Kyle of Lochalsh railway station

Kyle of Lochalsh Add→{{rail-interchange}}
General information
Other names	Scottish Gaelic: Caol Loch Aillse
Location	Highland
Managed by	Abellio ScotRail
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	KYL
History
Original company	Dingwall and Skye Railway
Pre-grouping	Highland Railway
Post-grouping	LMS
Key dates
2 November 1897	Opened

Kyle of Lochalsh railway station is the terminus of the Kyle of Lochalsh Line in the village of Kyle of Lochalsh in the Highlands, northern Scotland.

The station is located next to the piers that used to offer sailings to Skye, the ferries being superseded by the Skye Bridge that lies close to the station.

History

Kyle station in September 1973

The station was opened on 2 November 1897 by the Highland Railway, following the completion of the extension of the Dingwall and Skye Railway from Stromeferry. The extension took more than four years to complete due to the unforgiving nature of the terrain through which it was driven - 29 bridges had to be constructed and more than 30 cuttings excavated through solid rock, which led to it costing £20,000 per mile (making it the most expensive rail route to be built in the UK at the time). As built, the station consisted of a broad island platform on a pier next to the water's edge and a chalet-style station building close to the western end. Access to the station was (and still is) via a sloping access road. Several sidings were provided, along with a signal box and small locomotive shed.

The signal box closed in 1984, when Radio Electronic Token Block working was introduced on the line by British Rail - although no longer operational it is still intact and has been adapted for use as a holiday cottage. Both platforms however remain, though only the southern face (platform 1) is normally used by passenger trains. Three sidings are also still intact, including a run-round loop for loco-hauled trains alongside platform 1 and a loading bank siding adjacent to this (which has seen use by timber trains in recent years). Access to each of the sidings and platform 2 is by means of ground frames.

Services

There are four daily departures from the station to Dingwall and Inverness during the week and either one (winter) or two (summer) services on Sundays.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Duirinish		Abellio ScotRail Kyle of Lochalsh Line		Terminus
	Historical railways
Duirinish		Highland Railway Dingwall and Skye Railway		Terminus

References

Sources

• Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063. CN 8983.
• Butt, R. V. J. (October 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 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
• 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 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
• RailScot: Kyle of Lochalsh Extension (Highland Railway)
• RailScot: Dingwall and Skye Railway

External links

• Friends Of the Kyle Line