Kildonan railway station explained

Kildonan
Native Name:Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Cill Donnain[1]
Symbol Location:gb
Symbol:rail
Borough:Kildonan near Helmsdale, Highland
Country:Scotland
Coordinates:58.1708°N -3.8691°W
Grid Name:Grid reference
Manager:ScotRail
Platforms:1
Code:KIL[2]
Original:Sutherland and Caithness Railway
Pregroup:Highland Railway
Postgroup:London, Midland and Scottish Railway
British Railways
Years:28 July 1874
Events:Opened
Footnotes:Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Kildonan railway station is a railway station near Kildonan Lodge in the Highland council area in the north of Scotland. It is located on the Far North Line, between Helmsdale and Kinbrace, 111miles from,[3] and has a single platform which is long enough for a three-coach train. All services are operated by ScotRail, who manage the station.

History

The station opened on 28 July 1874.[4] In 1952 the station was awarded a special class award in the British Railway (Scottish Region) Best Kept Stations Competition.[5]

Accidents and incidents

On 7 February 1884 there was an accident at the station. A special fish train from Wick approached the station when it derailed and ploughed up several hundred yards of track. The fireman, Alexander Campbell of Wick, died and the engine driver, David Mathieson of Wick was badly injured.[6]

Proposed closure

On 10 June 2018, it was announced that Hitrans had proposed the station for closure, shaving four minutes off journey times on the Inverness to Thurso/Wick route and put application in to Transport Scotland to consider the proposals.[7] However following objections by three local councillors Hitrans withdrew the application.[8]

Facilities

The station has very basic facilities, including a waiting shelter, a bench, a help point and bike racks.[9] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.

On 20 December 2022, Transport Scotland introduced a new "Press & Ride" system at Kildonan,[10] following successful trials of the system at over the previous four months.[11] [12] Previously, passengers wishing to board a train at Kildonan had to flag the train by raising their arm (as is still done at other request stops around the country); this meant that the driver needed to reduce the train's speed before a request stop (to look out for any potential passengers on the platform and be able to stop if necessary), even if the platform was empty. The new system consists of an automatic kiosk (with a button for passengers to press) at the platform; this will alert the driver about any waiting passengers in advance and, if there is no requirement to stop, the train can maintain line speed through the request stops, thus improving reliability on the whole line.[13]

Passenger volume

Passenger Volume at Kildonan[14] !!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!2021–22!2022–23
Entries and exits8914516523124417420414224062144961707620616821416140148
The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

It is currently served by four trains each day (Mon-Sat) to Inverness and three trains in the opposite direction to Wick (via Thurso), with one train in each direction on a Sunday.[15]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Brailsford . Martyn . Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man . 6th . December 2017 . 1987 . Trackmaps . Frome . 978-0-9549866-9-8 . Gaelic/English Station Index .
  2. Web site: Deaves . Phil . Railway Codes . railwaycodes.org.uk . 27 September 2022.
  3. Book: TRACKatlas of Mainland Britain: A Comprehensive Geographic Atlas Showing the Rail Network of Great Britain . Platform 5 Publishing Ltd . 2017 . 978-1909431-26-3 . Bridge . Mike . 3rd . Sheffield . 103.
  4. News: . The Sunderland and Caithness Railway . The Scotsman . British Newspaper Archive . 27 July 1874 . 14 August 2016 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
  5. News: . Awards to North Stations . Aberdeen Evening Express . British Newspaper Archive . 29 November 1952 . 14 August 2016 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
  6. News: . The Accident on the Highland Railway . Edinburgh Evening News . British Newspaper Archive . 8 February 1884 . 10 August 2016 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
  7. News: Axe looms for Highland station with just 76 passengers year. 10 June 2018. The Scotsman.
  8. Web site: Kildonan Railway Station to be saved after HITRANS backs down. Scott. MacLennan.
  9. Web site: National Rail Enquiries - . 2022-04-03 . www.nationalrail.co.uk.
  10. February 2023. ((9771475971140)). More request stop kiosks on Far North Line. 14. Today's Railways UK. 252. Platform 5.
  11. October 2022. ((9771475971140)). Far North request-stop kiosk on trial. 16. Today's Railways UK. 248. Platform 5.
  12. September 2022. 1458. ((9770033892354)). First of Scotland's request-stop kiosks goes live. 8. The Railway Magazine. Mortons of Horncastle.
  13. https://www.transport.gov.scot/public-transport/rail/far-north-line-review-group/ Far North Line Review Group
  14. Web site: Estimates of station usage ORR Data Portal . 24 December 2023 . dataportal.orr.gov.uk.
  15. eNRT December 2021 Edition, Table 219