Dundee–Aberdeen line
A view of the line at Arbroath looking south
Overview
StatusOperational
OwnerNetwork Rail
LocaleAngus
Aberdeenshire
Scotland
Termini
  • Dundee
  • Aberdeen
Stations13
Service
TypeHeavy rail
SystemNational Rail
Operator(s)
Technical
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map

(Click to expand)

The Dundee–Aberdeen line is a railway line linking Dundee and Aberdeen in Scotland.

History

The present line was built by three companies. The first section to open was the line from Dundee to Arbroath in 1838, constructed by the Dundee and Arbroath Railway. From 1849 to 1850 the Aberdeen Railway opened the line between Montrose and Aberdeen. The North British, Arbroath and Montrose Railway opened the line between Arbroath and Montrose in 1883.

Route and line

The line runs from south to north and generally runs along the east coast, though it heads inland between Montrose and Stonehaven. The line is double-track apart from a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) single-track section south of Montrose, which includes the South Esk Viaduct.[1] Plans to dual this section were announced in 2008 and again in 2016.[2] It is not electrified.

At its northern terminus, Aberdeen railway station, the line meets the Aberdeen–Inverness line. At its southern terminus, Dundee railway station, the line meets the Dundee–Glasgow line (via Perth) and the Dundee–Edinburgh line. The five stations between Carnoustie and Dundee are close together and once had a regular stopping service, but this stopped in 1990. Since then, they have only had an infrequent parliamentary service.[3] An approximately hourly service for Broughty Ferry and Monifieth was restored with the December 2018 timetable change.[4]

Stations

Place Station Ordnance Survey
grid reference		 Services Notes
ScotRail LNER CrossCountry Caledonian Sleeper
Dundee Dundee NO402298 ● ● ● ● Glasgow–Aberdeen line connection.
Dundee (Broughty Ferry) Broughty Ferry NO462309 ●
Monifieth (Balmossie) Balmossie NO484317 ● limited service
Monifieth Monifieth NO497322 ●
Carnoustie Barry Links NO542337 ● limited service
Carnoustie Golf Street NO557342 ● limited service
Carnoustie Carnoustie NO566345 ● ●
Arbroath Arbroath NO638409 ● ● ● ●
Montrose Montrose NO711579 ● ● ● ●
Laurencekirk Laurencekirk ●
Stonehaven Stonehaven NO863861 ● ● ● ●
Portlethen Portlethen NO923967 ●
Aberdeen Aberdeen NJ941058 ● ● ● ● Terminus of ECML services from London King's Cross, Caledonian Sleeper services from London Euston and Cross Country Route services from Penzance; Aberdeen to Inverness Line connection; NorthLink ferry to Orkney and Shetland.

Incidents

On 28 December 1906, a severe blizzard caused 22 deaths and 24 injuries after two trains collided with each other between Carnoustie and Arbroath. For more information, see Elliot Junction rail accident.

The Stonehaven derailment occurred on 12 August 2020 which killed three people and required the line to remain closed between Stonehaven and Laurencekirk until 3 November. This section was closed again after a bridge parapet collapsed on 15 January 2021.[5] The line reopened on 22 February 2021.[6]

Future

In the Scottish Government's National Transport Strategy, published in February 2020, it was stated that the line would be electrified with overhead lines by 2035.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Strachan, Graeme. "£218m rail overhaul would only cut journeys by a few minutes". The Courier. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  2. ↑ Strachan, Graeme. "£218m rail overhaul would only cut journeys by a few minutes". The Courier. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  3. ↑ railwayworld53, Author (6 February 2020). "It's a fairway to Carnoustie". RailwayWorld.net. Retrieved 23 March 2021. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ "Passengers urged to check new ScotRail timetable changes". BBC News. 9 December 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  5. ↑ Smith, Claire (18 January 2021). "Parapet failure closes Stonehaven rail line after speed warnings issued". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  6. ↑ "Stonehaven-Montrose railway set to reopen for customers". Network Rail Media Centre. 17 February 2021. Archived from the original on 17 February 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  7. ↑ Shirres, David. "Decarbonising Scotland's Railway". Rail Engineer. No. 190. pp. 46–53. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
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