Kildonan railway station

Kildonan railway station is a railway station near Kildonan Lodge in the Highland council area in the north of Scotland. It is located on the Far North Line. Trains stop on request.

Kildonan
Scottish Gaelic: Cill Donnain[1]
Kildonan station as it was in September 2018, taken from the level crossing at the southern end of the station.
Location
PlaceKildonan near Helmsdale
Local authorityHighland
Coordinates58.1708°N 3.8691°W / 58.1708; -3.8691
Grid referenceNC901217
Operations
Station codeKIL
Managed byAbellio ScotRail
Number of platforms1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15 96
2015/16 170
2016/17 76
2017/18 206
2018/19 168
History
Original companySutherland and Caithness Railway
Pre-groupingHighland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
British Railways
28 July 1874Opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Kildonan from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

The station opened on 28 July 1874.[2] On 7 February 1884 there was an accident at the station. A special fish train from Wick approached the station when it derailed and ploughed up several hundred yards of track. The fireman, Alexander Campbell of Wick, died and the engine driver, David Mathieson of Wick was badly injured.[3]

In 1952 the station was awarded a special class award in the British Railway (Scottish Region) Best Kept Stations Competition.[4]

It is currently served by four trains each day (Mon-Sat) to Inverness and three trains in the opposite direction to Wick (via Thurso), with one train in each direction on a Sunday.[5] Due to the extremely sparse and small population it serves, Kildonan is one of the least used stations in the country, although its reputation means that it has a higher patronage than would be expected. It is currently the 16th least used railway station in the United Kingdom and the 2nd least used on the Far North Line.

The station is 111 miles 5 chains (178.7 km) from Inverness, and has a single platform which is long enough for a three-coach train.[6]

On the 10 June 2018, it was announced that Hitrans had proposed the station for closure, shaving four minutes off journey times on the Inverness to Thurso/Wick route and put application in to Transport Scotland to consider the proposals.[7] However following objections by three local councillors Hitrans had withdrawn the application.[8]

References
  1. Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. "Gaelic/English Station Index". Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. "The Sunderland and Caithness Railway". The Scotsman. British Newspaper Archive. 27 July 1874. Retrieved 14 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. "The Accident on the Highland Railway". Edinburgh Evening News. British Newspaper Archive. 8 February 1884. Retrieved 10 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "Awards to North Stations". Aberdeen Evening Express. British Newspaper Archive. 29 November 1952. Retrieved 14 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. Table 239 National Rail timetable, May 2016.
  6. Brailsford 2017, map 20C.
  7. "Axe looms for Highland station with just 76 passengers year". The Scotsman. 10 June 2018.
  8. MacLennan, Scott. "Kildonan Railway Station to be saved after HITRANS backs down".
Preceding station National Rail Following station
Helmsdale   Abellio ScotRail
Far North Line		   Kinbrace
  Historical railways  
Salzcraggie Platform
Line open, station closed		   Highland Railway
Sutherland and Caithness Railway		   Borrobol Platform
Line open, station closed


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