Aberdeen railway station is the main railway station in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the busiest railway station in Scotland north of the major cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh. It is located on Guild Street in the city centre, next to Union Square.
A 1913 Railway Clearing House Junction Diagram showing railways in the vicinity of Aberdeen (present station shown here as JOINT PASS. STA.)
Pre-nationalisation
The station currently standing was built and opened in 1867, although the station today has been significantly redeveloped from the original.[6] The station and the new Denburn Valley Line enabled the main line from the south and the commuter line from Deeside to connect with the line from the north. The lines from the south had previously terminated at the adjacent Aberdeen Guild Street. Even this had not been Aberdeen's first railway station, that distinction belonging to a previous terminus a short way south at Ferryhill.[6]
Prior to the construction of the Joint Station, lines from the north had terminated at Aberdeen Waterloo, a short but inconvenient distance along the edge of the harbour. This too became a goods station after the construction of the Joint Station.[7]
Nationalisation and privatisation
The entrance to the station, seen in 2006, before redevelopment as part of Union Square. The Station Hotel can be seen in the background.
As a result of the grouping of railway companies under the Railways Act 1921, Aberdeen was shared by the London and North Eastern Railway and the London Midland and Scottish Railway, each company running the station for a year and then handing its administration to the other company. At nationalisation in 1948, it then became part of British Rail. As part of the changes during this period which saw a general contraction of railway services in the UK, some services were cut in the 1960s. These included those running north to Peterhead and Ellon as well as the Deeside Line. Suburban services were heavily reduced and the grand suburban ticket office, located on the corner of Guild Street and Bridge Street, was closed. It now houses a hair and beauty salon. The number of platforms at the station were also reduced considerably in the early 1970s, from the thirteen of the late 1950s/early 1960s down to just seven by 1973.[8] This rationalisation process saw the removal of all of the north end bay platforms to allow for redevelopment of that part of the site. However, significant improvements under British Rail included introduction of InterCity 125 high-speed service to London and other major destinations, and introduction of other new rolling stock. Other improvements included a new Travel Centre opened in 1978 and under British Rail's regional brand ScotRail, a major station renovation was completed in the 1980s. The station was also resignalled around this time, with two more bay platforms (1 & 2) taken out of use along with the former through platforms 8 & 9. This left just five platforms (3–7) in regular use – the layout that remains in operation to this day. The two former bay platforms remain in place and are used as sidings. The former double track through platforms 8 and 9 has since been singled, but the platform faces remain.
At privatisation in the mid-1990s, ownership of the station passed to Railtrack (along with all stations and other infrastructure in England, Wales and Scotland), while day-to-day management passed to the train-operating franchisee ScotRail, a division of National Express. Following the quasi-nationalisation of railway infrastructure in the early 2000s, the station is now owned by Network Rail. In 2004, the train-operating franchise and station management were taken over by First ScotRail. ScotRail continue to operate trains but the station and all signage is now branded with the "ScotRail" logo, typeface and rolling-stock livery.
Motorail
British Rail's Motorail service ran between London and Aberdeen from 1968[9] until Friday 26 May 1995.[10]
Plans to reintroduce a Motorail service between London and Aberdeen operated by Motorail Ltd were announced December 1998[11] and confirmed in March 1999.[12]
Signage at Aberdeen station in May 2012, showing National Rail double-arrow logo
Listed building
Historic Environment Scotland designate the current building and road overbridge as Category A, noting that it was the last major station to be completed in Scotland in the period 1913–1920.[4]
Recent developments
Plans to relocate the ticket office and passenger waiting room, as well as upgrades to the taxi rank and concourse, were approved by Aberdeen City Council in December 2018, with work due to start in spring 2019.[13] Under a separate scheme, the vacant Atholl House building to the north of the station is to be demolished, making way for the construction of a public square, hotel and student accommodation, and improved connections between the city's main Union Street and the station.[14] This development could allow the currently disused platforms 8 and 9 to be brought back into service.[15]
As of early 2019, the station's glass roof is undergoing replacement with polycarbonate panels as part of a £9 million upgrade.[16] In June 2020, ScotRail announced that it would proceed with the modifications to the ticket office, waiting room, and taxi rank as soon as it was safe to do so following the coronavirus pandemic. There are no plans to reinstate the platforms yet.[17] These developments were completed by the end of 2021.[18]
In March 2021, it was confirmed that further work would be undertaken to improve the passenger experience in the station, including significant improvement in retail facilities, improvements to the taxi rank area and better connectivity with Union Square and the wider Aberdeen City Centre.[19]
The North Corner Pavilion Building, which had fallen into disrepair, was restored as part of the station redevelopment in December 2021. Repairs were sympathetic and in keeping with the original features of the category A-listed building.[20] The restoration was recognised in the 2022 National Railway Heritage Awards, where it won The Arch Company Award for Urban Heritage Award.[21]
By December 2022, all improvement works were completed. Both the ticket office and first class lounge were relocated to allow for further retail space. Modern glazed frontage was added to the units. Four new customer information screens were installed as part of renovation works, along with improvements to staff accommodation. Jenny Gilruth, the then Transport Minister opened the redeveloped station on 5 December 2022. The redevelopment was funded by the Scottish Government, ScotRail, Network Rail, the Railway Heritage Trust, and Serco[22]
There is a staffed travel centre providing ticket office and information facilities (e.g. timetables). There are also automatic ticket machines outside this office and in the main concourse. Tickets purchased in advance (e.g. on the internet) can be collected from any of these machines. The entrance to the ScotRail first-class lounge is located inside the ticket office (travel centre). Luggage trolleys are provided for travellers with baggage and a left-luggage facility is available with access from the front forecourt of the station. There is step-free access to all platforms from the bridge. There are also two sets of toilets near the main entrance, as well as payphones and an excess fares office.[23]
A waiting room is available on the main concourse, as is a branch of WHSmith selling books, magazines, stationery and confectionery. There is also a pub and café. A wide range of other shopping and eating facilities are located in the Union Square complex which can be accessed directly through the concourse and is integrated with the station building.[24]
Passenger volume
The main origin or destination station for journeys to or from Aberdeen in the 2022–23 period was Edinburgh, making up 216,214 of the 1,961,414 journeys (13.3%).[25]
Aberdeen railway station offers interchange with Aberdeen ferry terminal, which lies approximately 450 metres (490 yards) away, the departure point for ferry services operated by NorthLink Ferries to the Orkney and Shetland Islands.[28]
^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. 96. ISBN978-1-909431-26-3.
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. ISBN978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC22311137.
2.616 million
0.258 million
