Georgemas Junction railway station
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Georgemas Junction | |||
Looking west towards Halkirk village, and the line to Thurso (right). | |||
Location | |||
Place | Halkirk | ||
Local authority | Highland | ||
Operations | |||
Station code | GGJ | ||
Managed by | First ScotRail | ||
Platforms in use | 2 | ||
Live departures and station information from National Rail | |||
Annual Rail Passenger Usage | |||
2002/03 * | 1,129 | ||
2004/05 * | 1,108 | ||
2005/06 * | 1,018 | ||
History | |||
Key dates | Opened 1874 | ||
National Rail - UK railway stations | |||
* Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Georgemas Junction from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. | |||
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Georgemas Junction railway station is a railway station serving the village of Halkirk and its surrounding areas in the Highland council area, northern Scotland. The station is on the Far North Line, within the county of Caithness.
Georgemas Junction is the junction of the Thurso branch from the Inverness-Wick line. The junction is the most northerly railway junction in the United Kingdom. On arrival at Georgemas Junction from Inverness, trains must reverse to reach Thurso. The train then operates from Thurso back to Georgemas Junction and onto Wick. Until diesel multiple unit trains were introduced in the early 1990s, all trains on the Far North Line were locomotive hauled (latterly by Class 37 locomotives). Northbound passenger trains would divide at Georgemas Junction, with the rear portion for Thurso and the front carriages for Wick. A locomotive was stabled at Georgemas Junction to haul the Thurso carriages. Following the introduction of Class 156 diesel multiple units on the line, trains were always composed of two trainsets (four cars) and at Georgemas, these would split in half with the front portion heading to Wick, the rear to Thurso. This practice was halted with the introduction of Class 158 sets which operated as single sets.
Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Scotscalder | First ScotRail Far North Line |
Wick | ||
Thurso | First ScotRail Far North Line Thurso Branch |
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Historical Railways | ||||
Halkirk station closed; line open |
Sutherland and Caithness Railway Highland Railway |
Bower station closed; line open |
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Hoy station closed; line open |
Sutherland and Caithness Railway Thurso Branch Highland Railway |
[edit] Sources
- Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present, 1st, Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.
- Jowett, Alan (1989). Jowett's railway atlas of Great Britain and Ireland : from pre-grouping to the present day, 1st, Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137.