Altnabreac railway station

Altnabreac National Rail
Scottish Gaelic: Allt nam Breac

Altnabreac railway station
Location
Place Altnabreac
Local authority Highland
Coordinates 58°23′18″N 3°42′21″W / 58.3882°N 3.7059°W / 58.3882; -3.7059Coordinates: 58°23′18″N 3°42′21″W / 58.3882°N 3.7059°W / 58.3882; -3.7059
Grid reference ND003456
Operations
Station code ABC
Managed by Abellio ScotRail
Number of platforms 1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2011/12 Increase 238
2012/13 Increase 296
2013/14 Decrease 138
2014/15 Increase 240
2015/16 Increase 312
History
Original company Sutherland and Caithness Railway
Pre-grouping Highland Railway
Post-grouping LMSR
28 July 1874 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 Altnabreac from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Altnabreac railway station is a rural railway station serving the area of Altnabreac, in the Highland council area of Scotland; a settlement in which the station is itself the main component. The station is on the Far North Line, within the former county of Caithness, 23 miles (37 km) as the crow flies west of Wick (27½ route miles by rail[2]).

One of Britain's most isolated stations, it is a request stop used almost solely by walkers and those who enjoy visiting obscure locations.

History

The station was opened by the Sutherland and Caithness Railway on 28 July 1874[1] and later absorbed by the Highland Railway.[3] Taken into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923, the line then passed on to the Scottish Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.

When Sectorisation was introduced by British Rail, the station became part of ScotRail until the Privatisation of British Rail.

The reason for the station's construction is a mystery, since it pre-dates the hotel/lodge one mile to the south – the only obvious source of trade. It had however a passing loop with a water-tank, so may have been established for purely operational reasons.

Some pupils of the former Altnabreac School arrived by train.

Services

Monday to Saturday, four trains per day operate eastbound to Wick and westbound to Inverness, with one train a day on Sundays.[4]

The apparent almost 100% increase in patronage over the last few years may be due to a change in the methods used to measure passenger numbers; see Usage Notes.[5] Despite these increases, Altnabreac remains the 8th-least-used station in Britain according to 2009-10 statistics.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Forsinard   Abellio ScotRail
Far North Line		   Scotscalder
Historical railways
Forsinard
Station and Line open		   Highland Railway
Sutherland and Caithness Railway
   Scotscalder
Station and Line open

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Altnabreac railway station.

Notes

  1. 1 2 Butt (1995), page 15
  2. ↑ British Rail Passenger Timetable, summer 1992, p1342
  3. ↑ "The Sunderland and Caithness Railway". The Scotsman. British Newspaper Archive. 27 July 1874. Retrieved 14 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  4. ↑ Table 239 National Rail timetable, May 2016
  5. ↑ Office of Rail Regulation: Station Usage

Sources

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