Blair Atholl railway station is a railway station serving the village of Blair Atholl, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is on the Highland Main Line, 35 miles 9 chains (56.5 km) from Perth, between Pitlochry and Dalwhinnie. There is a crossover at the north end of the station to allow trains to turn back if the line south to Pitlochry is closed.[4]
 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 General view, looking south | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Blair Atholl, Perth and Kinross Scotland | ||||
| Coordinates | 56°45′55″N 3°50′59″W / 56.7653°N 3.8496°W | ||||
| Grid reference | NN870652 | ||||
| Managed by | ScotRail | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | BLA[2] | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 9 September 1863 | Opened as Blair Athole[3] | ||||
| 1872 | Possibly renamed to Blair Athol[3] | ||||
| 1893 or 1894 | Renamed to Blair Atholl[3] | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2019/20 |  18,388 | ||||
| 2020/21 | 3,688 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  11,870 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 13,402 | ||||
| 2023/24 | 15,126 | ||||
| |||||
History
edit
The station was opened by the Inverness and Perth Junction Railway on 9 September 1863.[3]
One of the first visitors to the station was Queen Victoria, who arrived in a Royal Train on 15 September 1863 during a visit to Blair Castle to see George Murray, 6th Duke of Atholl, who was very ill.[5] For its first thirty years until 1893, the station was named 'Blair Athole';[3] the present B-listed station was renamed to its current name in the 1890s.[3]
It originally had a 770-yard (700 m) long passing loop, which was flanked by the two platforms, but this has since been extended northwards as double track as far as Dalwhinnie.[6]
Facilities
editThere are benches on both platforms, with a waiting shelter on platform 2 and natural shelter from the station buildings on platform 1, with a small car park and bike racks adjacent to the latter. As well as the footbridge between the platforms, there is also step-free access to both platforms (from the car park to platform 1 and from the level crossing to platform 2).[7] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.
Platform layout
editThe station has a passing loop 35 chains (700 m) long, with two platforms. Platform 1 on the southbound line can accommodate trains having seven coaches, whereas platform 2 on the northbound line can hold eleven. Beyond here the line is double track as far as Dalwhinnie.[4]
Passenger volume
edit| 2002–03 | 2004–05 | 2005–06 | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2008–09 | 2009–10 | 2010–11 | 2011–12 | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | 2014–15 | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | 2017–18 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entries and exits | 8,613 | 11,708 | 11,896 | 10,491 | 10,443 | 10,580 | 11,572 | 13,948 | 12,608 | 14,280 | 14,084 | 16,062 | 16,652 | 17,598 | 19,802 | 21,008 | 18,388 | 3,688 | 11,870 | 13,402 |
The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.
Services
editAs of the May 2022 timetable, on weekdays and Saturdays there are 5 trains per day northbound (all going to Inverness), and 6 trains per day southbound (three to Glasgow Queen Street, two to Edinburgh and the southbound Caledonian Sleeper, picking up only, weekdays only). A reduced service operates on Sundays, with 3 trains per day to Inverness (1 of which extends to Elgin), and 2 trains to Glasgow and 2 trains to Edinburgh, including the Highland Chieftain to London Kings Cross, as well as the Caledonian Sleeper.[9]
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitlochry | London North Eastern Railway Sundays, Southbound Only Highland Main Line |
Newtonmore | ||
| Pitlochry | ScotRail Highland Main Line |
Dalwhinnie or Newtonmore or Kingussie | ||
| Pitlochry | Caledonian Sleeper Highland Caledonian Sleeper Southbound only |
Dalwhinnie | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Killiecrankie Line open; station closed |
Highland Railway Inverness and Perth Junction Railway |
Black Island Platform Line open; station closed | ||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ Deaves, Phil. "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f Quick 2022, p. 87.
- ^ a b 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. 93. ISBN 978-1909431-26-3.
- ^ "The Queen at Blair Athole". Daily Review (Edinburgh). Scotland. 17 September 1863. Retrieved 14 August 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Byrom, Bernard (2022). Old Blair Atholl, Killiecrankie and Struan. Catrine: Stenlake Publishing Ltd. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-84033-929-1.
- ^ "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ^ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
- ^ eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 213
Bibliography
edit- Quick, Michael (2022). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain: A Chronology (PDF) (5th ed.). London: Railway and Canal Historical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
External links
edit
- Train times and station information for Blair Atholl railway station from National Rail