Conon Bridge railway station

Conon Bridge National Rail
Scottish Gaelic: Drochaid Sguideil

Conon Bridge station, 2013
Location
Place Conon Bridge
Local authority Highland
Coordinates 57°33′42″N 4°26′25″W / 57.5617°N 4.4404°W / 57.5617; -4.4404Coordinates: 57°33′42″N 4°26′25″W / 57.5617°N 4.4404°W / 57.5617; -4.4404
Grid reference NH540550
Operations
Station code CBD
Managed by Abellio ScotRail
Number of platforms 1
DfT category F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2012/13 3,788 (52 days)
2013/14 Increase 18,114
2014/15 Decrease 15,510
History
Original company Inverness and Ross-shire Railway
Pre-grouping Highland Railway
Post-grouping London Midland and Scottish Railway
11 June 1862 Opened as Conon[1]
13 June 1960 Closed[1]
8 February 2013 Reopened as Conon Bridge
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Conon Bridge from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Conon Bridge is a railway station on the Far North and Kyle of Lochalsh Lines, which serves the villages of Conon Bridge and Maryburgh in the Scottish Highlands. Initially known as Conon, it originally closed in 1960 and reopened on 8 February 2013.

Original station (1862–1960)

Site of Conon station, 2010

Conon station was situated between Dingwall and Muir of Ord. The railway station was opened by Inverness and Ross-shire Railway on 11 June 1862[1] and closed on 13 June 1960.[1] The original station had two platforms and was the junction with the partially constructed Cromarty and Dingwall Light Railway.

2013 reopening

The rebuilt station was projected to open by 2012 as Conon Bridge.[2][3] In March 2012, Network Rail revealed that agreement had been reached with the Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership for it to provide £100,000 towards the construction of a single four-carriage platform at the station site.[4] The new station was forecast to handle 36,000 passengers a year, including tourists and commuters to Inverness.[4]

In September 2012, Scottish Government Transport Minister Keith Brown announced that a new station, expected to cost £600,000, would be built in time for a February 2013 opening, in time to help relieve traffic during the delayed £18 million pound resurfacing works to be carried out on the Kessock Bridge.[5]

Construction was begun in November 2012 by Network Rail. A single platform around 15 metres long (similar to that at nearby Beauly railway station[6]) was provided, together with a new waiting shelter, passenger information systems, cycle racks and lockers and a new car park, wider road access and enhanced street lighting.[7] The project was supported by Highland Council, HiTRANS, Network Rail and First ScotRail.[8] It reopened as scheduled and on budget on 8 February 2013.[7][9] In the month following the station's opening, more than 2,000 journeys were made to or from it.[10] According to Minister for Transport Keith Brown, the numbers "show that it was an extremely worthwhile investment".[10]

Services

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Muir of Ord   Abellio ScotRail
Far North Line
Kyle of Lochalsh Line		   Dingwall
Historical railways
Muir of Ord   Highland Railway
Inverness and Ross-shire Railway
   Dingwall
Alcaig   Highland Railway
Cromarty and Dingwall Light Railway
   Terminus

From 8 February 2013

There are 13 daily southbound services and 12 daily northbound services. Journey times are around 25 minutes to Inverness and 7 minutes to Dingwall.[11]

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Butt 1995, p. 67
  2. ↑ Abbot, J.; Sully, J. (October 2008). "Hoisting the saltire high". Modern Railways (Ian Allan Publishings) 65 (721).
  3. ↑ "Railway link proposed for airport". BBC News. 2006-07-17. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
  4. 1 2 "New Conon Bridge railway station 'could open soon'". BBC News Online. 30 March 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
  5. ↑ "Conon Bridge railway station to reopen in 2013". BBC News Online. 19 September 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-09.
  6. ↑ "Inverness to Plockton". Great British Railway Journeys. Series 4. Episode 14. 2013-01-24. BBC. Retrieved 2013-01-24.
  7. 1 2 Nigel Harris, ed. (6–19 March 2013). "Conon Bridge station re-opens". RAIL (717): 19.
  8. ↑ "Construction underway at Conon Bridge". Caithness Business Index. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  9. ↑ "Conon Bridge station open after 50 years". Rail Technology Magazine. Cognitive Publishing Ltd. 12 February 2013. Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  10. 1 2 Nigel Harris, ed. (3–16 April 2013). "Kessock boosts the Far North line". RAIL (719): 15.
  11. ↑ http://www.scotrail.co.uk/content/train-services-conon-bridge

Sources

External links

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