Kingussie railway station

Kingussie railway station serves the town of Kingussie, Inverness-shire in the Highland Council Area of Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is on the Highland Main Line, 71 miles 43 chains (115.1 km) from Perth, between Newtonmore and Aviemore.[4]

Kingussie

Scottish Gaelic: Ceann a' Ghiùthsaich[1]
National Rail
General information
LocationKingussie, Highland
Scotland
Coordinates57.0776°N 4.0543°W / 57.0776; -4.0543
Grid referenceNH756004
Managed byScotRail
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeKIN[2]
History
Original companyInverness and Perth Junction Railway
Pre-groupingHighland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
9 September 1863Station opened
Passengers
2017/18Increase 44,736
2018/19Decrease 40,758
2019/20Decrease 39,254
2020/21Decrease 7,352
2021/22Increase 25,682
Listed Building – Category B
Designated5 October 1971
Reference no.LB36282[3]
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

The Inverness and Perth Junction Railway (I&PJ) was authorised in 1861 for a line between Forres and Dunkeld.[5] It was built quickly, and was opened in sections; the last stretch, that between Aviemore and Pitlochry, was opened on 9 September 1863; and one of the original stations was that at Kingussie.[6][7] The current station buildings date from 1893 by the architect William Roberts.[8]

The I&PJ amalgamated with other railways to form the Highland Railway (HR) in 1865,[9] and at the 1923 Grouping the HR became part of the newly formed London, Midland and Scottish Railway.[10] The adjacent stations were Kincraig to the north, and Newtonmore to the south,[11] although the former has now closed.[12]

The station was host to a LMS caravan in 1935 and 1936 followed by two caravans from 1937 to 1939.[13] A camping coach was also positioned here by the Scottish Region from 1953 to 1963, increasing to two coaches from 1964 to 1967.[14]

There are two platforms, both of conventional height. The Up line platform used to be at a slightly lower height, which was originally built to allow cattle to easily transfer to and from the wagons, and onto the adjacent market stance to the south of the station. This meant passengers had to be careful when alighting from a train as not all doors were given a portable step on the platform, and was not good for those with accessibility issues. In 2017, the platform was rebuilt to standard height. The station buildings are on the Down platform.

Location

The station is located in Ruthven Road, Kingussie, about 200 yards south-east of the High Street. Kingussie High School is close to the station, as are also the Highland Council offices serving the Badenoch and Strathspey area. A level crossing takes Ruthven Road over both tracks at the Inverness end of the station, with the local signal box at the same end of platform 2.

Facilities

Both platforms have benches and help points. Platform 2 has a separate waiting room, whilst shelter on platform 1 is provided by the station buildings. In the station buildings is a ticket office and toilets. Only platform 1 is step-free; platform 2 can only be accessed by the footbridge. There is a car park and cycle racks adjacent to platform 1.[15]

Platform layout

The station is on the mainly single-track line from Inverness to Perth, and has a passing loop 33 chains (660 m) long, flanked by two platforms. Platform 1 on the northbound line can accommodate trains having twelve coaches, whereas platform 2 on the southbound line can hold thirteen.[16]

Future proposals

In the future, this station will be one of those to benefit from a package of timetable enhancements introduced by Transport Scotland and Scotrail. The current Perth to Inverness timetable will increase to hourly each way, with trains south of there running on alternate hours to Edinburgh & Glasgow. Journey times will be reduced by 10 minutes to both cities.[17] As of May 2022, this has still not taken place.[18]

Services

In the May 2022 timetable, there are twelve daily departures southbound (five to Edinburgh, seven to Glasgow Queen Street) and twelve departures northbound (the latter including one originating from Kingussie) on weekdays and Saturdays, including the Caledonian Sleeper (Sun-Fri nights southbound, calls to pick up only; Mon-Sat northbound). One of these is a daily through service to and from London King's Cross via Edinburgh and Newcastle (the Highland Chieftain).

On Sundays there are seven departures northbound and eight southbound, including the Kings Cross train, along with the sleeper heading southbound.[18]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Newtonmore or
Pitlochry		   London North Eastern Railway
East Coast Main Line		   Aviemore
Newtonmore or Pitlochry or
Dalwhinnie or Terminus		   ScotRail
Highland Main Line		   Aviemore
Newtonmore   Caledonian Sleeper
Highland Caledonian Sleeper		   Aviemore
  Historical railways  
Newtonmore
Line and station open		   Highland Railway
Inverness and Perth Junction Railway		   Kincraig
Line open; station closed

References
  1. Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. "Gaelic/English Station Index". Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
  2. Deaves, Phil. "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  3. "KINGUSSIE RAILWAY STATION INCLUDING STATION HOUSE, FOOTBRIDGE AND SIGNAL BOX". Historic Scotland. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  4. Bridge, Mike, ed. (2017). TRACKatlas of Mainland Britain: A Comprehensive Geographic Atlas Showing the Rail Network of Great Britain (3rd ed.). Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. p. 94. ISBN 978-1909431-26-3.
  5. Vallance, H.A.; Clinker, C.R.; Lambert, Anthony J. (1985) [1938]. The Highland Railway (4th ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. pp. 24–25. ISBN 0-946537-24-0.
  6. Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, p. 25
  7. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 135. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  8. The Buildings of Scotland, Highland and Islands. John Gifford. Yale University Press. 1992. ISBN 0-300-09625-9
  9. Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, p. 29
  10. Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, p. 154
  11. Conolly, W. Philip (January 1976). British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer (5th ed.). Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 33, sections A2–A3. ISBN 0-7110-0320-3. EX/0176.
  12. Butt 1995, p. 133
  13. McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. p. 22. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.
  14. McRae, Andrew (1998). British Railways Camping Coach Holidays: A Tour of Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part Two). Foxline. p. 13. ISBN 1-870119-53-3.
  15. "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  16. Brailsford 2017, map 19C.
  17. "‘Rail revolution’ means 200 more services and 20,000 more seats for Scots passengers" Archived 20 August 2016 at the Wayback MachineTransport Scotland press release 15 March 2016; Retrieved 18 August 2016
  18. eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 213
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