Place Garelochhead Station code GCH 2011/12 5,118 Number of platforms 2 Original company West Highland Railway | Grid reference NS242910 Managed by Abellio ScotRail 2012/13 5,682 | |
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Address Garelochhead, Helensburgh G84 0DB, United Kingdom Pte Strathclyde Partnership for Transport Similar Arrochar and Tarbet railway st, Helensburgh Upper railway st, Ardlui railway station, Upper Tyndrum railway st, Crianlarich railway station | ||
Garelochhead railway station is a railway station serving the village of Garelochhead, on the Gare Loch, in Scotland. This station is on the West Highland Line and is a boundary station for SPT.
Contents
History
This station opened to passengers on 7 August 1894.
The station was laid out with a crossing loop and an island platform. There were sidings on both sides, and a turntable on the west side of the line. Until the 1960s, the station was served by a local shuttle service between Craigendoran and Arrochar & Tarbet in addition to main line trains to Fort William and Mallaig. Latterly operated by a Wickham diesel railbus, it fell victim to the Beeching Axe in June 1964.
The siding on the east side was removed in 1983. On 15 February 1987, the crossing loop was altered to right-hand running. The original Down platform has thus become the Up platform, and vice versa. The change was made to simplify shunting at this station, by removing the need to hand-pump the train-operated loop points to access the siding.
Signalling
From the time of its opening in 1894, the West Highland Railway was worked throughout by the electric token system. Garelochhead signal box, which had 18 levers, was situated on the island platform.
The semaphore signals were removed on 2 February 1986 in preparation for the introduction of Radio Electronic Token Block (RETB) by British Rail. The RETB, which is controlled from a Signalling Centre at Banavie railway station, was commissioned between Helensburgh Upper and Upper Tyndrum on 27 March 1988.
The Train Protection & Warning System was installed in 2003.
2011
Mondays to Saturdays, there are three services to Oban and Mallaig and one service to Fort William (Highland Caledonian Sleeper) northbound. Southbound, there are four services to Glasgow Queen Street (three on Saturdays) and one service to London Euston (Highland Caledonian Sleeper does not run on Saturday). On Sundays, there is just one train northbound to Oban and Mallaig and two trains southbound to Glasgow Queen Street and London Euston.
2016
Mondays to Saturdays, there are six trains to Oban and three to Mallaig each day northbound (three of the Oban services run combined with those to Mallaig, splitting at Crianlarich), plus the Highland Sleeper to Fort William. Southbound, there are six trains to Glasgow Queen Street High Level plus the sleeper to Edinburgh Waverley and London Euston (this calls at Queen Street Low Level to set down only and does not run on Saturday evenings). On Sundays there are three trains to Oban all year and two to Mallaig in summer and one in the winter northbound and three trains to Glasgow southbound, along with the London sleeper.