Aberdeen–Inverness line


The Aberdeen–Inverness line is a railway line in Scotland linking and.

History

The line was built in three parts:
Most of the line is single-track, other than the part of the line between Insch and Kennethmont, which is double-track.
The first two parts of the line merged to form the Highland Railway. The Highland Railway operated the line from Inverness to Keith with the Great North operating the line from there to Aberdeen. The Highland was grouped with other railways into the London Midland and Scottish Railway and the Great North was grouped into the London and North Eastern Railway by the Railways Act 1921, before eventually becoming part of British Railways in 1948.

Since 1948

Many intermediate stations were closed at various dates during the 1950s and 1960s to both passenger and goods traffic. The 1963 Reshaping of British Railways report recommended the closure of Inverurie and Insch stations but these remain open. In 1968, the route was singled.
Dyce railway station was reopened in 1984.
A new freight interchange known as Raith's Farm was opened in 2009 at Dyce.
In 2017, the line through Forres was straightened and a new station built, reinstating the second platform and extending the passing loop there. The platforms at Elgin were extended, the passing loop extended from 650 metres to 1.25 km, and a turnback facility was added. In addition to this, signalling improvements took place which saw control of the line between Inverness and Keith transferred to the Highland signalling centre in Inverness.
In 2019, redoubling work between Aberdeen and Inverurie was completed, though a 1.5 km section north of Aberdeen railway station remains single-track. Much of this is in tunnels, which would have required track lowering to support two tracks. The same year, Dyce and Inverurie signal boxes were closed with control between Kittybrewster to Insch also transferred to the Highland signalling centre.
Kintore railway station was due to reopen in 2020 however this has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Dalcross railway station is expected to reopen by 2024.

Current services

All passenger services are operated by Abellio ScotRail. There is some limited freight traffic, with Elgin retaining a goods yard, whilst Keith, Huntly and Inverurie retain smaller, less frequently used goods yards. Raith's Farm freight yard at serves Aberdeen.
In addition to through services, local services operate at either end of the line. An hourly service operates between Elgin and Inverness, while a half-hourly service operates between Inverness and Aberdeen. Approximately one train per hour continues to Montrose, creating an hourly stopping service between Inverurie and Montrose.
The line serves the following stations:
StationGrid referenceNotes
Connection with the Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line, Glasgow to Aberdeen Line, Caledonian Sleeper to London Euston and NorthLink Ferries to Orkney and Shetland.
Formerly served Aberdeen Airport, the bus connection has now been withdrawn.
Connection with the preserved Keith and Dufftown Railway
Connections with the Highland Main Line, the Far North Line and, via Dingwall on the Far North Line, the Kyle of Lochalsh Line. Connection with the Caledonian Sleeper to London Euston. Bus connection to Inverness Airport

Plans

There are currently plans to extend some of the services and increase the frequency of trains between Inverurie and Aberdeen. This will be part of the Aberdeen Crossrail project. Transport Scotland is also funding an infrastructure improvement project on the route between 2015 and 2030. Phase 1 of this scheme is due for completion by 2019 and will see the southern end of the line doubled, the passing loop at Forres extended into a relocated station, new stations built at and, platforms extended at Elgin and Insch and signalling and level crossings on the route upgraded.
Once this work is completed, the line will support an hourly service with a two-hour journey time stopping at all stations between Aberdeen and Inverness.