Mallaig railway station

Mallaig railway station is a railway station serving the ferry port of Mallaig, Lochaber, in the Highland region of Scotland. This station is a terminus on the West Highland Line, 41 miles (66 km) by rail from Fort William and 164 miles (264 km) from Glasgow Queen Street.^[4] The station building is Category C listed.^[5] ScotRail, who manage the station, operate most of the services.

Mallaig Scottish Gaelic: Malaig[1]
General information
Location	Main Street, Mallaig, Highland Scotland
Coordinates	57.0056°N 5.8302°W / 57.0056; -5.8302
Grid reference	NM675970
Managed by	ScotRail
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	MLG[2]
History
Original company	Mallaig Extension Railway of West Highland Railway
Pre-grouping	North British Railway
Post-grouping	LNER
Key dates
1 April 1901	Station opened[3]
Passengers
2019/20	96,414
2020/21	15,270
2021/22	62,426
2022/23	71,692
2023/24	97,710
Listed Building – Category C(S)
Designated	8 August 1996
Reference no.	LB43567
Location
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

The station in 1973

Mallaig station opened on 1 April 1901.^[3]

The original proposal was to build the railway to Roshven, but the planned terminus was changed to Mallaig following opposition from local landowners.

The glass overall roof was removed in 1975 and the ticket office was extended at the same time. In 1978, Lochaber divisional planning committee agreed to a proposed £34,000 extension to the station which allowed for the station to be extended in a south western direction on part of the existing platform area. The extension included permission for a permanent tourist office within the existing building, and also a parcels office, mess room and concourse.^[6]

In 1998 Railtrack announced expenditure of £90,000 to repair the station.^[7]

Facilities

The station building

The station is equipped with a spacious ticket office (adjacent to the car park), inside of which is a help point and the toilets. The island platform has seats, cycle racks and luggage trolleys. The station has step-free access.^[8]

Passenger volume

Passenger Volume at Mallaig^[9]

	2002–03	2004–05	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10	2010–11	2011–12	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2015–16	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19	2019–20	2020–21	2021–22	2022–23	2023–24
Entries and exits	64,300	69,779	66,193	67,393	62,984	65,436	87,862	85,630	85,378	82,914	86,994	84,972	88,346	86,406	95,878	97,530	96,414	15,270	62,426	71,692	97,710

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

ScotRail's 156474 arrives from Glasgow Queen Street on platform 2 at Mallaig, while the Jacobite stands on platform 1.

The Jacobite at Mallaig Station

The railway line from Mallaig is noted as a scenic route, especially as it passes along the Glenfinnan Viaduct 37 kilometres (23 mi) out of Mallaig,^[10][11] so many journeys to and from the station are typically leisure travellers.

Most scheduled train services out of Mallaig railway station are operated by ScotRail. Currently, four trains a day depart Monday to Saturdays from Mallaig for Fort William, three of which continue to Glasgow Queen Street (the fourth terminates at Fort William to connect with the Caledonian Sleeper to London Euston). On Sundays, three trains depart for Fort William, with two trains continuing on to Glasgow.

Mallaig is also the destination of a special tourist steam train operated by West Coast Railways, The Jacobite, which runs sightseeing trips non-stop to Fort William running twice daily, Monday to Friday (with additional weekend services during the summer months).^[12][13]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Morar		ScotRail West Highland Line		Terminus
	Heritage railways
Fort William		West Coast Railways The Jacobite May–October		Terminus
	Historical railways
Morar Line and Station open		North British Railway West Highland Railway (Mallaig Extension Railway)		Terminus

Mallaig Ferry Terminal

The Skye ferry at Mallaig harbour

v t e Caledonian MacBrayne
Legend
Berneray, N. Uist Leverburgh, Harris Lochmaddy, N. Uist Tarbert, Harris Uig, Skye Lochboisdale, S. Uist to Castlebay & Oban Sconser, Skye Raasay Armadale, Skye Canna Rùm Tarbet, Loch Nevis Eigg Inverie, Knoydart Muck Mallaig  A830  to Glasgow Queen Street
Key
Caledonian MacBrayne ferries Bruce Watt ferry Bus connections

The Ferry port is located in front of the railway station, approximately 130 metres (430 ft) away.

Caledonian MacBrayne operate ferry services from Mallaig to Armadale on the Isle of Skye, a thirty-minute sailing, as well as daily services to the Small Isles of Canna, Rùm, Eigg and Muck,^[14] although the timetable, itinerary and calling points differ from day to day. A small, independent ferry service run by former lifeboatman Bruce Watt sails up Loch Nevis to the remote village of Inverie in Knoydart,^[14] and also calls by prior arrangement at Tarbet in Morar, locations that are only accessible by sea. Both Cal Mac and Bruce Watt also offer non-landing sightseeing tickets.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
	Ferry services
Armadale		Caledonian MacBrayne Mallaig – Skye		Terminus
Lochboisdale		Caledonian MacBrayne Mallaig – South Uist		Terminus
Rùm		Caledonian MacBrayne Mallaig – Small Isles		Terminus
Eigg
Muck
Canna
Inverie		Western Isles Cruises[15] Mallaig – Knoydart		Terminus
Inverie		Knoydart Ferry[16] Mallaig – Knoydart		Terminus

See also

• Mallaig Extension Railway
• West Highland Railway