railroad.wikisort.org - Station

Invergordon railway station is a railway station serving the town of Invergordon on the Cromarty Firth, in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is located on the Far North Line, 31 miles 37 chains (50.6 km) from Inverness, between Alness and Fearn.[3] ScotRail, who manage the station, operate all services.

Invergordon Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Ghòrdain[1]
General information
Location	Invergordon, Highland Scotland
Coordinates	57.6891°N 4.1745°W / 57.6891; -4.1745
Grid reference	NH704686
Managed by	ScotRail
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	IGD[2]
History
Original company	Inverness and Ross-shire Railway
Pre-grouping	Highland Railway
Post-grouping	LMSR
Key dates
28 July 1874	Opened
Passengers
2016/17	27,886
2017/18	28,958
2018/19	28,806
2019/20	27,826
2020/21	3,134
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

The station opened on 28 July 1874, as part of the Inverness and Ross-shire Railway, later the Highland Railway and then the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.[4] As of 2011 the buildings are not in use. In 2008/2009, the station underwent a brightening-up programme run by the Invergordon "Off The Wall" group.^{[citation needed]}

Accidents and incidents

On 26 November 1944, Royal Air Force Short Sunderland DD851 of the No. 4 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit departed Cromarty Firth, RAF Alness on an anti-submarine patrol of the North Sea off the coast of Scotland. During the initial climb a connecting rod on the starboard inner engine broke, the engine caught fire and fell off. The Sunderland, with a full load of fuel and depth charges then crashed into the railway line 2 miles (3 km) northeast of Invergordon railway station where all 11 of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) crew were killed.[5] The crew are buried in the Stonefall Air Force Cemetery in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.[6]

Facilities

Both platforms have a help point and benches, whilst only platform 2 has a shelter (passengers on platform 1 have to use the old station buildings for shelter). There is a car park and bike racks adjacent to platform 1. Both platforms have multiple entries, all with 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.

Location

The station is located at the south end of Invergordon's High Street and is easily accessible from all areas of Invergordon, the closest area being the densely populated area of South Lodge. Northbound, leaving the station, the track snakes under a one-way road bridge and runs alongside Park Primary School until turning into single track; it then runs through the Invergordon distillery and Inverbreakie housing estate. It then enters the woods.

Platform layout

The station consists of two side platforms, which can each accommodate an eight-coach train, flanking a passing loop 34 chains (680 m) long on the predominantly single-track line from Dingwall to Thurso and Wick.[8]

Passenger volume

Passenger Volume at Invergordon[9]

	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	7,069	8,109	9,195	12,949	15,853	19,974	20,648	23,444	34,564	34,974	36,355	31,962	29,054	27,886	28,958	28,806	27,826	3,134

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

The station has seen a number of timetable improvements since 2008, with the addition of an extra through train each way to/from Wick on weekdays and further shorter distance services to/from Inverness aimed at the commuter market (these mainly run as far as Tain or Ardgay). Prior to this, 3 departures in each direction was the standard service on the line for many years.[10]

In the December 2021 timetable, the station sees 6 services northbound on weekdays (4 to Wick via Thurso, 1 to Ardgay, 1 to Tain) and 4 northbound on Sundays (1 to Wick, 3 to Tain). On weekdays and Saturdays, there are 9 services southbound to Inverness, with 5 on Sundays.[11]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Alness or Dingwall		ScotRail Far North Line		Fearn or Tain or Terminates here
	Historical railways
Alness Line and station open		Highland Railway Inverness and Ross-shire Railway		Delny Line open; Station closed

References

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