Invershin railway station

Invershin Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Sin[1]
General information
Location	Invershin, Highland Scotland
Coordinates	57.9249°N 4.3995°W / 57.9249; -4.3995
Grid reference	NH579953
Managed by	ScotRail
Platforms	1
Other information
Station code	INH[2]
History
Original company	Sutherland Railway
Pre-grouping	Highland Railway
Post-grouping	LMSR
Key dates
13 April 1868	Opened
Passengers
2019/20	216
2020/21	50
2021/22	210
2022/23	232
2023/24	440
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Invershin railway station is a railway station in the Highland council area of Scotland. The station is on the Far North Line, 61 miles 34 chains (98.9 km) from Inverness, between Culrain and Lairg.^[3] ScotRail, who manage the station, operate all services.

History

The station opened on 13 April 1868,^[4] as part of the Sutherland Railway, later becoming part of the Highland Railway and later the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.

Location

Shin Viaduct

It is extremely close to the previous station on the line, at Culrain, situated at the opposite side of Shin Viaduct (or 'Oykel Viaduct'), a major structure on the Far North line which crosses the Kyle of Sutherland at its narrowest point.

Facilities

Invershin only has very basic facilities, being a waiting shelter, a help point and bike racks.^[5] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.

On 20 December 2022, Transport Scotland introduced a new "Press & Ride" system at Invershin,^[6] following successful trials of the system at Scotscalder over the previous four months.^[7][8] Previously, passengers wishing to board a train at Invershin had to flag the train by raising their arm (as is still done at other request stops around the country); this meant that the driver needed to reduce the train's speed before a request stop (to look out for any potential passengers on the platform and be able to stop if necessary), even if the platform was empty. The new system consists of an automatic kiosk (with a button for passengers to press) at the platform; this will alert the driver about any waiting passengers in advance and, if there is no requirement to stop, the train can maintain line speed through the request stops, thus improving reliability on the whole line.^[9]

Passenger volume

Passenger Volume at Invershin^[10]

	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	287	229	408	199	310	220	282	512	386	690	790	486	706	826	438	284	216	50	210	232

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

In the December 2021 timetable, four trains call at Invershin each way (four to Inverness, four to Wick via Thurso) on weekdays and Saturdays. On Sundays, there is just one train each way.^[11]

This station is designated as a request stop. This means that passengers intending to alight must inform the guard in advance, and any passengers wishing to board must press a "request" button located at the kiosk on the platform.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Culrain		ScotRail Far North Line		Lairg

References

1. Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. "Gaelic/English Station Index". Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
2. Deaves, Phil. "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
3. 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. 102. ISBN 978-1909431-26-3.
4. Quick 2022, p. p=256.
5. "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
6. "More request stop kiosks on Far North Line". Today's Railways UK. No. 252. Platform 5. February 2023. p. 14. ISBN 9771475971140.
7. "Far North request-stop kiosk on trial". Today's Railways UK. No. 248. Platform 5. October 2022. p. 16. ISBN 9771475971140.
8. "First of Scotland's request-stop kiosks goes live". The Railway Magazine. No. 1458. Mortons of Horncastle. September 2022. p. 8. ISBN 9770033892354.
9. Far North Line Review Group – Transport Scotland
10. "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
11. eNRT December 2021 Edition, Table 219

Bibliography

• Quick, Michael (2022). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain: A Chronology (PDF) (5th ed.). London: Railway and Canal Historical Society.

External links

• Train times and station information for Invershin railway station from National Rail