Blair Atholl

Scottish Gaelic: Blàr Athall[1]
National Rail
General view, looking south
General information
LocationBlair Atholl, Perth and Kinross
Scotland
Coordinates56°45′55″N 3°50′59″W / 56.7653°N 3.8496°W / 56.7653; -3.8496
Grid referenceNN870652
Managed byScotRail
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeBLA[2]
Key dates
9 September 1863Opened as Blair Athole[3]
1872Possibly renamed to Blair Athol[3]
1893 or 1894Renamed to Blair Atholl[3]
Passengers
2018/19Increase 21,008
2019/20Decrease 18,388
2020/21Decrease 3,688
2021/22Increase 11,870
2022/23Increase 13,402
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

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. 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]

History

Looking north from the station in 1962

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 on 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-yards long passing loop which was flanked by the two platforms but this has since been extended northbound as double track as far as Dalwhinnie.[6]

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).[7] 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.[4]

Passenger volume

Passenger Volume at Blair Atholl[8]
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

As 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 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

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. ↑ Deaves, Phil. "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Quick 2022, p. 87.
  4. 1 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. 93. ISBN 978 1909431 26 3.
  5. ↑ "The Queen at Blair Athole". Daily Review (Edinburgh). Scotland. 17 September 1863. Retrieved 14 August 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ↑ Byrom, Bernard (2022). Old Blair Atholl, Killiecrankie and Struan. Catrine: Stenlake Publishing Ltd. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-84033-929-1.
  7. ↑ "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  8. ↑ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  9. ↑ eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 213

Bibliography

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