Blair Atholl railway station
Blair Atholl railway station is a railway station serving the town 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.[2]
![]() General view, looking south | |
General information | |
Location | Blair Atholl, Perth and Kinross Scotland |
Coordinates | 56.7653°N 3.8496°W |
Grid reference | NN870652 |
Managed by | ScotRail |
Platforms | 2 |
Other information | |
Station code | BLA |
Key dates | |
1863 | Opened |
Passengers | |
2016/17 | ![]() |
2017/18 | ![]() |
2018/19 | ![]() |
2019/20 | ![]() |
2020/21 | ![]() |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
History

The station was opened by the Inverness and Perth Junction Railway on 9 September 1863 and is located at the northern end of the single track portion of the route from Stanley Junction.
One of the first visitors to the station was Queen Victoria who arrived in a Royal Train on 15 September 1863 on a visit to Blair Castle to see George Murray, 6th Duke of Atholl who was very ill.[3]
The disused goods yard and associated pointwork still exist, though overgrown. The goods yard is located next to the northbound platform.
Stationmasters
- Charles James Dunn from 1863[4]
- Duncan MacLennan 1886[5] - 1895 (formerly station master at Helmsdale)
- Donald Fraser 1895 - 1925[6]
- John McRae 1925[7] - 1933
- Joseph McDonald 1933 - 1940[8]
- James Henderson 1940 - 1947[9] (formerly station master at Taynuilt)
- Thomas Grieve 1947 - 1952[10] (formerly station master at Burrelton, afterwards station master at Lochee)
- Alistair Watt[11]
Facilities
There 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).[12] 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 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.[13]
Passenger volume
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 | 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 |
The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.
Services
On Monday to Saturdays, there are 9 trains per day northbound (all going to Inverness), and 5 trains per day southbound (1 to Perth, 2 to Glasgow Queen Street and 2 to Edinburgh), with an extra service to Glasgow on Saturdays. 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.[15]
Preceding station | ![]() |
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 |
Dalwhinnie | ||
Historical railways | ||||
Killiecrankie Line open; station closed |
Highland Railway Inverness and Perth Junction Railway |
Black Island Platform Line open; station closed |
References
- 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.
- 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. pp. .page. 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.
- "Station Master at Blair Athole". Perthshire Advertiser. Scotland. 3 September 1863. Retrieved 13 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Highland Railway Appointments". Dundee Courier. Scotland. 10 July 1886. Retrieved 13 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Blair Atholl Stationmaster's Retiral". Strathearn Herald. Scotland. 9 May 1925. Retrieved 13 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Blair Atholl". Perthshire Advertiser. Scotland. 1 July 1925. Retrieved 13 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "New Chief Booking Clerk". Perthshire Advertiser. Scotland. 22 June 1940. Retrieved 13 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Blair Atholl Official Retires". Dundee Courier. Scotland. 26 July 1947. Retrieved 13 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Lochee's New Stationmaster". Dundee Courier. Scotland. 20 December 1952. Retrieved 13 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "Obituary". Perthshire Advertiser. Scotland. 17 April 1987. Retrieved 13 November 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- Railscot - Inverness and Perth Junction Railway Crawford, Ewan; Railbrit.co.uk; Retrieved 11 August 2016
- "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- eNRT December 2021 Edition, Table 213
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