Huntly

Scottish Gaelic: Hunndaidh[1]
National Rail
Looking south towards Insch from the footbridge
General information
LocationHuntly, Aberdeenshire
Scotland
Coordinates57°26′40″N 2°46′33″W / 57.4445°N 2.7758°W / 57.4445; -2.7758
Grid referenceNJ535396
Managed byScotRail
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeHNT[2]
History
Original companyGreat North of Scotland Railway
Pre-groupingGreat North of Scotland Railway
Post-groupingLNER
Key dates
20 September 1854Opened[3]
Passengers
2018/19Decrease 77,782
2019/20Decrease 72,090
2020/21Decrease 12,612
2021/22Increase 44,894
2022/23Increase 49,568
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Huntly railway station is a railway station serving the town of Huntly in Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line, between Insch and Keith, 40 miles 67 chains (65.7 km) from Aberdeen.[4]

A small goods yard is located adjacent to the station and operated by DB Schenker. A goods shed remains standing within the yard.

History

The station seen circa 1971

The station was opened by the Great North of Scotland Railway on 20 September 1854,[3] with the commissioning of the line from the original Waterloo terminus in Aberdeen. The route onwards to Keith followed on 11 October 1856,[5] with the through link to the new joint station at Aberdeen completed in November 1867 to connect the GNSR to the Aberdeen Railway.[citation needed] The track was doubled in 1896, when a non-stop train from Aberdeen was speeded up to a 45-minute schedule for the 40+3⁄4 mi (65.6 km), though it ceased when the overnight London express was slowed later that year.[5]

The original station building, which had an overall roof[5] and was described in 1898 as, "a decent structure of the old fashioned 'roofed-over' type",[6] was later demolished and replaced.

Facilities

The station's ticket office is staffed six days per week from early morning until early afternoon (06:50 – 13:50, Mon-Sat). A self-service ticket machine is provided for use outside of these times and for collecting advance purchase tickets. A pay phone and post box are available, along with shelters on each platform and toilets in the booking hall (the latter open only when the station is staffed). Train running information is offered via customer help points, CIS displays, automatic announcements and timetable posters. Step-free access is available to both platforms via ramps, though the footbridge linking them has steps.[7]

Passenger volume

Passenger Volume at Huntly[8]
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 62,001 69,533 70,430 75,708 84,223 87,894 84,300 90,010 93,796 94,026 98,276 104,534 105,846 94,904 92,956 77,782 72,090 12,612 44,894 49,568

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

As of May 2022, there is a basic two-hourly frequency in each directions (with peak extras), to Inverness northbound and Aberdeen southbound (12 trains southbound, 11 northbound). The first departure to Aberdeen each weekday and Saturday continues south to Edinburgh Waverley, and another continues to Stonehaven in the evening. On Sundays there are five trains each way.[9]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Insch   ScotRail
Aberdeen to Inverness Line 		  Keith
  Historical railways  
Rothiemay
Line open; Station closed 		  Great North of Scotland Railway   Gartly
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. ^ a b Butt (1995), p. 125
  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. 101. ISBN 978 1909431 26 3.
  5. ^ a b c Vallance, H. A. (January 1954). "The Great North of Scotland Railway". Railway Magazine pp. 43–51. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  6. ^ Scott, W. J. (January 1898). "Little and Good". Railway Magazine p. 22. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  7. ^ "National Rail Enquiries - Station facilities for Huntly". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  9. ^ eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 214

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Huntly railway station.
Railway stations served by ScotRail
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