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]

Blair Atholl

Scottish Gaelic: Blàr Athall[1]
General view, looking south
General information
LocationBlair Atholl, Perth and Kinross
Scotland
Coordinates56.7653°N 3.8496°W / 56.7653; -3.8496
Grid referenceNN870652
Managed byScotRail
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeBLA
Key dates
1863Opened
Passengers
2016/17 17,598
2017/18 19,802
2018/19 21,008
2019/20 18,388
2020/21 3,688
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

Looking north from the station in 1962

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

Passenger Volume at Blair Atholl[14]
  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 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
  Dalwhinnie
  Historical railways  
Killiecrankie
Line open; station closed
  Highland Railway
Inverness and Perth Junction Railway
  Black Island Platform
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. 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.
  3. "The Queen at Blair Athole". Daily Review (Edinburgh). Scotland. 17 September 1863. Retrieved 14 August 2020 via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "Station Master at Blair Athole". Perthshire Advertiser. Scotland. 3 September 1863. Retrieved 13 November 2021 via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "Highland Railway Appointments". Dundee Courier. Scotland. 10 July 1886. Retrieved 13 November 2021 via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "Blair Atholl Stationmaster's Retiral". Strathearn Herald. Scotland. 9 May 1925. Retrieved 13 November 2021 via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "Blair Atholl". Perthshire Advertiser. Scotland. 1 July 1925. Retrieved 13 November 2021 via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. "New Chief Booking Clerk". Perthshire Advertiser. Scotland. 22 June 1940. Retrieved 13 November 2021 via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. "Blair Atholl Official Retires". Dundee Courier. Scotland. 26 July 1947. Retrieved 13 November 2021 via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. "Lochee's New Stationmaster". Dundee Courier. Scotland. 20 December 1952. Retrieved 13 November 2021 via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. "Obituary". Perthshire Advertiser. Scotland. 17 April 1987. Retrieved 13 November 2021 via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  13. Railscot - Inverness and Perth Junction Railway Crawford, Ewan; Railbrit.co.uk; Retrieved 11 August 2016
  14. "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  15. eNRT December 2021 Edition, Table 213


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