Beauly railway station is a railway station in the village of Beauly, in the Highland council area of Scotland. Located on the Far North Line, it is 10 miles 12 chains (16.3 km) down the line from Inverness, and it is the first intermediate station on the line, before reaching Muir of Ord.[3] ScotRail, who manage the station, operate all services.

Beauly Scottish Gaelic: A' Mhanachainn[1]
The short platform at Beauly, looking southeast
General information
Location	Beauly, Highland Scotland
Coordinates	57.4783°N 4.4699°W / 57.4783; -4.4699
Grid reference	NH520457
Managed by	ScotRail
Platforms	1
Other information
Station code	BEL[2]
History
Original company	Inverness and Ross-shire Railway
Pre-grouping	Highland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
11 June 1862	Opened
13 June 1960	Closed
15 April 2002	Reopened
Passengers
2016/17	52,870
2017/18	51,522
2018/19	48,270
2019/20	46,510
2020/21	14,918
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

Original station

The Inverness and Ross-shire Railway, which was to be a line between Inverness and Invergordon, was authorised in 1860, and opened in stages.[4] The first section, between Inverness and Dingwall, opened on 11 June 1862,[5] and Beauly was one of the stations built for the original line.[6] It had two platforms, a passing loop and a goods shed with sidings that was equipped with a 1½-ton crane.[7][8] The station was host to a LMS caravan from 1936 to 1939.[9]

The station closed a nearly a century later, on 13 June 1960,[6] along with all other stations between Inverness and Dingwall. This was due to increasing competition from motorbuses, particularly those of Highland Omnibuses Ltd.[10]

The original station building, located on the opposite side from the reopened platform, remains closed to the public; it is now used for offices and housing.

2002 reopening

Following a local campaign, the station was reopened in 2002. A new single platform, shelter and car park were built in a £250,000 project.[11] The platform is the shortest in Great Britain: at the length of 15.06 metres (49 ft 5 in),[12] it is shorter than a single carriage of a Class 158 train that is usually used on this line. As a result, there is only one train door in operation at the station; announcements are made on the train as to which door this will be.

Plans to reopen nearby Conon Bridge railway station in a similar style[13] were fulfilled on 8 February 2013.[14] The platform at Conon Bridge is 15.08 metres (49 ft 6 in) long, just 2 centimetres (0.79 in) longer than that at Beauly.

Facilities

There is a small car park at the station, in which there are cycle racks and lockers. On the platform, there is a modern waiting shelter, in which there is a payphone.[15] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.

Passenger volume

The reopening of the station led to 75% of local commuters switching from road to rail.[16] Beauly has therefore provided a boost to campaigns to open small basic local stations. In 2007/8, with its population of just 1,164, Beauly's usage-to-population ratio (36 annual journeys per head) ranked as one of the highest in Britain.^{[citation needed]}

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

As of the December 2021 timetable, on weekdays and Saturdays, the station sees 11 trains northbound (3 to Wick via Thurso, 4 to Kyle of Lochalsh, 1 to Dingwall, 1 to Invergordon, 1 to Ardgay and 1 to Tain), and 13 trains southbound to Inverness. On Sundays, the station sees 6 trains northbound (1 to Wick, 1 to Kyle of Lochalsh, 1 to Invergordon and 3 to Tain), and 6 trains southbound.[18]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Inverness		ScotRail Kyle of Lochalsh Line Far North Line		Muir of Ord
	Historical railways
Clunes Line open, station closed		Highland Railway Inverness and Ross-shire Railway		Muir of Ord Line and station open

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beauly railway station.

• Inverness and Ross-shire Railway - RailScot
• Beauly Station on navigable 1947 O.S. map