Inverness railway station

Inverness railway station serves the city of Inverness, in the Highlands of Scotland. It is the terminus of the Highland Main Line, the Aberdeen–Inverness line (of which the Inverness and Nairn Railway is now a part), the Kyle of Lochalsh line and the Far North Line.

The Aberdeen and Perth lines diverge at Millburn Junction, a short distance beyond Welsh's Bridge. Platforms 1–4 are 118 miles 3 chains (190 km) from Perth, via Carrbridge); Millburn Junction is 117 miles 37 chains (189 km) from Perth and 143 miles 39 chains (231 km) via Dava.^[3][4]

Inverness station was opened on 5 November 1855,^[5] as the western terminus of the Inverness and Nairn Railway^[6] to designs by the architect, Joseph Mitchell.^[7] It originally comprised a single covered passenger platform 200 feet (61 m) long, with three lines of rails: one for arrivals, one for departures and a spare line for carriages.

In 1857, the railway company erected a clock in front of the station facing Academy Street. This clock by Bryson & Sons, Princes Street, Edinburgh, was illuminated at night.^[8]

In 1865 the station was enlarged. The platform was lengthened to 300 feet (91 m) and a shed added which was 300 feet (91 m) long, 51 feet (16 m) wide and 20 feet (6.1 m) high. There were double lines for north and south traffic.^[9]

The platforms were extended again to 500 feet (150 m) and the platform roofs were extended in 1876 by Murdoch Paterson. The station platforms were lit by electricity for the first time in 1908.^[10]

In 1933, as part of an internal reorganisation, the London and North Eastern Railway closed its offices at the station and the staff relocated to Aberdeen.^[11]

Between 1966 and 1968, under British Rail, the station buildings were replaced; the new building was designed by Thomas Munro and Company.

A revamp of the station's frontage, forecourt and concourse by Mott Macdonald was planned to be completed by 2018;^[12] however, this was delayed. The nearby Royal Highland Hotel refused to give up their lease of parking spaces in front of the station.^[13]

The station is located between three roads in the city centre: Falcon Square, Academy Street and Strothers Lane. It lies two minutes' walk from the Eastgate Shopping Centre, and approximately eight minutes from Inverness Castle and the Museum & Art Gallery. A taxi rank is situated on the corner of Academy Street and Falcon Square.^[14]

This line is a rarely-used piece of track which avoids the station, linking the Far North and Kyle of Lochalsh lines to the Highland Main Line and the line to Aberdeen.^[15] In recent years, it has fallen in to disuse but, up to 2019, it was used weekly on Saturdays by a train from Kyle of Lochalsh to Elgin.^[16] Such trains would not easily be visible from the station.

Inverness is owned by Network Rail and operated by ScotRail, which runs most of the services using the station.

The station itself sits at one apex of a triangular junction in the centre of Inverness, with each half of the station connected to one line. The Highland Main and Aberdeen Lines both approach the station from the east and use Platforms 1–4, while the Far North Line (which also carries traffic heading for the Kyle Line) approach from the north-west and use Platforms 5–7. Platform 5 also has a connection from the east side, but it is only usable by a two car train, and even then, it must not be in passenger service and movements from Platform 5 to the east line are not allowed. Platform 1 is long enough for a 13-coach train; platform 2 can hold 15 coaches; platforms 3 and 4, eight each; and platforms 5–7 will accommodate five coaches each.^[17]

Platform destination LED screens are installed, along with a main departures and arrivals information board. Each of platforms 1-7 has its own screen showing departures from that platform. Screens are also present behind the wall for all platforms from 3–6. In addition, several other screens are also visible for general information.

The main concourse is equipped with a ticket office and ticket machines, a barber shop, a bar, a cafe, toilets, a waiting room, a lost property office, a vending machine, a cash machine, payphones,help points and left luggage. The station has three car parks and step-free access.^[14]

Inverness is served by the following Monday–Saturday off-peak service, in trains per hour/day (tph/tod):

ScotRail^[18]

• 5 tpd to Glasgow Queen Street, via Aviemore, Perth and Stirling
• 5 tpd to Edinburgh Waverley, via Aviemore, Perth and Stirling
• 1 tp2h to Aberdeen, via Elgin
• 1 tp2h to Elgin, via Nairn
• 4 tpd to Dingwall; of which:
  • 1 tpd extends to Invergordon
  • 1 tpd extends to Tain
  • 1 tpd extends to Ardgay
• 4 tpd to Wick, via Dingwall, Georgemas Junction and Thurso
• 4 tpd to Kyle of Lochalsh, via Dingwall and Strathcarron.

London North Eastern Railway^[19]

• 1 tpd to London King's Cross, via Falkirk Grahamston, Edinburgh Waverley, Newcastle and York (the Highland Chieftain).

Caledonian Sleeper^[20]

• 1 tpd to London Euston, via Preston and Crewe; it does not operate on Saturday nights.

Inverness bus station is located in Margaret Street, 150 metres (492 ft) north-west of the station. Many services can also be joined at the stop on Millburn Road outside Marks and Spencer, closer to the station.^[14]

Aside from local buses, there are also long-distance coach services which allow rail passengers to continue their journey to areas of the Highlands that are not on the rail network:^[21]

• Scottish Citylink's route 961 operates two daily return services to Ullapool to connect with Caledonian MacBrayne ferry sailings to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. Rail passengers may also connect with this bus at Garve on the Kyle of Lochalsh line, but the timings are not so convenient.
• Scottish Citylink's route 919 operates six daily return services down the Great Glen to Fort William, calling at Urquhart Castle, Fort Augustus and intermediate points. Two of these services allow onward connections with Citylink route 918 from Fort William to Oban.
• Stagecoach Highlands' route 11 runs every 30 minutes between the city centre and Inverness Airport. The bus leaves from Strothers Lane, just around the corner from the station; the journey time is 25 minutes.

In early 2020, a large reconstruction project was announced to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions in the city centre; it included the neighbouring Sports Direct and TK Maxx stores being purchased, as well as the former Royal Mail sorting office and car park. It was also announced that it would have fuelling for hydrogen vehicles and e-bike stations.^[22]

In the future, this station will be one of those to benefit from a package of timetable enhancements to be introduced by Transport Scotland and ScotRail. The current Perth to Inverness timetable will be increased to hourly each way, with trains south of there running on alternate hours to Edinburgh and Glasgow. Journey times will be reduced by 10 minutes to both cities. The service to Nairn, Forres and Elgin will also be enhanced to hourly and some Aberdeen trains extended through to Dundee and beyond.^[23] As of February 2025, this has not yet taken place.^[24]

• 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.
• 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.

• Train times and station information for Inverness railway station from National Rail