Place Beauly Station code BEL 2011/12 54,540 Opened 1874 | Grid reference NH520457 Managed by Abellio ScotRail 2012/13 55,236 Number of platforms 1 | |
 | ||
Address Beauly IV4 7EG, United Kingdom Original company Inverness and Ross-shire Railway Similar Muir of Ord railway station, Dingwall railway station, Garve railway station, Ship Space, Alness railway station | ||
Beauly railway station serves the village of Beauly in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is the first stop after leaving Inverness station, heading north on the Kyle of Lochalsh Line and the Far North Line.
History
The Inverness and Ross-shire Railway, which was to be a line between Inverness and Invergordon, was authorised in 1860, and opened in stages. The first section, that between Inverness and Dingwall, opened on 11 June 1862, and one of the original stations was that at Beauly. It had two platforms and a passing loop.
The station closed a nearly a century later, on 13 June 1960, along with most of the others between Inverness and Bonar Bridge. This was due to increasing competition from motorbuses, particularly those of Highland Omnibuses Ltd.
Following a local campaign, the station was reopened in 2002. A new platform, shelter and car park were built in a £250,000 project. The platform is the shortest in Great Britain, only long enough for a single carriage and measuring 15.06 metres (49.4 ft) in 2013 compared with Conon Bridge's 15.08 metres (49.5 ft). Normally operated by Class 158 trains, there is only one door in operation. Announcements are made on the train as to which door this will be. The original station building is now used for offices and housing.
The reopening of the station led to 75% of local commuters switching from road to rail. Beauly has therefore provided a boost to campaigns to open small basic local stations. In 2007/8 with its population of just 1,164 Beauly's usage to population ratio (36 annual journeys per head) ranked as one of the highest in Britain.
Plans to reopen nearby Conon Bridge railway station in a similar style were fulfilled on 8 February 2013.