Culrain railway station serves the village of Culrain in Kyle of Sutherland in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is located on the Far North Line. It is 61 miles 0 chains (98.2 km) from Inverness, between Ardgay and Invershin.[4] ScotRail, who manage the station, operate all services.
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![]() The platform at Culrain, looking north | |
General information | |
Location | Culrain, Highland Scotland |
Coordinates | 57.9196°N 4.4045°W / 57.9196; -4.4045 |
Grid reference | NH576947 |
Managed by | ScotRail |
Platforms | 1 |
Other information | |
Station code | CUA[2] |
History | |
Original company | Sutherland Railway |
Pre-grouping | Highland Railway |
Post-grouping | LMSR |
Key dates | |
1871[3] | Opened |
Passengers | |
2016/17 | ![]() |
2017/18 | ![]() |
2018/19 | ![]() |
2019/20 | ![]() |
2020/21 | ![]() |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
The station opened in 1871, as part of the Sutherland Railway, later becoming part of the Highland Railway and later the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.
The original nameboard is now preserved at the Bredgar and Wormshill Light Railway, in Kent (see left).
The station is close to Carbisdale Castle, which operated from 1945 to 2011 as a youth hostel owned by the Scottish Youth Hostels Association. The hostel has been closed since 2011 as a result of structural damage. Following its sale to a consortium in 2016,[5] planning permission was granted in 2017/2018 to turn the castle back into a private residence but now with swimming pool.[6]
The station has a waiting shelter, a bench, a help point and cycle racks, and has step-free access.[7] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.
The station has a single platform which is long enough for a five-coach train. The railway line through Culrain is single track, with the nearest passing loop to the north being at Lairg and to the south at Ardgay.[4][8]
In the last few years, Culrain has generally seen falling passenger numbers, as shown below.
2002-03 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Entries and exits | 1,756 | 2,016 | 1,707 | 1,771 | 1,785 | 1,886 | 1,722 | 1,708 | 526 | 474 | 628 | 530 | 432 | 372 | 300 | 280 | 312 | 42 |
The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.
On Mondays to Saturdays, there are four trains a day southbound to Inverness and four northbound to Wick. On Sundays, there is one train in each direction.[10] In December 2013 it became a request stop.[11]
Preceding station | ![]() |
Following station | ||
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Ardgay | ScotRail Far North Line |
Invershin | ||
Historical railways | ||||
Bonar Bridge Line and Station open |
Highland Railway Sutherland Railway |
Invershin Line and Station open |
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