Aberdeen railway station

For other places with the same name, see Aberdeen station (disambiguation).

For other railway stations in Aberdeen, United Kingdom, see Railway stations of Aberdeen.

Aberdeen
A view of the concourse
Location
Place	Aberdeen
Local authority	Aberdeen
Coordinates	57.1436°N 2.0985°W / 57.1436; -2.0985
Operations
Station code	ABD
Managed by	First ScotRail
Number of platforms	5
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage
2002/03 *	1.761 million
2004/05 *	1.932 million
2005/06 *	2.107 million
2006/07 *	2.279 million
2007/08 *	2.470 million
2008/09 *	2.568 million
2009/10 *	2.657 million
History
Original company	Denburn Valley Line
Pre-grouping	CR & GNoSR
Post-grouping	LMS & LNER
4 November 1867	Station opened as Aberdeen Joint to replace Aberdeen Guild Street and Aberdeen Waterloo
1913-1916	Rebuilt
1952	Renamed Aberdeen
2007-2008	Major refurbishment
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Aberdeen from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year.

Aberdeen railway station is the main railway station in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the busiest railway station in Scotland north of the major cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.

History

A 1913 Railway Clearing House Junction Diagram showing railways in the vicinity of Aberdeen (present station shown here as JOINT PASS. STA.)

The station currently standing was built as Aberdeen Joint Station between 1913–16, replacing an 1867 structure of the same name, on the same site. The station and the new Denburn Valley Line enabled the main line from the south and the commuter line from Deeside to connect with the line from the north. The lines from the south had previously terminated at the adjacent Aberdeen Guild Street. Even this had not been Aberdeen's first railway station, that distinction belonging to a previous terminus a short way south at Ferryhill. After the construction of the Joint Station, Guild Street Station became a goods station. Some of its tracks remain, but the vast majority of the site was cleared in 2005.

The entrance to the station, seen in 2006

Prior to the construction of the Joint Station, lines from the north had terminated at Aberdeen Waterloo, a short but inconvenient distance along the edge of the harbour. This too became a goods station after the construction of the Joint Station. There is no longer a station at the site, but a goods service runs approximately weekly to industrial operations there. The Waterloo tracks join the north-south connecting Denburn Valley Line in the Kittybrewster area of the city, where the very first terminus of the lines from the north had briefly been, before extension and the building of the Waterloo Station. As far north as Inverurie, these follow the route of the Aberdeenshire Canal which had been purchased and filled in by the Great North of Scotland Railway.

As a result of the grouping of railway companies caused by the Railways Act 1921, Aberdeen came under the auspices of the London and North Eastern Railway. It later became part of British Rail and is now managed by First ScotRail.

It was announced in 2006, that as part of the Union Square retail project, the railway and bus stations would undergo major refurbishment, including new ticket gates, a new ticket office and improved parking. The automatic ticket gates have since been installed.

Station services

Medium-term parking is available in the adjoining College Street Car Park and there are also a small number of free spaces which offer parking for 20 minutes only in a separate section of the car park. There is a taxi stand immediately within the station concourse and regional and national bus services leave from Aberdeen Bus Station, which is located on the other side of the adjoining Union Square shopping and entertainment complex.

There is a Travel Office for information and ticket purchasing, as well as automatic ticket machines outside this office. The office often closes before the last trains have departed. Scotrail first class Lounge entrance is located inside the office.

There is a branch of bookshop/confectioner WH Smith and a pub and café on the concourse, with other shopping and eating facilities located in Union Square.

There are toilets accessible from the concourse, in addition to toilet facilities in the café (free to customers) and on most trains (free to passengers).

Rail services and train operators

The services from Aberdeen for the Summer 2011 timetable (from 22 May 2011) are:

ScotRail

A First ScotRail service at Aberdeen, formed of a Class 170 unit

• 1tph to Edinburgh via Dundee operated by Class 158 Express Sprinter units or Class 170 Turbostar units.
• 1tph to Glasgow Queen Street via Dundee, Perth and Stirling operated by Class 158 Express Sprinter units or Class 170 Turbostar units.
• 1tp2h to Inverness via Dyce, Inverurie, Keith and Elgin operated by Class 158 Express Sprinter units or Class 170 Turbostar units.
• 1pd to London Euston via Carlisle, Preston, Crewe and Watford Junction (Caledonian Sleeper).

East Coast

• 3tpd to London Kings Cross via Dundee, Edinburgh, Newcastle and York. These services are operated by InterCity 125 HST.
• 1tpd to Leeds via Dundee, Edinburgh, Newcastle and York. These services are operated by InterCity 125 HST.

CrossCountry

• 1tpd to to Penzance, along the Cross Country Route via Dundee, Edinburgh, Newcastle, York, Leeds, Sheffield, Derby, Birmingham New Street, Bristol Temple Meads, Taunton, Exeter St Davids and Plymouth. There is one northbound service to Aberdeen. These services are operated by Class 220 Voyager units.

Railways in Aberdeen

Legend Great North of Scotland Railway Don Street (GNoSR) Kittybrewster Junction Kittybrewster (new) (DVL)  Kittybrewster (old) (GNoSR) Hutcheon Street (DVL)  Waterloo (GNoSR) Victoria Basin: North (HTT) Victoria Basin: South (HTT) Deeside Goods (HTT) Schoolhill (DVL)  Guild Street (AR) Aberdeen Joint (DVL) Deeside Goods Branch Junction Goods Branch Junction Ferryhill (AR) Holburn Street (DR)  Ferryhill Junction Aberdeen Railway Railways: AR - Aberdeen Railway (CR) DR - Deeside Railway (GNoSR) DVL - Denburn Valley Line (GNoSR) GNoSR - Great North of Scotland Railway HTT - Harbour Trustee Tramways (Aberdeen)

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Stonehaven		CrossCountry Cross Country Network		Terminus
Portlethen		First ScotRail Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line		Dyce
Portlethen		First ScotRail Glasgow to Aberdeen Line		Terminus
Terminus		First ScotRail Aberdeen to Inverness Line		Dyce
Stonehaven		First ScotRail Caledonian Sleeper		Terminus
Stonehaven		East Coast East Coast Main Line		Terminus
	Historical railways
Cove Bay Line open; Station closed		Caledonian Railway Aberdeen Railway		Terminus
Holburn Street Line and Station closed		Great North of Scotland Railway Deeside Railway		Terminus
Terminus		GNoSR / CR Joint Denburn Valley Line		Schoolhill Line open; Station closed

References

Sources

• Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. 
• 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.