Ardlui railway station

Ardlui National Rail
Scottish Gaelic: Àird Laoigh

Ardlui station is unusually busy as passengers on a Mallaig and Oban - Glasgow train stretch their legs whilst waiting for a late running northbound train to cross
Location
Place Ardlui
Local authority Argyll and Bute
Coordinates 56°18′07″N 4°43′18″W / 56.3019°N 4.7217°WCoordinates: 56°18′07″N 4°43′18″W / 56.3019°N 4.7217°W
Grid reference NN316155
Operations
Station code AUI
Managed by ScotRail
Number of platforms 2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05  2,309
2005/06 Increase 2,344
2006/07 Increase 2,383
2007/08 Decrease 1,870
2008/09 Increase 2,320
2009/10 Decrease 1,970
2010/11 Increase 2,092
2011/12 Increase 2,252
2012/13 Decrease 2,216
2013/14 Increase 4,566
History
Original company West Highland Railway
Pre-grouping North British Railway
Post-grouping LNER
7 August 1894 Opened[1]
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Ardlui from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Ardlui railway station is a remote rural railway station, serving Ardlui at the north end of Loch Lomond, in Scotland. The station is 51 miles (82 km) north of Glasgow Queen Street on the West Highland Line.

History

Opened to passengers on 7 August 1894 by the West Highland Railway, then run by the North British Railway, it became part of the London and North Eastern Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The station then passed on to the Scottish Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. Due to subsidence the main station building, of the standard 'West Highland' design, had to be demolished around 1970 with an open waiting area built on to the signal box.

When sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by ScotRail until the Privatisation of British Rail.

Trains crossing at Ardlui in 1948

The station was laid out with a crossing loop and an island platform. There are three sidings on the east side of the station.

On 8 February 1987, the crossing loop was altered to right-hand running. The original Down platform has thus become the Up platform, and vice versa. The change was made in order to simplify shunting at this station, by removing the need to hand-pump the train-operated loop points to access the sidings.

Signalling

From the time of its opening in 1894, the West Highland Railway was worked throughout by the electric token system. Ardlui signal box was situated on the island platform.

The semaphore signals were removed on 12 January 1986 in preparation for the introduction of Radio Electronic Token Block (RETB). The RETB, which is controlled from a Signalling Centre at Banavie railway station, was commissioned between Helensburgh Upper and Upper Tyndrum on 27 March 1988.

The Train Protection & Warning System was installed in 2003.

Services

Monday to Saturday, there are three services to Oban and Mallaig and one service to Fort William (Highland Caledonian Sleeper) northbound. Southbound, there are three services to Glasgow Queen Street and one service to London Euston (Highland Caledonian Sleeper does not run on Saturday). On Sundays, there is just one train northbound to Oban and Mallaig and two trains southbound to Glasgow Queen Street and London Euston.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Arrochar and Tarbet   ScotRail
West Highland Line		   Crianlarich
Arrochar and Tarbet   Caledonian Sleeper
Highland Caledonian Sleeper		   Crianlarich
Historical railways
Arrochar and Tarbet
Line and Station open		   West Highland Railway
North British Railway
   Glen Falloch Platform
Line open; Station closed

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ardlui railway station.

Notes

  1. ↑ Butt (1995) page 17

Sources