Kinbrace railway station

Kinbrace

Scottish Gaelic: Ceann a' Bhràiste[1]
National Rail
General information
LocationKinbrace, Highland
Scotland
Coordinates58°15′31″N 3°56′28″W / 58.2585°N 3.9412°W / 58.2585; -3.9412
Grid referenceNC862316
Managed byScotRail
Platforms1
Other information
Station codeKBC[2]
History
Opened28 July 1874
Original companySutherland and Caithness Railway
Pre-groupingHighland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
28 July 1874Opened
Passengers
2019/20Decrease 456
2020/21Decrease 44
2021/22Increase 370
2022/23Increase 436
2023/24Increase 606
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Kinbrace railway station is a railway station serving the village of Kinbrace in the Highland council area in the north of Scotland. It is located on the Far North Line, 118 miles 20 chains (190.3 kilometres) from Inverness, between Kildonan and Forsinard.[3] The station is managed by ScotRail, who operates the services at the station.

History

The station in 2010

Helmsdale had been linked to Inverness by rail in 1870. The Sutherland and Caithness Railway was formed in 1871 to carry the railway onward to Thurso and Wick, by a route which took it through Strath Ullie. The line opened on 28 July 1874[4] and included a station at Kinbrace.[5][6]

Facilities

The station unusually has two waiting shelters, as well as a help point and bike racks.[7] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.

On 20 December 2022, Transport Scotland introduced a new "Press & Ride" system at Kinbrace,[8] following successful trials of the system at Scotscalder over the previous four months.[9][10] Previously, passengers wishing to board a train at Kinbrace had to flag the train by raising their arm (as is still done at other request stops around the country); this meant that the driver needed to reduce the train's speed before a request stop (to look out for any potential passengers on the platform and be able to stop if necessary), even if the platform was empty. The new system consists of an automatic kiosk (with a button for passengers to press) at the platform; this will alert the driver about any waiting passengers in advance and, if there is no requirement to stop, the train can maintain line speed through the request stops, thus improving reliability on the whole line.[11]

Passenger volume

The main origin or destination station for journeys to or from Kinbrace station in the 2022/23 period was Inverness, making up 132 of the 436 journeys (37.16%).[12]

Passenger Volume at Kinbrace[12]
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 754 518 562 537 737 792 410 448 778 1,090 1,092 528 456 464 376 510 456 44 370 436

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

A train departing Kinbrace

In the December 2021 timetable, there are four trains north to Wick via Thurso and three south to Inverness from Wick, on weekdays and Saturdays. There is a fourth Wick to Inverness service, but this does not stop at Kinbrace. There is a single train each way on Sundays.[13]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Kildonan   ScotRail
Far North Line 		  Forsinard
  Historical railways  
Borrobol Platform
Line open, station closed 		  Highland Railway
Sutherland and Caithness Railway 		  Forsinard
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. ^ 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. 103. ISBN 978-1909431-26-3.
  4. ^ "The Sunderland and Caithness Railway". The Scotsman. British Newspaper Archive. 27 July 1874. Retrieved 14 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ Vallance, H.A.; Clinker, C.R.; Lambert, Anthony J. (1985) [1938]. The Highland Railway (4th ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. pp. 36–37. ISBN 0-946537-24-0.
  6. ^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 133. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  7. ^ "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  8. ^ "More request stop kiosks on Far North Line". Today's Railways UK. No. 252. Platform 5. February 2023. p. 14. ISBN 9771475971140.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)
  9. ^ "Far North request-stop kiosk on trial". Today's Railways UK. No. 248. Platform 5. October 2022. p. 16. ISBN 9771475971140.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)
  10. ^ "First of Scotland's request-stop kiosks goes live". The Railway Magazine. No. 1458. Mortons of Horncastle. September 2022. p. 8. ISBN 9770033892354.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: ignored ISBN errors (link)
  11. ^ Far North Line Review Group – Transport Scotland
  12. ^ a b "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  13. ^ eNRT December 2021 Edition, Table 219
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