One of the first visitors to the station was Queen Victoria who arrived in a Royal Train on 15 September 1863 on a visit to Blair Castle to see George Murray, 6th Duke of Atholl who was very ill.[5] For its first thirty years until 1893, the station was named 'Blair Athole';[3] the present B-listed station was renamed to its current name in the 1890s.[3]
It originally had a 770-yards long passing loop which was flanked by the two platforms but this has since been extended northbound as double track as far as Dalwhinnie.[6]
Facilities
There are benches on both platforms, with a waiting shelter on platform 2 and natural shelter from the station buildings on platform 1, with a small car park and bike racks adjacent to the latter. As well as the footbridge between the platforms, there is also step-free access to both platforms (from the car park to platform 1 and from the level crossing to platform 2).[7] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.
Platform layout
The station has a passing loop 35 chains (700 m) long, with two platforms. Platform 1 on the southbound line can accommodate trains having seven coaches, whereas platform 2 on the northbound line can hold eleven. Beyond here the line is double track as far as Dalwhinnie.[4]
The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.
Services
As of the May 2022 timetable, on weekdays and Saturdays there are 5 trains per day northbound (all going to Inverness), and 6 trains per day southbound (three to Glasgow Queen Street, two to Edinburgh and the southbound Caledonian Sleeper, picking up only, weekdays only). A reduced service operates on Sundays, with 3 trains per day to Inverness (1 of which extends to Elgin), and 2 trains to Glasgow and 2 trains to Edinburgh, including the Highland Chieftain to London Kings Cross, as well as the Caledonian Sleeper.[9]
21,008
18,388
