Duncraig railway station
Duncraig railway station is a remote railway station by the shore of Loch Carron on the Kyle of Lochalsh Line, serving Duncraig Castle, a mansion near Plockton, in the Highland council area of northern Scotland. It was originally a private station, and features a unique little octagonal waiting room. The station is unstaffed and is a request stop.
Duncraig  | |
|---|---|
| Scottish Gaelic: Dùn na Creige[1] | |
 Station platform, looking east (towards Inverness) | |
| Location | |
| Place | Duncraig Castle, near Plockton |
| Local authority | Highland |
| Coordinates | 57.3369°N 5.6372°W |
| Grid reference | NG812332 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | DCG |
| Managed by | Abellio ScotRail |
| Number of platforms | 1 |
| Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries | |
| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2014/15 |  |
| 2015/16 |  |
| 2016/17 | |
| 2017/18 | |
| 2018/19 | |
| History | |
| Original company | Highland Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Highland Railway |
| Post-grouping | LMSR |
| 1897[2] | Opened as Duncraig Platform |
| ?[2] | Closed |
| 23 May 1949[2] | Opened to the public |
| 10 September 1962[2] | Renamed |
| 7 December 1964[2] | Closed |
| 5 January 1976[2] | Reopened |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Duncraig from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
The station is 57 miles 9 chains (91.9 km) from Dingwall, and has a single platform which is long enough for a two-coach train.[3]
History
The station was built by the Kyle of Lochalsh Extension (Highland Railway) between Stromeferry and Kyle of Lochalsh, opening on 2 November 1897.[4]
Duncraig was closed between 7 December 1964 and 5 January 1976;[2] it was reopened after local train drivers refused to acknowledge the station's closure for the intervening 11 years.[5]
The station is a Category B listed building.[6]
Services
2016 services
Monday to Saturday, Duncraig is served, by request, by four services each way between Inverness and Kyle of Lochalsh. On Sundays, there are two services each way in summer, reducing to one each way in winter.[7]
| Preceding station | |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stromeferry | Abellio ScotRail Kyle of Lochalsh Line |
Plockton | ||
References
- Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
- Butt 1995, p. 85.
- Brailsford 2017, map 22D.
- "Railways in the Western Highlands. Opening of New Kyle Extension". Glasgow Herald. British Newspaper Archive. 3 November 1897. Retrieved 15 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Wills, Dixe (8 April 2014). "Stop the train, I want to get off: The magic of Britain's railway request stations". The Independent. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- Historic Environment Scotland. "Duncraig Halt (Category B) (LB44180)". Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- GB eNRT May 2016 Edition, Table 239 (Network Rail)
Sources
- Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Vallance, H.A.; Clinker, C.R.; Lambert, Anthony J. (1985). The Highland Railway : The History of the Railways of the Scottish Highlands - Vol 2 (4th ed.). David St John Thomas. ISBN 0946537232.
- Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
