Dyce railway station

Dyce Add→{{rail-interchange}}
General information
Location	Aberdeen City Council
Managed by	First ScotRail
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	DYC
Key dates
20 September 1854	Opened
6 May 1968	Closed
15 September 1984	Reopened

Dyce railway station is a railway station serving the town of Dyce, Aberdeen, Scotland. The station is managed by First ScotRail and is on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line, with some trains operating on the Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line and Glasgow to Aberdeen Line also extended to call at Dyce and Inverurie. This gives direct service from Dyce to Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and intermediate stations.

It is the closest station to Aberdeen Airport, whose runway is located next to the station. Aircraft can frequently be seen landing and taking off. However, the passenger terminal is the other side of the runway so a bus or taxi journey is required to reach it. Bus services to the airport terminal are provided by Stagecoach Bluebird's 80 Jet Connect route. However, if travelling between the airport and Aberdeen city centre, direct bus services to/from the bus station at Union Square, such as route 727, are usually more convenient.

History

The station here was opened (along with the line) in 1854 by the Great North of Scotland Railway. It later became a junction for the Formartine and Buchan Railway, which diverged here and headed north to Peterhead & Fraserburgh; this opened to traffic in 1861 and had its own platforms alongside the main line ones. Passenger services over both branches ended as a result of the Beeching Axe on 4 October 1965 but the station remained open until 6 May 1968. Freight continued to Peterhead until 1970 and to Fraserburgh until October 1979. There is still evidence on the ground of the old branch platforms which sat on the site of the station car park. The former branch lines are now a long distance cycle path, accessible from the western end of the car park.

The station was reopened by British Rail in September 1984.

Station facilities

The station has two platforms connected by a new fully accessible footbridge, implemented in 2014. The station is unstaffed and there is no ticket office, but automatic ticket machines are provided. Other facilities include car park, taxi rank, cycle storage, seating and a simple shelter on each platform, and train information displays. A fish-and-chip shop and pub are located next to the station.

Station usage

Dyce is a popular station with airport passengers, business travellers and commuters both into and from Aberdeen. There has been massive growth of Dyce station, from 239,000 passengers in 2002-03 to more than three times that number, 760,000 in 2012-13. In addition to the town of Dyce and the many businesses in the area, the station also serves the airport, and is popular with oil workers returning from the rigs. In addition to the 80 Dyce Airlink shuttle bus, a taxi rank also provides a means of transport to the airport terminal.

Signalling

Dyce signal box

Dyce signal box, which opened in 1880, is a tall structure located at the south (Aberdeen) end of the station, on the east side of the railway. In 1928, the box was provided with a new frame of 46 levers, subsequently reduced in size to 26 levers.

Dyce lost its semaphore signals in October 2007 when new colour light signals were brought into use. The lever frame was removed from the signal box (renamed from "Dyce Junction" to "Dyce") and a new relay interlocking and 'NX' (entrance-exit) panel was installed, initially housed inside a temporary signal box.

Raiths Farm

A new freight terminal, named "Raiths Farm", has been built to the north of Dyce station, in a field on the west side of the railway. Construction of the terminal was completed in November 2007. The Raiths Farm facility replaced the Guild Street yard at Aberdeen, allowing the latter site, which occupied valuable land close to the city centre, to be redeveloped.

The Raiths Farm layout comprises arrival and departure lines to the north and south, a run-round loop and four sidings. The facility began operations in 2009.

Services

There is an hourly service in each direction Mondays to Saturdays to Aberdeen and Inverurie, with eleven of the latter trains continuing to Inverness. Seven Aberdeen trains run through to Edinburgh and one (two on Saturdays) to Glasgow, along with an evening commuter service to Stonehaven.

There are nine southbound and eleven northbound departures on Sundays, five of the latter running to Inverness.

External links

• Railscot - Dyce

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Aberdeen	style="background:#Template:First ScotRail colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |	First ScotRail Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line	style="background:#Template:First ScotRail colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |	Inverurie
Aberdeen	style="background:#Template:First ScotRail colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |	First ScotRail Aberdeen to Inverness Line	style="background:#Template:First ScotRail colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |	Inverurie
	Historical railways
Stoneywood Line open; Station closed		Great North of Scotland Railway GNoSR Main Line		Pitmedden Line open; Station closed
Terminus		Great North of Scotland Railway Formartine and Buchan Railway		Parkhill Line closed; Station closed