Ardlui railway station
Ardlui  | |
|---|---|
| Scottish Gaelic: Àird Laoigh | |
|
Ardlui station is unusually busy as passengers on a Mallaig and Oban - Glasgow train stretch their legs whilst waiting for a late running northbound train to cross | |
| Location | |
| Place | Ardlui |
| Local authority | Argyll and Bute |
| Coordinates | 56°18′07″N 4°43′18″W / 56.3019°N 4.7217°WCoordinates: 56°18′07″N 4°43′18″W / 56.3019°N 4.7217°W |
| Grid reference | NN316155 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | AUI |
| Managed by | Abellio ScotRail |
| Number of platforms | 2 |
|
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries | |
| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2010/11 |
 2,092 |
| 2011/12 |
2,252 |
| 2012/13 |
 2,216 |
| 2013/14 |
4,566 |
| 2014/15 |
5,074 |
| History | |
| Original company | West Highland Railway |
| Pre-grouping | North British Railway |
| Post-grouping | LNER |
| 7 August 1894 | Opened[1] |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Ardlui from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
 UK Railways portal | |
Ardlui railway station is a remote rural railway station, serving Ardlui at the north end of Loch Lomond, in Scotland. The station is 51 miles (82 km) north of Glasgow Queen Street on the West Highland Line.
History
Opened to passengers on 7 August 1894 by the West Highland Railway, then run by the North British Railway, it became part of the London and North Eastern Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The station then passed on to the Scottish Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. Due to subsidence the main station building, of the standard 'West Highland' design, had to be demolished around 1970 with an open waiting area built on to the signal box.
When sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by ScotRail until the Privatisation of British Rail.
The station was laid out with a crossing loop and an island platform. There are three sidings on the east side of the station.
On 8 February 1987, the crossing loop was altered to right-hand running. The original Down platform has thus become the Up platform, and vice versa. The change was made in order to simplify shunting at this station, by removing the need to hand-pump the train-operated loop points to access the sidings.
Signalling
From the time of its opening in 1894, the West Highland Railway was worked throughout by the electric token system. Ardlui signal box was situated on the island platform.
The semaphore signals were removed on 12 January 1986 in preparation for the introduction of Radio Electronic Token Block (RETB) by British Rail. The RETB, which is controlled from a Signalling Centre at Banavie railway station, was commissioned between Helensburgh Upper and Upper Tyndrum on 27 March 1988.
The Train Protection & Warning System was installed in 2003.
Services
Monday to Saturday, there are six services to Oban and three to Mallaig (the latter combined with Oban portions, dividing at Crianlarich) and one service to Fort William (the Highland Caledonian Sleeper) northbound. Southbound, there are six services to Glasgow Queen Street High Level and one service to London Euston via Queen Street Low Level & Edinburgh Waverley (the Highland Caledonian Sleeper does not run on Saturday). On Sundays, there is just one train northbound to Mallaig in winter and two in summer, plus three to Oban; southbound there are three trains southbound to Glasgow Queen Street H.L and the sleeper to London Euston.[2]
| Preceding station | National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrochar and Tarbet | Abellio ScotRail West Highland Line |
Crianlarich | ||
| Arrochar and Tarbet | Caledonian Sleeper Highland Caledonian Sleeper |
Crianlarich | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Arrochar and Tarbet Line and Station open |
West Highland Railway North British Railway |
Glen Falloch Halt Line open; Station closed | ||
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ardlui railway station. |
Notes
Sources
- 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 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.
- Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137.
- Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 0-9068-9999-0. OCLC 228266687.
- Station on navigable O.S. map.
- RAILSCOT on the West Highland Railway