Ardlui railway station

Coordinates: 56°18′07″N 4°43′18″W / 56.3019°N 4.7217°W / 56.3019; -4.7217
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Ardlui

Scottish Gaelic: Àird Laoigh[1]
National Rail
Looking south towards Arrochar & Tarbet, with the old signal box in view
General information
LocationArdlui, Argyll and Bute
Scotland
Coordinates56°18′07″N 4°43′18″W / 56.3019°N 4.7217°W / 56.3019; -4.7217
Grid referenceNN316155
Managed byScotRail
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeAUI[2]
History
Original companyWest Highland Railway
Pre-groupingNorth British Railway
Post-groupingLNER
Key dates
7 August 1894Opened[3]
Passengers
2018/19Increase 5,622
2019/20Decrease 3,982
2020/21Decrease 864
2021/22Increase 3,054
2022/23Increase 3,282
Listed Building – Category C(S)
Designated29 March 1996
Reference no.LB43177[4]
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Ardlui railway station is a rural railway station, serving Ardlui at the north end of Loch Lomond, in Scotland. The station is located on the West Highland Line, sited 27 miles 43 chains (44.3 km) from Craigendoran Junction, near Helensburgh, between Crianlarich and Arrochar and Tarbet.[5] ScotRail manage the station and operate most services, others provided by Caledonian Sleeper.

History[edit]

Trains crossing at Ardlui in 1948

Opened to passengers on 7 August 1894 by the West Highland Railway, then run by the North British Railway,[6] it became part of the London and North Eastern Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The station was host to a LNER camping coach from 1935 to 1939 and possibly one for some of 1934.[7] A camping coach was also positioned here from 1964 to 1966.[8]

Between 1945 and 1948 a station and passing loop were located to the west of Ardlui at Inveruglas which served the passenger and freight requirements of the Sloy hydroelectric scheme.[9]

Trains have used the procedure of right-hand running at the station since 1988, when RETB (Radio Electric Block Token) was introduced. This in turn makes the station sidings easier to access for engineering trains.[10]

The former signal box, on the platform itself, now functions as a waiting room. The former waiting room was demolished in the 1970s.[10]

Facilities[edit]

The station seen in 2006

The station has an island platform, equipped with a shelter and a waiting room, benches, bike racks and a help point. The only entrance to the station is directly off the A82, so there is no step free access.[11] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.

Passenger volume[edit]

Passenger Volume at Ardlui[12]
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 1,569 2,309 2,344 2,383 1,870 2,212 1,970 2,092 2,260 2,216 4,566 5,074 5,072 5,426 5,104 5,622 3,982 864 3,054 3,282

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services[edit]

Monday to Saturday, there are six services to Oban and three to Mallaig (the latter combined with Oban portions, dividing at Crianlarich), and one service to Fort William (the Highland Caledonian Sleeper, weekday mornings only) northbound. Southbound, there are six services to Glasgow Queen Street High Level and one service to London Euston via Queen Street Low Level & Edinburgh Waverley (the Highland Caledonian Sleeper, which does not run on Saturday).

On Sundays, there are two trains northbound to Mallaig, with one to Oban, along with the Caledonian Sleeper to Fort William. There is also an extra summer service to Oban. Southbound there are three trains southbound to Glasgow Queen Street. In summer months, the extra summer Sunday service returns to Edinburgh, avoiding Glasgow.[13][14][15]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Arrochar and Tarbet   ScotRail
West Highland Line
  Crianlarich
Arrochar and Tarbet   Caledonian Sleeper
Highland Caledonian Sleeper
  Crianlarich
  Historical railways  
Arrochar and Tarbet
Line and Station open
  West Highland Railway
North British Railway
  Glen Falloch Halt
Line open; Station closed

References[edit]

  1. ^ Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
  2. ^ Deaves, Phil. "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  3. ^ Butt (1995) page 17
  4. ^ "ARDLUI RAILWAY STATION BUILDING WITH SUBWAY AND GATES". Historic Scotland. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  5. ^ 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. 88. ISBN 978 1909431 26 3.
  6. ^ Quick 2022, p. 54.
  7. ^ McRae 1997, p. 11.
  8. ^ McRae 1998, p. 28.
  9. ^ McGregor, John (1994). 100 years of the West Highland Railway. ScotRail. p. 71.
  10. ^ a b Jimmy (28 January 2013). "Ardlui - Page 2 of 2". Friends of the West Highland Lines. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  11. ^ "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  12. ^ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  13. ^ eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 218
  14. ^ eNRT December 2021 Edition, Table 218
  15. ^ eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 220

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]