Georgemas Junction railway station

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 historic 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.

Operation

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 portion 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. On arrival at Georgemas Junction from Inverness, trains must reverse to reach Thurso. The train then operates from Thurso back to Georgemas Junction and on to Wick. An easement to the National Routeing Guide allows passengers for Wick to stay on the train between Georgemas Junction and Thurso, which would otherwise technically be off-route^[1].

References

Notes

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 ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199. 
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137.