Garve railway station

Garve Scottish Gaelic: Gairbh[1]
158701 and 158704 stand at Garve, looking east
General information
Location	Garve, Highland Scotland
Coordinates	57.6130°N 4.6883°W / 57.6130; -4.6883
Grid reference	NH395613
Managed by	ScotRail
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	GVE[2]
History
Original company	Dingwall and Skye Railway
Pre-grouping	Highland Railway
Post-grouping	LMS
Key dates
19 August 1870	Opened[3]
Passengers
2019/20	3,480
2020/21	426
2021/22	2,560
2022/23	3,290
2023/24	4,264
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Garve railway station is a railway station on the Kyle of Lochalsh Line, serving the village of Garve in the north of Scotland. Garve is located at the eastern edge of Loch Garve, measured 11 miles 65 chains (19.0 km) from Dingwall, and is the first stop on the line before Lochluichart.^[4] ScotRail, who manage the station, operate all services.

History

The platforms, looking west

The station was opened on 19 August 1870.^[3] It was to be the junction for the Garve and Ullapool Railway, intended to connect Ullapool, the Western Isles' nearest mainland port, with the rest of the UK. An act of parliament was passed for the line in 1890, but in spite of local efforts in that year, and again two years later, the idea could not be fully financed and was abandoned.^{[citation needed]}

Facilities

Facilities here are basic, comprising shelters and benches, and a small car park (as well as bike racks). There is step-free access to both platforms, but not between them (as only a footbridge connects them).^[5]

Platform layout

The station is 11 miles 65 chains (19.0 km) from Dingwall, and has a passing loop 20 chains (400 m) long, flanked by two platforms which can each accommodate a five-coach train.^[6] The first of the Kyle line's three passing loops is located here and trains are occasionally timetabled to cross, though the loop points work automatically and all movements are controlled using the Radio Electronic Token Block system which was installed by British Rail and is supervised from the signalling centre at Inverness.

Passenger volume

Passenger Volume at Garve^[7]

	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
Entries and exits	7,128	7,092	9,471	9,690	9,847	8,546	6,898	5,814	5,038	5,384	5,028	5,076	4,676	3,668	4,302	3,212	3,480	426	2,560	3,290

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

From Monday to Saturday, there are four daily services to Kyle of Lochalsh and four daily services in the opposite direction to Inverness. There is one service in each direction on Sundays all year, with a second during the summer months only.^[8][9]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Dingwall		ScotRail Kyle of Lochalsh Line		Lochluichart
	Historical railways
Achterneed		Highland Railway Dingwall and Skye Railway		Lochluichart

References

1. Brailsford (2017), Gaelic/English Station Index.
2. Deaves, Phil. "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
3. Butt (1995), p. 101.
4. Bridge, Mike, ed. (2017). TRACKatlas of Mainland Britain: A Comprehensive Geographic Atlas Showing the Rail Network of Great Britain (3rd ed.). Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. p. 98. ISBN 978-1909431-26-3.
5. "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
6. Brailsford (2017), map 22F.
7. "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
8. eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 219
9. eNRT December 2021 Edition, Table 219

Bibliography

• Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
• 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 (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
• 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.

External links

• Train times and station information for Garve railway station from National Rail
• "Garve station on navigable O.S. map".
• "Dingwall and Skye Railway". RailScot. Retrieved 2 February 2011.