Alness railway station

Alness railway station is a railway station on the Far North Line, serving the town of Alness, on the Cromarty Firth, in the Highland council area of Scotland. The station is 28 miles 70 chains (46.5 km) from Inverness, between Dingwall and Invergordon.[2]

Alness

Scottish Gaelic: Alanais[1]
General information
LocationAlness, Highland
Scotland
Coordinates57.6944°N 4.2497°W / 57.6944; -4.2497
Grid referenceNH659694
Managed byScotRail
Platforms1
Other information
Station codeASS
History
Original companyInverness and Ross-shire Railway
Pre-groupingHighland Railway
Post-groupingLMSR
Key dates
23 May 1863Station opened
13 June 1960Station closed
7 May 1973Station reopened
Passengers
2016/17 26,376
2017/18 29,272
2018/19 30,426
2019/20 27,050
2020/21 3,220
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

The Inverness and Ross-shire Railway (I&RR), which was to be a line between Inverness and Invergordon, was authorised in 1860, and opened in stages.[3] By the time that the last section, that between Dingwall and Invergordon, opened on 25 March 1863, the I&RR had amalgamated with the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway (I&AJR), the authorisation being given on 30 June 1862.[4] On this last stretch, one of the original stations was that at Alness.[5] The I&AJR in turn amalgamated with other railways to form the Highland Railway in 1865,[6] which became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923.[7] The line then passed on to the Scottish Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. The station at Alness was then closed by the British Transport Commission on 13 June 1960[5] and remained so for 13 years.

The station reopened on 7 May 1973[5] after significant housing development in the area.[8] The initial service provision was three trains each way on weekdays and one on Sundays.[8] When sectorisation was introduced by British Rail in the 1980s, the station was served by ScotRail until the privatisation of British Rail.

The original station platforms can still be seen on both sides of the single line through the station.

Facilities

The station consists of one platform on the northern side of the railway, with only a small shelter available. The station also has a small car park, bike racks and a bench.[9] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.

Platform layout

The station has a single platform which is long enough for a six-coach train.[10]

Passenger volume
Passenger Volume at Alness[11]
  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
Entries and exits 3,717 6,950 7,633 9,822 11,550 13,722 14,306 17,782 25,498 28,384 27,796 25,934 23,614 26,376 29,272 30,426 27,050 3,220

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

On weekdays and Saturdays, there are 7 trains northbound (4 to Wick via Thurso, 1 to Invergordon, 1 to Ardgay and 1 to Tain) and 8 trains southbound to Inverness. On Sundays, there are five trains southbound to Inverness, and 5 trains northbound (3 to Tain, 1 to Invergordon and 1 through to Wick.[12]

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Dingwall   ScotRail
Far North Line		   Invergordon
  Historical railways  
Evanton
Line open; station closed		   Highland Railway
Inverness and Ross-shire Railway
   Invergordon
Line and station open

References
  1. Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
  2. 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. 99. ISBN 978 1909431 26 3.
  3. Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, p. 31
  4. Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, p. 32
  5. Butt 1995, p. 15
  6. Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, p. 40
  7. Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, p. 154
  8. Kichenside, G.M., ed. (May 1973). "Farther North station reopened". Modern Railways. XXX (296): 173.
  9. "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  10. Brailsford 2017, map 18D.
  11. "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  12. eNRT December 2021 Edition, Table 219

Bibliography
  • Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
  • Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
  • Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
  • Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
  • Vallance, H.A.; Clinker, C.R.; Lambert, Anthony J. (1985) [1938]. The Highland Railway (4th ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-946537-24-0.
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