Dingwall railway station

Dingwall National Rail
Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir pheofharain

Dingwall station in October 1984
Location
Place Dingwall
Local authority Highland
Coordinates 57°35′39″N 4°25′20″W / 57.5942°N 4.4222°W / 57.5942; -4.4222Coordinates: 57°35′39″N 4°25′20″W / 57.5942°N 4.4222°W / 57.5942; -4.4222
Grid reference NH553585
Operations
Station code DIN
Managed by Abellio ScotRail
Number of platforms 2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05  34,898
2005/06 Increase 43,508
2006/07 Increase 55,034
2007/08 Increase 64,404
2008/09 Increase 72,086
2009/10 Increase 80,324
2010/11 Increase 84,920
2011/12 Increase 0.102 million
- Interchange 660
2012/13 Increase 0.105 million
- Interchange Decrease 442
2013/14 Decrease 0.102 million
- Interchange Increase 7,834
2014/15 Decrease 87,782
- Interchange Decrease 583
History
Original company Inverness and Ross-shire Railway
Pre-grouping Highland Railway
Post-grouping LMS
11 June 1862[1] Opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Dingwall from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Dingwall railway station serves Dingwall, in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is located just south of the junction of the Far North Line and the Kyle of Lochalsh Line, and is served by Abellio ScotRail. A recent increase of services has increased usage dramatically (see figures right).

History

Dingwall engine shed in 1957

The station was built by the Inverness and Ross-shire Railway (I&RR) and opened on 11 June 1862 when the company's line was opened from Inverness to Dingwall. The extension to Invergordon came on 23 March 1863. The I&RR was consolidated with the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway on 30 June 1862. The operating name became the Highland Railway (HR) on 29 June 1865. Under Highland Railway ownership the current station buildings were erected in 1886 by architect Murdoch Paterson.[2]

The HR became a constituent of the London Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSR) in 1923.[3]

The main passenger services through the station were to Wick and Thurso and to Kyle of Lochalsh. Between 1885 and 1946 there was a branch line service to Strathpeffer.[4]

The Highland Railway built a small steam locomotive shed near the station and this continued in use by the LMSR and British Railways until closure at the end of steam locomotive operations in the area in the early 1960s. It was a sub-shed of the large Inverness facility.[5]

The station formerly had two signal boxes to supervise the passing loop and junction between the two routes - both were however closed in 1985 when the Radio Electronic Token Block system was introduced by British Rail on the Far North Line. The system was initially worked from a control centre at the station, with the line southwards planned for inclusion in the Inverness area resignalling scheme. However, when the Inverness scheme was completed in 1988, RETB control was transferred to the new signalling centre there and one here was closed. The junction points were altered so that they were (and still are) power operated - drivers of northbound trains use a plunger on the down platform to select the correct route, whilst southbound trains trigger the correct setting by occupying track circuits on the approach to the station.[6]

Accidents

On 22 January 2010, a Class 158 Express Sprinter unit (158701) working the 17:15 Inverness to Ardgay service derailed at Dingwall; nobody was badly injured, but one female passenger was taken to hospital as a precaution.[7]

Station signage

The town's name in Scottish Gaelic is Inbhir Pheofharain;[8] however, the Gaelic on the station sign reads Inbhirpheofharain (incorrectly written as one word). Transport Scotland has acknowledged the error and indicated that the correct signage will be erected during 2014.

New annunciator LED screens have been installed on both platforms, giving information on the next three trains to arrive, and general security information.

Services

Service provision at Dingwall forms part of the Far North and Kyle of Lochalsh Lines
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Conon Bridge   Abellio ScotRail
Kyle of Lochalsh Line		   Garve
  Abellio ScotRail
Far North Line		   Alness
Historical railways
Conon
Line open; station closed		   Highland Railway
Inverness and Ross-shire Railway
   Foulis
Line open; station closed
Junction with
Inverness and Ross-shire Railway		   Highland Railway
Dingwall and Skye Railway
   Achterneed
Line open; station closed
  Highland Railway
D&SR Strathpeffer Branch
   Strathpeffer
Line partially open; station closed

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Butt 1995, p. 79.
  2. ↑ The Buildings of Scotland, Highland and Islands. John Gifford. Yale University Press. 1992. ISBN 0-300-09625-9
  3. ↑ Awdry, 1990, pages 80-83
  4. ↑ Butt, 1995, page 222
  5. ↑ Fuller, 1961, page 48
  6. ↑ Scot-Rail.co.uk - RETB Inverness www.scot-rail.co.uk (enthusiast site); Retrieved 2014-04-08
  7. ↑ "Points failure led to Dingwall train derailment". BBC News Highlands & Islands. 30 September 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
  8. ↑ Gaelic Place Names

Sources

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