Gleneagles railway station

Gleneagles railway station serves the town of Auchterarder in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.

Gleneagles

Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Eagas[1]
National Rail
General information
LocationAuchterarder, Perth and Kinross
Scotland
Coordinates56°16′30″N 3°43′52″W / 56.2750°N 3.7310°W / 56.2750; -3.7310
Grid referenceNN929105
Managed byScotRail
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeGLE
History
Original companyScottish Central Railway
Pre-groupingCaledonian Railway
Post-groupingLMSR
Key dates
14 March 1856Opened as Crieff Junction
1 April 1912Renamed Gleneagles
Passengers
2018/19Increase 77,998
2019/20Increase 87,772
2020/21Decrease 12,160
2021/22Increase 65,680
2022/23Increase 76,370
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

edit

The station was opened by the Scottish Central Railway on 14 March 1856 and was originally named Crieff Junction.[2] There was another station with the name of Crieff Junction to the north of this station which was only short-lived. The branch northwestward to Crieff was opened (by the Crieff Junction Railway company) on the same day. On 1 April 1912 it was renamed Gleneagles.[3]

The station was rebuilt and the junction remodelled by the Caledonian Railway in 1919 following their takeover of the Scottish Central Railway. The Caledonian Railway built the nearby Gleneagles Hotel, which opened in 1925. The hotel served as the location for the G8 summit in 2005 and is a well-known golf resort; Gleneagles hosted the 2014 Ryder Cup.

In anticipation of the 2014 Ryder Cup, Gleneagles railway station underwent a major refurbishment as part of a £7 million program to improve transport infrastructure in the area. Work was completed in April 2014, seeing the old station building regenerated with a lift, new platforms built upon the original ones, the fitting of Passenger information boards, additional regenerative paint work and a newly built car park built to connect with the new main road from the motorway.[4]

The branch line to Crieff closed on 6 July 1964 due to the Beeching Axe.

Services

edit
 
Gleneagles railway station

On weekdays and Saturdays there is a basic hourly service to Glasgow Queen Street southbound and to Perth northbound; most of these continue to Dundee.[5] A few early morning and late evening trains run through to Aberdeen. On Sundays, an irregular service is provided by calls on certain Glasgow to Aberdeen or Inverness trains.

Gleneagles is also served by the daily Highland Chieftain through service between Inverness and London King's Cross and the Caledonian Sleeper to London Euston each evening except Saturdays. Connections for Edinburgh Waverley are available at Stirling at other times.

Preceding station   National Rail Following station
Dunblane   London North Eastern Railway
East Coast Main Line
  Perth
Dunblane   ScotRail
Highland Main Line
  Perth
Dunblane   Caledonian Sleeper
Highland Caledonian Sleeper
  Perth
  Historical railways  
Blackford
Line open; Station closed
  Caledonian Railway
Scottish Central Railway
  Auchterarder
Line open; Station closed
Terminus   Caledonian Railway
Crieff Junction Railway
  Tullibardine
Line and Station closed

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
  2. ^ Butt 1995, p. 71
  3. ^ Butt 1995, pp. 71, 104
  4. ^ "Upgrading Gleneagles Station for 2014 | Transport Scotland". www.transport.gov.scot. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  5. ^ GB National Rail Timetable May–December 2023, Table 212 (Network Rail)

Sources

edit
edit