Altnabreac railway station

Altnabreac
Scottish Gaelic: Allt nam Breac
265px Altnabreac railway station
Location
Place	Altnabreac
Local authority	Highland
Coordinates
Grid reference	ND003456
Operations
Station code	ABC
Managed by	Abellio ScotRail
Number of platforms	1
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2004/05	164
2005/06	171
2006/07	222
2007/08	177
2008/09	212
2009/10	156
2010/11	172
2011/12	238
2012/13	296
2013/14	138
2014/15	240
History
Original company	Sutherland and Caithness Railway
Pre-grouping	Highland Railway
Post-grouping	LMSR
28 July 1874	Opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Altnabreac from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Altnabreac railway station is a rural railway station serving the tiny settlement of Altnabreac, in the Highland council area of Scotland; a settlement in which the station is itself the main component. The station is on the Far North Line, within the former county of Caithness, 41 miles (66 km) west of Wick.

One of Britain's most isolated stations, it is a request stop used almost solely by walkers and those who enjoy visiting obscure locations.

History

The station was opened by the Sutherland and Caithness Railway on 28 July 1874 and later absorbed by the Highland Railway. Taken into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923, the line then passed on to the Scottish Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.

When Sectorisation was introduced by British Rail, the station became part of ScotRail until the Privatisation of British Rail.

The reason for the station's construction is a mystery, since it pre-dates the hotel/lodge one mile to the south - the only obvious source of trade. It had however a passing loop with a water-tank, so may have been established for purely operational reasons.

Some pupils of the former Altnabreac School arrived by train.

Services

Monday to Saturday, three trains per day operate eastbound to Wick and westbound to Inverness, with two trains a day on Sundays.

The apparent almost 100% increase in patronage over the last few years may be due to a change in the methods used to measure passenger numbers; see Usage Notes. Despite these increases, Altnabreac remains the 8th least used station in Britain according to 2009-10 statistics.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Forsinard		Abellio ScotRail Far North Line		Scotscalder
	Historical railways
Forsinard Station and Line open		Highland Railway Sutherland and Caithness Railway		Scotscalder Station and Line open

References

Sources

• RAILSCOT article on Sutherland and Caithness Railway
• Page including discussion of why Altnabreac Station exists
• Recollections of Altnabreac Station and School
• RAILSCOT on Sutherland and Caithness Railway
• Station on navigable O.S. map

• Butt (1995), page 15
• Office of Rail Regulation: Station Usage