Attadale railway station

Attadale railway station is a remote railway station on the Kyle of Lochalsh Line, serving the village of Attadale on Loch Carron in the Highlands, northern Scotland. The station is 48 miles 22 chains (77.7 km) from Dingwall, between Strathcarron and Stromeferry.[4] ScotRail, who manage the station, operate all services.

Attadale

National Rail
General information
LocationAttadale, Highland
Scotland
Coordinates57°23′40″N 5°27′19″W / 57.3945°N 5.4553°W / 57.3945; -5.4553
Grid referenceNG924390
Managed byScotRail
Platforms1
Other information
Station codeATT[2]
History
Original companyDingwall and Skye Railway
Pre-groupingHighland Railway
Post-groupingLMSR
Key dates
1880Station opened[3]
Passengers
2018/19Increase 1,322
2019/20Decrease 1,228
2020/21Decrease 62
2021/22Increase 764
2022/23Increase 1,042
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

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The station was opened in 1880 by the Highland Railway, even though the line through Attadale had been opened ten years earlier.[5] Some give the opening date of the station as 1875 or 1877, but only as a private halt, affirming its public opening in 1880.[3]

Facilities

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A Class 158 DMU departing Attadale bound for Kyle of Lochalsh

The platform has a waiting room, help point, bench and bike racks. The station is not step-free.[6] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.

Passenger volume

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Passenger Volume at Attadale[7]
2002–03 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23
Entries and exits 216 325 398 439 469 472 478 526 968 658 998 784 820 938 1,170 1,322 1,228 62 764 1,042

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

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Four trains each way call (on request) on weekdays/Saturdays and one each way all year on Sundays, plus a second from May to late September only.[8][9]

Preceding station   National Rail Following station
Strathcarron   ScotRail
Kyle of Lochalsh Line
  Stromeferry
  Historical railways  
Strathcarron
Line and station open
  Highland Railway
Dingwall and Skye Railway
  Stromeferry
Line and station open

Cultural References

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The station featured in episode one of the Channel 4 documentary series Paul Merton's Secret Stations on 1 May 2016, when presenter Paul Merton alighted there en route to visiting a salmon breeding farm on the shores of Loch Carron.[10]

References

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  1. ^ Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
  2. ^ Deaves, Phil. "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b Quick 2022, p. 59.
  4. ^ Bridge, Mike, ed. (2017). TRACKatlas of Mainland Britain: A Comprehensive Geographic Atlas Showing the Rail Network of Great Britain (3rd ed.). Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. p. 97. ISBN 978-1909431-26-3.
  5. ^ Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, p. 39.
  6. ^ "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  8. ^ eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 219
  9. ^ eNRT December 2021 Edition, Table 219
  10. ^ "Programme Information - Paul Merton's Secret Stations"4 Press website; Retrieved 18 May 2016

Bibliography

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