Forsinard railway station

Forsinard railway station is a railway station serving the village of Forsinard in the Highland council area in the north of Scotland. It is located on the Far North Line.

Forsinard

Scottish Gaelic: Fors An-Àird[1]
Looking south towards Kinbrace
LocationForsinard, Highland
Scotland
Coordinates58.3568°N 3.8971°W / 58.3568; -3.8971
Grid referenceNC891425
Managed byAbellio ScotRail
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeFRS
History
Original companySutherland and Caithness Railway
Pre-groupingHighland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
28 July 1874Opened
Passengers
2015/16 1,516
2016/17 2,124
2017/18 2,210
2018/19 2,530
2019/20 2,866
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

The Sutherland and Caithness Railway was authorised in 1871, and the single-track line, which connected Helmsdale with Wick and Thurso, opened on 28 July 1874. One of the original stations was that at Forsinard.[2][3][4]

From 1 January 1923 the station was owned by the London Midland and Scottish Railway. In September 1925, it was recorded as being 243 miles 34 chains (391.8 km) from Perth, measured via Carrbridge and Inverness station.[5] The station is 125 miles 69 chains (202.6 km) from Inverness, and has a passing loop 21 chains (420 m) long, flanked by two platforms. Platform 1 on the up (southbound) line can accommodate trains having four coaches, but platform 2 on the down (northbound) line can only hold three.[6]

The station building is now used by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds as the visitors' centre for the Forsinard Flows National Nature Reserve (which protects part of the Flow Country).[7]

Services

There are four departures per day in each direction, southbound to Dingwall and Inverness and northbound to Wick via Thurso. One train per day each way calls on Sundays.[8]

Preceding station National Rail Following station
Kinbrace   Abellio ScotRail
Far North Line		   Altnabreac
  • RSPB visitor centre at Forsinard
  • The station building (1989)
  • The signal box at Forsinard (1973)

References
  1. Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. "Gaelic/English Station Index". Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
  2. Vallance, H.A.; Clinker, C.R.; Lambert, Anthony J. (1985) [1938]. The Highland Railway (4th ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 37. ISBN 0-946537-24-0.
  3. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 99. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  4. "The Sunderland and Caithness Railway". The Scotsman. British Newspaper Archive. 27 July 1874. Retrieved 14 August 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, p. 183
  6. Brailsford 2017, map 20D.
  7. "Forsinard Flows".
  8. Table 239 National Rail timetable, May 2016.


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