Banavie railway station
Banavie  | |
|---|---|
| Scottish Gaelic: Banbhaidh | |
|
The platform at Banavie in the snow, February 2009 | |
| Location | |
| Place | Banavie |
| Local authority | Highland |
| Coordinates | 56°50′38″N 5°05′46″W / 56.8439°N 5.0960°WCoordinates: 56°50′38″N 5°05′46″W / 56.8439°N 5.0960°W |
| Grid reference | NN112767 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | BNV |
| Managed by | Abellio ScotRail |
| Number of platforms | 1 |
|
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries | |
| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2010/11 |
 5,056 |
| 2011/12 |
5,328 |
| 2012/13 |
6,524 |
| 2013/14 |
 5,672 |
| 2014/15 |
5,918 |
| History | |
| Original company | Mallaig Extension Railway of West Highland Railway |
| Pre-grouping | North British Railway |
| Post-grouping | LNER |
| 1 April 1901 | Station opened[1] |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Banavie from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
 UK Railways portal | |
Banavie railway station is a railway station on the West Highland Line serving the village of Banavie, although it is much closer to Caol, Scotland. To continue on to the next station at Corpach, trains must pass over the Caledonian Canal at Neptune's Staircase, a popular tourist attraction.
History
Banavie station opened along with the Mallaig Extension Railway on 1 April 1901.[1] It comprises a single platform on the north side of the line.
Services
In the May 2016 timetable, four trains a day call here in either direction (plus steam specials, though these do not stop). Three of them are through trains to/from Glasgow Queen Street, whilst the other starts/finishes at Fort William.[2]
Services are operated by Abellio ScotRail.
| Preceding station | National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort William | Abellio ScotRail West Highland Line |
Corpach | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Fort William Line and Station open |
North British Railway Mallaig Extension Railway of West Highland Railway |
Corpach Line and Station open | ||
Signalling
From the time of its opening in 1901, the Mallaig Extension Railway was worked throughout by the electric token system. A signal box, named "Banavie Canal Bridge", was located at the west end of the station, on the north side of the line. It did not become a token station until 4 February 1912, but originally existed to control the nearby level crossings and the adjacent swing bridge over the Caledonian Canal.
Because of the continuing requirement to operate the swing bridge locally, Banavie was chosen as the location for the control centre for the West Highland Line's new radio signalling system. Banavie signalling centre opened on 14 June 1987 when it replaced the old Canal Bridge signal box. The Radio Electronic Token Block signalling was commissioned on 6 December 1987. The control centre covers train movements as far south as Helensburgh and Oban and Mallaig to the west. Local train movements in Fort William and the nearby freight yard at Inverlochy are controlled by the mechanical signal box at Fort William Junction.
See also
References
Notes
- 1 2 Butt (1995)
- ↑ Table 227 National Rail timetable, May 2016
Sources
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Banavie railway station. |
- Butt, R. V. J. (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 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.
- 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 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137.
- Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 0-9068-9999-0. OCLC 228266687.
- RAILSCOT on Mallaig Extension Railway