Kildonan railway station

Kildonan railway station (/kɪlˈdɒnən/ kil-DON-ən) is a railway station near Kildonan Lodge in the Highland council area in the north of Scotland. It is located on the Far North Line, between Helmsdale and Kinbrace, 111 miles 5 chains (178.7 km) from Inverness,[2] and has a single platform which is long enough for a three-coach train. All services are operated by ScotRail, who manage the station.

Kildonan

Scottish Gaelic: Cill Donnain[1]
Kildonan station as it was in September 2018, taken from the level crossing at the southern end of the station.
General information
LocationKildonan near Helmsdale, Highland
Scotland
Coordinates58.1708°N 3.8691°W / 58.1708; -3.8691
Grid referenceNC901217
Managed byScotRail
Platforms1
Other information
Station codeKIL
History
Original companySutherland and Caithness Railway
Pre-groupingHighland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
British Railways
Key dates
28 July 1874Opened
Passengers
2016/17 76
2017/18 206
2018/19 168
2019/20 214
2020/21 16
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History
Kildonan station as seen in 2008. The second platform is clearly visible on the left.

The station opened on 28 July 1874.[3] In 1952 the station was awarded a special class award in the British Railway (Scottish Region) Best Kept Stations Competition.[4]

Accidents and incidents

On 7 February 1884 there was an accident at the station. A special fish train from Wick approached the station when it derailed and ploughed up several hundred yards of track. The fireman, Alexander Campbell of Wick, died and the engine driver, David Mathieson of Wick was badly injured.[5]

Proposed closure

On 10 June 2018, it was announced that Hitrans had proposed the station for closure, shaving four minutes off journey times on the Inverness to Thurso/Wick route and put application in to Transport Scotland to consider the proposals.[6] However following objections by three local councillors Hitrans had withdrawn the application.[7]

Facilities

The station has very basic facilities, including a waiting shelter, a bench, a help point and bike racks.[8] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.

Passenger volume

Due to the extremely sparse and small population it serves, Kildonan is one of the least used stations in the country, although its reputation means that it has a higher patronage than would be expected. It is currently the 16th least used railway station in the United Kingdom and the 2nd least used on the Far North Line.[9]

Passenger Volume at Kildonan[9]
  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 89 145 165 231 244 174 204 142 240 62 144 96 170 76 206 168 214 16

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

It is currently served by four trains each day (Mon-Sat) to Inverness and three trains in the opposite direction to Wick (via Thurso), with one train in each direction on a Sunday.[10] All trains call on request.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Helmsdale   ScotRail
Far North Line		   Kinbrace
  Historical railways  
Salzcraggie Platform
Line open, station closed		   Highland Railway
Sutherland and Caithness Railway		   Borrobol 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. p. 103. ISBN 978 1909431 26 3.
  3. "The Sunderland and Caithness Railway". The Scotsman. British Newspaper Archive. 27 July 1874. Retrieved 14 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "Awards to North Stations". Aberdeen Evening Express. British Newspaper Archive. 29 November 1952. Retrieved 14 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "The Accident on the Highland Railway". Edinburgh Evening News. British Newspaper Archive. 8 February 1884. Retrieved 10 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. "Axe looms for Highland station with just 76 passengers year". The Scotsman. 10 June 2018.
  7. MacLennan, Scott. "Kildonan Railway Station to be saved after HITRANS backs down".
  8. "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  9. "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  10. eNRT December 2021 Edition, Table 219


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