Banavie railway station is a railway station on the West Highland Line serving the village of Banavie, although it is much closer to Caol, Scotland. It is sited between Corpach and Fort William, 0 miles 22 chains (0.44 km) from Banavie Junction, just north of Fort William.[3] To continue on to the next station at Corpach, trains must pass over the Caledonian Canal at Neptune's Staircase, a popular tourist attraction. ScotRail provide all services at, and manage, the station.

Banavie Scottish Gaelic: Banbhaidh[1]
The platform at Banavie with Ben Nevis's peak covered in cloud and snow.
General information
Location	Banavie, Highland Scotland
Coordinates	56.8439°N 5.0960°W / 56.8439; -5.0960
Grid reference	NN112767
Managed by	ScotRail
Platforms	1
Other information
Station code	BNV[2]
History
Original company	Mallaig Extension Railway of West Highland Railway
Pre-grouping	North British Railway
Post-grouping	LNER
Key dates
1 April 1901	Station opened
Passengers
2016/17	5,852
2017/18	6,468
2018/19	6,462
2019/20	6,260
2020/21	1,056
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

Banavie station opened along with the Mallaig Extension Railway on 1 April 1901.[4] It comprises a single platform on the north side of the line. The station was host to a LNER camping coach from 1936 to 1939.[5] Another station named "Banavie" existed above the Neptune's Staircase flight of locks that was renamed Banavie Pier railway station and closed to passengers in 1939. 'Banavie Junction' for the pier branch was located just to the south of the level crossing at Banavie.

Signalling

From the time of its opening in 1901, the Mallaig Extension Railway was worked throughout by the electric token system. A signal box, named "Banavie Canal Bridge", was located at the west end of the station, on the north side of the line. It did not become a token station until 4 February 1912, but originally existed to control the nearby level crossings and the adjacent swing bridge over the Caledonian Canal.

Because of the continuing requirement to operate the swing bridge locally, Banavie was chosen as the location for the control centre for the West Highland Line's new radio signalling system. Banavie signalling centre opened on 14 June 1987 when it replaced the old Canal Bridge signal box. The Radio Electronic Token Block signalling was commissioned on 6 December 1987. The control centre covers train movements as far south as Helensburgh and Oban, and Mallaig to the west. Local train movements in Fort William, and the nearby freight yard at Inverlochy, are controlled by the mechanical signal box at Fort William Junction.

Facilities

The single platform is equipped with a shelter (inside which is a payphone), a bench and some bike racks, the latter located in the car park. There is step-free access to the car park.[6] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.

Passenger volume

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

On weekdays and Saturdays, four trains a day call here in either direction. Travelling eastbound, three of them are through trains to Glasgow Queen Street, whilst the other terminates at Fort William and connects with the Caledonian Sleeper service to London Euston.[8][9]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Fort William		ScotRail West Highland Line		Corpach
	Historical railways
Fort William Line and Station open		North British Railway Mallaig Extension Railway of West Highland Railway		Corpach Line and Station open

See also

• Banavie
• Banavie Railway Swing Bridge
• Banavie Swing Bridge

References

Bibliography

• Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
• Butt, R. V. J. (October 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. OL 11956311M.
• McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.

• 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 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Banavie railway station.

• RAILSCOT on Mallaig Extension Railway
• Video footage of Banavie Station

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