Rogart railway station

Rogart Scottish Gaelic: Sgìre Raoird[1]
The station in 2010, looking west
General information
Location	Rogart, Highland Scotland
Coordinates	57.9886°N 4.1584°W / 57.9886; -4.1584
Grid reference	NC724019
Managed by	ScotRail
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	ROG[2]
History
Original company	Sutherland Railway
Pre-grouping	Highland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway British Railways
Key dates
13 July 1868	Opened as Rogart
13 June 1960	Closed
6 March 1961	Reopened
12 June 1961	Renamed Rogart Halt
?	Renamed Rogart
Passengers
2019/20	1,656
2020/21	150
2021/22	992
2022/23	884
2023/24	1,226
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Rogart railway station is a railway station serving the villages of Rogart and Pittentrail, in the Highland council area of Scotland. The station is on the Far North Line, 77 miles 1 chain (123.9 km) from Inverness, between Golspie and Lairg.^[3] ScotRail, who manage the station, operate all services.

History

The Sutherland Railway opened between Bonar Bridge and Golspie on 13 April 1868.^[4] Among the intermediate stations was one at Rogart, which opened with the line.^[5]

In common with six other stations north of Bonar Bridge (now Ardgay), the station at Rogart was closed on 13 June 1960 with the intention of making economies; but the cuts were seen as too drastic, and Rogart station alone was reopened on 6 March 1961.^[5][6] Three months later, on 12 June 1961, it was renamed Rogart Halt, but has since reverted to Rogart.^[5]

Facilities

Rogart station in 2008

The station has benches on both platforms, with a shelter on platform 1, and a waiting area on platform 2. there are also bike racks and a help point on platform 2, as well as a small car park adjacent to platform 2.^[7] There are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train. Three old railway coaches offer accommodation, with discounts for those arriving and leaving by train.^[8]

On 20 December 2022, Transport Scotland introduced a new "Press & Ride" system at Rogart,^[9] following successful trials of the system at Scotscalder over the previous four months.^[10][11] Previously, passengers wishing to board a train at Rogart 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 platforms; 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.^[12]

Platform layout

The platform on the northbound line can accommodate trains having five coaches, whereas the southbound platform can hold six.

Services

The station sees 4 trains to Inverness and 4 trains to Wick, on weekdays and Saturdays. On Sundays this drops to just 1 train each way.^[13]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Lairg		ScotRail Far North Line		Golspie
	Historical railways
Lairg Line and station open		Highland Railway Sutherland Railway		The Mound Line open, station closed

References

1. Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
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. Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, p. 35.
5. Butt 1995, p. 199.
6. Vallance, Clinker & Lambert 1985, pp. 161–2.
7. "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
8. Caton, Peter (2018). Remote Stations. Leicestershire: Matador. p. 258. ISBN 978-1-78901-408-2.
9. "More request stop kiosks on Far North Line". Today's Railways UK. No. 252. Platform 5. February 2023. p. 14. ISBN 9771475971140.
10. "Far North request-stop kiosk on trial". Today's Railways UK. No. 248. Platform 5. October 2022. p. 16. ISBN 9771475971140.
11. "First of Scotland's request-stop kiosks goes live". The Railway Magazine. No. 1458. Mortons of Horncastle. September 2022. p. 8. ISBN 9770033892354.
12. Far North Line Review Group – Transport Scotland
13. 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.
• Vallance, H.A.; Clinker, C.R.; Lambert, Anthony J. (1985) [1938]. The Highland Railway (4th ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-946537-24-0.
• Yonge, John (December 2007) [1987]. Jacobs, Gerald (ed.). 1: Scotland & Isle of Man. Railway Track Diagrams (5th ed.). Bradford on Avon: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-3-6.