 1961

Original station

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

The platform, looking northwest

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

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

Passenger Volume at Beauly[15]
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

As of the December 2024 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 7 trains southbound.[16]

Preceding station National Rail 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

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Deaves, Phil. "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Butt 1995, p. 30.
  4. ^ a b Quick 2022, p. 73.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, p. 31.
  7. ^ Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, p. 32
  8. ^ "Beauly station on OS 25inch map Inverness-shire - Mainland X.3 (Combined)". National Library of Scotland. 1893. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ McRae 1997, p. 22.
  11. ^ Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, p. 161
  12. ^ "Full steam ahead for Beauly Station". Highland Council. 15 April 2002. Archived from the original on 26 June 2002. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  13. ^ Milner, Chris (August 2013). "Size matters: Beauly has the shortest platform". The Railway Magazine. 159 (1, 348): 88.
  14. ^ "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  15. ^ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  16. ^ Real Time Trains

Bibliography

  • 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.
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