Banavie railway station

Banavie National Rail
Scottish Gaelic: Banbhaidh

The platform at Banavie in the snow, February 2009
Location
Place Banavie
Local authority Highland
Coordinates 56°50′38″N 5°05′46″W / 56.8439°N 5.0960°W / 56.8439; -5.0960Coordinates: 56°50′38″N 5°05′46″W / 56.8439°N 5.0960°W / 56.8439; -5.0960
Grid reference NN112767
Operations
Station code BNV
Managed by Abellio ScotRail
Number of platforms 1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2010/11 Increase 5,056
2011/12 Increase 5,328
2012/13 Increase 6,524
2013/14 Decrease 5,672
2014/15 Increase 5,918
History
Original company Mallaig Extension Railway of West Highland Railway
Pre-grouping North British Railway
Post-grouping LNER
1 April 1901 Station opened[1]
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Banavie from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Banavie railway station is a railway station on the West Highland Line serving the village of Banavie, although it is much closer to Caol, Scotland. To continue on to the next station at Corpach, trains must pass over the Caledonian Canal at Neptune's Staircase, a popular tourist attraction.

History

Banavie station opened along with the Mallaig Extension Railway on 1 April 1901.[1] It comprises a single platform on the north side of the line.

Services

Three or four trains a day use the line in either direction. Services are operated by Abellio ScotRail.

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Fort William   Abellio ScotRail
West Highland Line
  Corpach
Historical railways
Fort William
Line and Station open
  North British Railway
Mallaig Extension Railway of West Highland Railway
  Corpach
Line and Station open

Signalling

The swing bridge with signal box and station beyond

From the time of its opening in 1901, the Mallaig Extension Railway was worked throughout by the electric token system. A signal box, named "Banavie Canal Bridge", was located at the west end of the station, on the north side of the line. It did not become a token station until 4 February 1912, but originally existed to control the nearby level crossings and the adjacent swing bridge over the Caledonian Canal.

Because of the continuing requirement to operate the swing bridge locally, Banavie was chosen as the location for the control centre for the West Highland Line's new radio signalling system. Banavie signalling centre opened on 14 June 1987 when it replaced the old Canal Bridge signal box. The Radio Electronic Token Block signalling was commissioned on 6 December 1987. The control centre covers train movements as far south as Helensburgh and Oban and Mallaig to the west. Local train movements in Fort William and the nearby freight yard at Inverlochy are controlled by the mechanical signal box at Fort William Junction.

See also

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 Butt (1995)

Sources

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