Aberdeen railway station

Aberdeen
Plaza at Aberdeen station, with Union Square to left
Location
Place	Aberdeen
Local authority	Aberdeen City Council
Coordinates	57°08′37″N 2°05′55″W / 57.1436°N 2.0985°WCoordinates: 57°08′37″N 2°05′55″W / 57.1436°N 2.0985°W
Grid reference	NJ941058
Operations
Station code	ABD
Managed by	Abellio ScotRail
Number of platforms	7 (1 platform out of use)
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2010/11	2.964 million
- Interchange	148,594
2011/12	3.170 million
- Interchange	197,040
2012/13	3.338 million
- Interchange	200,864
2013/14	3.599 million
- Interchange	219,085
2014/15	3.742 million
History
Original company	Denburn Valley Line
Pre-grouping	CR & GNoSR
Post-grouping	LMS & LNER
4 November 1867	Station opened as Aberdeen Joint to replace Aberdeen Guild Street and Aberdeen Waterloo[1]
1913-1916	Rebuilt
1952	Renamed Aberdeen[1]
2007-2008	Major refurbishment
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Aberdeen from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Aberdeen railway station is the main railway station in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the busiest railway station in Scotland north of the major cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh. It is located on Guild Street in the city centre, next to Union Square.

The station is managed by Abellio ScotRail. Inter-city, regional, local and sleeper train services are provided to all parts of Great Britain by Abellio ScotRail, Caledonian Sleeper, CrossCountry and Virgin Trains East Coast.

History

A 1913 Railway Clearing House Junction Diagram showing railways in the vicinity of Aberdeen (present station shown here as JOINT PASS. STA.)

Pre-nationalisation

The station currently standing was built as Aberdeen Joint Station between 1913–16, replacing an 1867 structure of the same name, on the same site. The station and the new Denburn Valley Line enabled the main line from the south and the commuter line from Deeside to connect with the line from the north. The lines from the south had previously terminated at the adjacent Aberdeen Guild Street. Even this had not been Aberdeen's first railway station, that distinction belonging to a previous terminus a short way south at Ferryhill. After the construction of the Joint Station, Guild Street Station became a goods station. Some of its tracks remain, but the vast majority of the site was cleared in 2005.

Prior to the construction of the Joint Station, lines from the north had terminated at Aberdeen Waterloo, a short but inconvenient distance along the edge of the harbour. This too became a goods station after the construction of the Joint Station. There is no longer a station at the site, but a goods service runs approximately weekly to industrial operations there. The Waterloo tracks join the north-south connecting Denburn Valley Line in the Kittybrewster area of the city, where the very first terminus of the lines from the north had briefly been, before extension and the building of the Waterloo Station. As far north as Inverurie, these follow the route of the Aberdeenshire Canal which had been purchased and filled in by the Great North of Scotland Railway.

Nationalisation and privatisation

The entrance to the station, seen in 2006, before redevelopment as part of Union Square. The Station Hotel can be seen in the background.

As a result of the grouping of railway companies under the Railways Act 1921, Aberdeen was shared by the London and North Eastern Railway and the London Midland and Scottish Railway, each company running the station for a year and then handing its administration to the other company. At nationalisation in 1948, it then became part of British Rail. As part of the changes during this period which saw a general contraction of railway services in the UK, some services were cut in the 1960s. These included those running north to Peterhead and Ellon as well as the Deeside Line. Suburban services were heavily reduced and the grand suburban ticket office, located on the corner of Guild Street and Bridge Street, was closed. It now houses a hair and beauty salon. The number of platforms at the station were also reduced considerably in the early 1970s, from the thirteen of the late 1950s/early 1960s down to just seven by 1973.^[2] This rationalisation process saw the removal of all of the north end bay platforms to allow for redevelopment of that part of the site. However, significant improvements under British Rail included introduction of InterCity 125 high-speed service to London and other major destinations, and introduction of other new rolling stock. Other improvements included a new Travel Centre opened in 1978 and under British Rail's regional brand ScotRail, a major station renovation was completed in the 1980s. The station was also resignalled around this time, with two more bay platforms (1 & 2) taken out of use along with the former through platforms 8 & 9. This left just five platforms (3-7) in regular use - the layout that remains in operation to this day.

At privatisation in the mid-1990s, ownership of the station passed to Railtrack (along with all stations and other infrastructure in England, Wales and Scotland), while day-to-day management passed to the train-operating franchisee ScotRail, a division of National Express. Following the quasi-nationalisation of railway infrastructure in the early 2000s, the station is now owned by Network Rail. In 2004, the train-operating franchise and station management were taken over by First ScotRail. ScotRail continue to operate trains but the station and all signage is now branded with the "ScotRail" logo, typeface and rolling-stock livery.

Signage at Aberdeen station in May 2012, showing National Rail double-arrow logo

Redevelopment as part of Union Square

The station had gradually become run-down in the last years of British Rail and because of privatisation. In the late 2000s, the railway station and bus station were included in the extensive Union Square development, primarily sited on an abandoned railway goods yard east of the station. As part of this, the railway station was comprehensively refurbished. The original sandstone station building became the centrepiece of a covered plaza for the new shopping and entertainment complex, while a granite-faced building was constructed to house station offices, a new Travel Centre, and other facilities. The car park at the front of the station was replaced by a public square providing pedestrian access to the station and Union Square. In addition, direct access was provided from the station concourse to Union Square and through to the bus station, creating a completely covered transport interchange. The refurbished station opened in 2009 followed by Union Square itself some months later.

Station services

Concourse at Aberdeen station

Passenger facilities

There is a staffed travel centre providing ticket office and information facilities (e.g. timetables), although it is not open in the late evening and closes before the last trains have departed. There are also automatic ticket machines outside this office and in the main concourse. Tickets purchased in advance (e.g. on the internet) can be collected from any of these machines. The entrance to the ScotRail first-class lounge is located inside the ticket office. Luggage trolleys are provided for travellers with baggage and a left-luggage facility is available with access from the front forecourt of the station.

A waiting room is available on the main concourse, as is a branch of WHSmith selling books, magazines, stationery and confectionery. There is also a pub and café. A wide range of other shopping and eating facilities are located in the Union Square complex which can be accessed directly through the concourse and is integrated with the station building. These include Boots, Costa Coffee, Starbucks, Marks & Spencer Simply Food and a range of other shops and restaurants. Unlike the travel centre, facilities at Union Square open late into the evening and also include ATM machines, through-access to the city's bus station, and a hotel operated by Jurys Inn. The original Station Hotel (now privately operated) as formerly operated by the Great North of Scotland Railway is open and located on Guild Street directly opposite the station.

There are toilet facilities accessible from the concourse (30p charge applies), in addition to toilet facilities in the café (free to customers), on most trains (free to passengers) and in Union Square (free to all).

Parking and onward transport

Medium-term parking is available in the adjoining College Street Car Park (with access only from College Street) and there are also a small number of free spaces which offer parking for 20 minutes only in a separate section of the car park inside the station itself. Taxis are available from a stand within the station concourse.

Regional and national bus services (including buses to Aberdeen Airport) depart from Aberdeen Bus Station, which is located on the other side of the adjoining Union Square shopping and entertainment complex. It is possible to walk directly from the concourse, through Union Square and to the bus station without entering the open air. This option is useful in winter and in periods of bad weather.

Rail services and train operators

Automated ticket barriers operate at all platforms but are left open when staff are not present. All scheduled services are operated by diesel-powered rolling stock. The services from Aberdeen for the Winter 2013-4 timetable (from 8 December 2013) are:

ScotRail

A ScotRail service at Aberdeen, formed of a Class 170 Turbostar unit

• 1tph to Edinburgh Waverley via Dundee operated by Class 158 Express Sprinter units or Class 170 Turbostar units.
• 1tph to Glasgow Queen Street via Dundee, Perth and Stirling (Scotland) operated by Class 158 Express Sprinter units or Class 170 Turbostar units.
• 1tph to Inverurie via Dyce, of which 1tp2h continues to Inverness via Keith and Elgin operated by Class 158 Express Sprinter units or Class 170 Turbostar units.

Caledonian Sleeper

• 1pd to London Euston via Carlisle, Preston, Crewe and Watford Junction.

CrossCountry

• 1tpd to Penzance, along the Cross Country Route via Dundee, Edinburgh Waverley, Newcastle Central, York, Leeds, Sheffield, Derby, Birmingham New Street, Bristol Temple Meads, Exeter St Davids and Plymouth. There is one northbound service from Plymouth to Aberdeen. These services are operated by Class 220 Voyager units, Class 221 Super Voyager units or by one of CrossCountry's InterCity 125 sets. At 770 miles taking 13 hours and 23 minutes, the journey from Aberdeen to Penzance is the longest direct rail journey in the United Kingdom. This service calls at 45 stations.
• 1tpd to Edinburgh Waverley^[3]

Virgin Trains East Coast

• 3tpd to London Kings Cross via Dundee, Edinburgh Waverley, Newcastle Central and York. These services are operated by InterCity 125 HST.
• 1tpd to Leeds via Dundee, Edinburgh Waverley, Newcastle Central and York. This service is operated by InterCity 125 HST.

Ferry Services

Aberdeen railway station offers interchange with Aberdeen ferry terminal, which lies approximately 450 metres (0.28 mi) away, the departure point for ferry services to the Orkney and Shetland Islands. The ferries, operated by NorthLink Ferries, include a daily direct sailing to Lerwick, Shetland lasting around 12 hours overnight. On certain days of the week, the Lerwick ferry crossing includes a call at Kirkwall on Orkney, increasing the journey time by 2 hours.

Railways in Aberdeen
Legend
Great North of Scotland Railway Don Street(GNoSR) Kittybrewster Junction (DVL)Kittybrewster (new) Kittybrewster (old)(GNoSR) (DVL)Hutcheon Street Waterloo(GNoSR) Victoria Basin: North(HTT) Victoria Basin: South(HTT) Deeside Goods(HTT) (DVL)Schoolhill Guild Street(AR) (DVL)Aberdeen Joint Deeside Goods Branch Junction Goods Branch Junction Deeside Railway Aberdeen Ferryhill(DVL) (DR)Holburn Street Ferryhill Junction Aberdeen Railway
Railways: AR - Aberdeen Railway (CR) DR - Deeside Railway (GNoSR) DVL - Denburn Valley Line (GNoSR) GNoSR - Great North of Scotland Railway HTT - Harbour Trustee Tramways (Aberdeen)

References

Notes

1. Butt (1995), page 12
2. "Aberdeen - End of the Great North End" McIntrye, John; Railscot article January 2007; Retrieved 2014-04-08
3. GB National Rail Timetable 2013-14, Tables 51 & 229

Sources

• Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063.
• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137.

External links

• Aberdeen Station Information