Aberdeen to Inverness Line

The Aberdeen to Inverness Line is a railway line in Scotland linking Aberdeen and Inverness.

History

The line was built in three parts:-

• Inverness and Nairn Railway between Inverness and Nairn, which opened on 5 November 1855.
• Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway between Nairn and Keith which opened in 1858.
• Great North of Scotland Railway between Keith and Aberdeen which opened on 19 September 1854, with the southern portion (between Port Elphinstone and Aberdeen Waterloo) being built over the route of the Aberdeenshire Canal.

A Highland Railway 'Clan Goods' locomotive at Forres

Most of the line is single-track, other than the part of the line between Insch and Kennethmont, which is double-track.

The first two parts of the line merged to form the Highland Railway. The Highland Railway operated the line from Inverness to Keith with the Great North operating the line from there to Aberdeen. The Highland was grouped with other railways into the London Midland and Scottish Railway and the Great North was grouped into the London and North Eastern Railway by the Railways Act 1921, before eventually becoming part of British Railways in 1948.

Since 1948

Many intermediate stations were closed at various dates during the 1950s and 1960s to both passenger and goods traffic. The 1963 Reshaping of British Railways report recommended the closure of Inverurie and Insch stations but these remain open. Dyce station was reopened to serve the adjacent Aberdeen Airport.

A new freight interchange known as Raith's Farm was opened in 2009 at Dyce.^[1]

Current services

Aberdeen to Inverness Line
Legend
Kyle of Lochalsh Line Far North Line Rose Street Junction Welsh's Bridge Junction Inverness( Bus link to Inverness Airport ) Millburn Junction Highland Main Line Dalcross Nairn Forres Elgin Keith and Dufftown Railway Keith Town Keith Huntly Insch Inverurie Kintore Dyce( 80 Dyce Airlink to Aberdeen Airport ) Aberdeen( NorthLink ferry to Orkney and Shetland ) Glasgow to Aberdeen Line Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line

Passenger services are operated by Abellio ScotRail with less regular London trains operated by Virgin Trains East Coast during diversions. There is some limited freight traffic, with Elgin retaining a goods yard, whilst Keith, Huntly and Inverurie retain smaller, less frequently used goods yards. Raith's Farm freight yard at Dyce serves Aberdeen.^[1]

The line serves the following stations:

Plans

There are currently plans to extend some of the services and increase the frequency of trains between Inverurie and Aberdeen. This will be part of the Aberdeen Crossrail project.

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aberdeen to Inverness Line.

• Inverness-Aberdeen Timetable May 2013