Inverness railway station

Inverness railway station serves the Scottish city of Inverness. It is the terminus of the Highland Main Line, the Aberdeen–Inverness line (of which the Inverness and Nairn Railway is now a part), the Kyle of Lochalsh line and the Far North Line.

Inverness Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Nis[1]
The main entrance to the station (2016)
General information
Location	Inverness, Highland Scotland
Coordinates	57.4800°N 4.2230°W / 57.4800; -4.2230
Grid reference	NH667454
Owned by	Network Rail
Managed by	ScotRail
Platforms	7
Other information
Station code	INV[2]
IATA code	ZIV
History
Original company	Inverness and Nairn Railway
Pre-grouping	Highland Railway
Post-grouping	LMS
Key dates
5 November 1855	Opened
Passengers
2019/20	1.214 million
Interchange	59,217
2020/21	0.232 million
Interchange	9,422
2021/22	0.753 million
Interchange	33,187
2022/23	0.975 million
Interchange	38,939
2023/24	1.170 million
Interchange	51,133
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

The Aberdeen and Perth lines diverge at Millburn Junction a short distance beyond Welsh's Bridge. Platforms 1–4 are 118 miles 3 chains (190 km) from Perth (measured via Carrbridge); Millburn Junction, 117 miles 37 chains (189.0 km) from Perth (or 143 miles 39 chains (230.9 km) via Dava). The station is the zero point for the Far North Line and platforms 5–7 are 2 chains (40 m) along this line; Rose Street Junction, 18 chains (360 m) along the line, is 118 miles 1 chain (189.9 km) from Perth.^[3][4]

History

Inverness railway panorama in 1948

Inverness station was opened on 5 November 1855^[5] as the western terminus of the Inverness and Nairn Railway^[6] to designs by the architect, Joseph Mitchell.^[7] The station originally comprised a single covered passenger platform 200 feet (61 m) with three lines of rails, one for arrivals, one for departures and a spare line for carriages.

In 1857 the railway company erected a clock in front of the station facing Academy Street. This clock by Bryson & Sons, Princes Street, Edinburgh, was illuminated at night.^[8]

In 1865 the station was enlarged. The platform was lengthened to 300 feet (91 m) and a shed added which was 300 feet (91 m) long, 51 feet (16 m) wide and 20 feet (6.1 m) high. There were double lines for north and south traffic.^[9]

The platforms were extended again to 500 feet (150 m) and the platform roofs were extended in 1876 by Murdoch Paterson. The station platforms were lit by electricity for the first time in 1908.^[10]

The station layout in 1902

In 1933, as part of an internal reorganization, the London and North Eastern Railway closed their offices at the station and the staff relocated to Aberdeen.^[11]

Between 1966 and 1968 under British Rail the station buildings were replaced, the new design by Thomas Munro and Company.

A revamp by Mott Macdonald of the station's frontage, forecourt and concourse was planned to be completed by 2018.^[12] However this was delayed. The nearby Royal Highland Hotel refused to give up their lease of parking spaces in front of the station.^[13]

Location

The station is located between three roads in the city centre - Falcon Square, Academy Street and Strothers Lane. It is a 2-minute walk from the Eastgate Shopping Centre, and approximately 8 minutes from Inverness Castle and the Museum & Art Gallery. A taxi rank is located on the corner of Academy Street and Falcon Square.^[14]

Rose Street Curve

This line is a rarely-used piece of track which avoids the station, linking the Far North and Kyle of Lochalsh lines to the Highland Main Line and the line to Aberdeen.^[15] In recent years it has fallen in to disuse, but up to 2019 it was used weekly on Saturdays by a train from Kyle of Lochalsh to Elgin.^[16] Such trains would not easily be visible from the station.

Facilities

Platform destination LED screens are installed, along with a main departures and arrivals information board. Each of Platforms 1-7 has its own screen showing departures from that platform. Screens are also present behind the wall for all platforms from 3–6. In addition, several other screens are also visible for general information. The main concourse is equipped with a ticket office and ticket machines, a barber shop, a bar, a cafe, toilets, a waiting room, a lost property office, a vending machine, a cash machine, payphones and help points. The station has 3 car parks and all of the station has step-free access.^[17]

Platform layout

The main circulation area (2018)

v t e Inverness approaches
Legend
Far North Line and Kyle of Lochalsh Line Inverness station Ness Viaduct over River Ness Platforms 6 & 7 Rose Street Junction Platform 5 Inverness TMD on both sides of line Platforms 1 to 4 Welsh's Bridge Junction Millburn Junction Highland Main Line Aberdeen–Inverness line

Inverness is owned by Network Rail. However, it is operated by ScotRail who run most of the services using the station. Caledonian Sleeper and London North Eastern Railway run the only non-ScotRail services.

The station itself sits at one apex of a triangular junction in the centre of Inverness, with each half of the station connected to one line. The Highland Main and Aberdeen Lines both approach the station from the east and use Platforms 1–4, while the Far North Line (which also carries traffic heading for the Kyle Line) approach from the north-west and use Platforms 5–7. Platform 5 also has a connection from the east side, but it is only usable by a two car train, and even then, it must not be in passenger service and movements from Platform 5 to the east line are not allowed. Platform 1 is long enough for a 13-coach train; platform 2 can hold 15 coaches; platforms 3 and 4, eight each; and platforms 5–7 will accommodate five coaches each.^[18]

Services

As of December 2023, Inverness has the following Monday–Saturday off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) and trains per day (tpd):

ScotRail^[19]

• 5 tpd to Glasgow Queen Street via Aviemore, Perth and Stirling
• 5 tpd to Edinburgh Waverley via Aviemore, Perth and Stirling
• 1 tp2h to Aberdeen via Elgin
• 1 tp2h to Elgin via Nairn
• 4 tpd to Dingwall of which:
  • 1 tpd terminates at Dingwall
  • 1 tpd is extended to Invergordon
  • 1 tpd is extended to Tain
  • 1 tpd is extended to Ardgay
• 4 tpd to Wick via Dingwall, Georgemas Junction and Thurso
• 4 tpd to Kyle of Lochalsh via Dingwall and Strathcarron

London North Eastern Railway^[20]

• 1 tpd to London King's Cross via Falkirk Grahamston, Edinburgh Waverley, Newcastle and York (the Highland Chieftain)

Caledonian Sleeper^[21]

• 1 sleeper train per day to London Euston via Preston and Crewe; it does not operate on Saturday nights.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Aviemore or Carrbridge (Sunday southbound only)		London North Eastern Railway London Kings Cross – Inverness (Highland Chieftain)		Terminus
Carrbridge or Aviemore		ScotRail Highland Main Line		Terminus or Inverness Airport (Sundays only)
Inverness Airport		ScotRail Aberdeen–Inverness line		Terminus
Beauly or Muir of Ord		ScotRail Far North Line Kyle of Lochalsh line		Terminus
Aviemore or Carrbridge		Caledonian Sleeper Highland Caledonian Sleeper (London Euston – Inverness)		Terminus
	Historical railways
Culloden Moor Line open; station closed		Highland Railway Inverness and Aviemore Direct Railway		Terminus
Allanfearn Line open; station closed		Highland Railway Inverness and Nairn Railway		Terminus
Clachnaharry Line open; station closed		Highland Railway Inverness and Ross-shire Railway		Terminus

Future proposals

In early 2020, a massive reconstruction project was announced, which included the neighbouring Sports Direct and TK Maxx stores being purchased as well as the former Royal Mail sorting office and car park. It is part of a plan to majorly reduce CO₂ emissions in the City Centre, with this, the ability to have electric trains running to the station suggested electrification of lines north of the central belt. It was also announced that it would have fuelling for hydrogen vehicles as well as e-bike stations.^[22]

In the future,^[when?] this station will be one of those to benefit from a package of timetable enhancements to be introduced by Transport Scotland and Scotrail. The current Perth to Inverness timetable will be increased to hourly each way, with trains south of there running on alternate hours to Edinburgh & Glasgow. Journey times will be reduced by 10 minutes to both cities. The service to Nairn, Forres & Elgin will also be enhanced to hourly and some Aberdeen trains extended through to Dundee and beyond.^[23] As of February 2025, this has still not yet taken place.^[24]

Connections

The main coach and bus station is located in Margaret Street, 150 m northwest of and just around the corner from the railway station. Many services can also be joined at the stop on Millburn Road outside Marks and Spencer, closer to the station.^[14]

Aside from local buses, there are also long-distance coach services which allow rail passengers to continue their journey to areas of the Highlands not on the rail network:

• Scottish Citylink route 961 operates two daily return services to Ullapool to connect with Caledonian MacBrayne ferry sailings to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. Rail passengers may also connect with this bus at Garve on the Kyle of Lochalsh line, but the timings are not so convenient.
• Scottish Citylink route 919 operates six daily return services down the Great Glen to Fort William, calling at Urquhart Castle, Fort Augustus and intermediate points. Two of these services allow onward connections with Citylink route 918 from Fort William to Oban.

Stagecoach North Scotland route 11 runs every 30 minutes between Inverness city centre and Inverness Airport. The bus leaves from Strothers Lane, just around the corner from the station. Journey time to the airport is 25 minutes.