![]() A train departing to Inverness | |
Location | Thurso, Highland Scotland |
Coordinates | 58°35′24″N3°31′40″W / 58.5900°N 3.5278°W Coordinates: 58°35′24″N3°31′40″W / 58.5900°N 3.5278°W |
Grid reference | ND112679 |
Managed by | Abellio ScotRail |
Platforms | 1 |
Other information | |
Station code | THS |
History | |
Original company | Sutherland and Caithness Railway |
Pre-grouping | Highland Railway |
Post-grouping | LMS |
Key dates | |
28 July 1874 | Opened |
Passengers | |
2015/16 | ![]() |
2016/17 | ![]() |
2017/18 | ![]() |
2018/19 | ![]() |
2019/20 | ![]() |
Listed Building – Category B | |
Designated | 28 November 1984 (amended 15 December 1998) |
Reference no. | Historic Scotland Building ID 42035 |
Notes | |
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road |
Thurso railway station is a railway station located in Thurso, in the Highland council area in the far north of Scotland. It serves the town of Thurso and its surrounding areas in the historic county of Caithness. It is also the nearest station to the port of Scrabster (about 2.2 miles (3.5 km) to the northwest), which has ferry services linking the mainland with Stromness on the Orkney Islands. It is the northernmost station on the National Rail network.
The station is situated at the end of a short branch line off the Far North Line. It is 6 miles 50 chains (10.7 km) down the line from Georgemas Junction (the other end of the branch), [2] and 153 miles 70 chains (247.6 km) from Inverness.
Thurso station is managed by Abellio ScotRail, which also operates all trains serving the station.
The station opened on 28 July 1874. [3] A wrought-iron turntable, 45 feet (14 m) in diameter, was built at the station by the Railway Steel and Plant Company of Manchester. [4]
The station was threatened with closure in the 1960s under the Beeching Axe.
Until 2000, trains from Inverness would split in half at Georgemas Junction, with one portion going to Wick and the other to Thurso. In the age of locomotive-hauled trains prior to the introduction of diesel multiple units by British Rail, a locomotive was based at Georgemas Junction to take the Thurso portion to and from the junction. The practice of splitting trains ended when Class 158s were introduced on the line – since then all services run in full between Inverness and Wick via Thurso, in both directions.
There is one platform, which is long enough to accommodate a nine-carriage train. [2] The station is fully wheelchair-accessible, but it is not monitored by CCTV. [5]
The station has a ticket office, staffed between approximately 10:00 and 17:00 every day except Sundays. There are no self-service ticket machines or smartcard top-up facilities, although there are smartcard validators. Other facilities include: a free car park with 3 parking spaces, a sheltered bike stand with 10 spaces, a payphone that accepts both cash and card, waiting rooms with designated seating areas, toilets (only open during staffing hours) and a post box. [5]
There is a bus stop located directly outside the station, [5] although the majority of bus services call at the nearby Miller Academy stop, 150 metres (160 yd) to the north.
Despite being located at the end of the branch line, Thurso is not the terminus for any passenger services. Instead, trains run between Inverness and Wick; upon reaching Georgemas Junction they branch off the main route to serve Thurso, then reverse and run back to Georgemas Junction before continuing to their respective destinations. This means that all services call at Georgemas Junction station twice per trip. [6]
On weekdays and Saturdays, the station is served by eight trains per day to Georgemas Junction, of which four continue to Inverness (via Helmsdale, Golspie, Lairg, Tain and Dingwall), and four continue to Wick. On Sundays the frequency drops to just two trains per day to Georgemas Junction, of which one goes to Inverness and one to Wick. [6]
An hourly shuttle between Wick and Thurso making use of Vivarail's Class 230 Battery Multiple Units has been proposed by the Friends of the Far North line, but to this date nothing has been confirmed. [7]
Preceding station | ![]() | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Georgemas Junction | Abellio ScotRail Far North Line | Georgemas Junction | ||
Historical railways | ||||
Terminus | Highland Railway Sutherland and Caithness Railway Thurso Branch | Hoy Line open, station closed |
The Far North Line is a rural railway line entirely within the Highland area of Scotland, extending from Inverness to Thurso and Wick. As the name suggests, it is the northernmost railway in the United Kingdom. The line has many sections of single track, mostly north of Dingwall. In common with other railway lines in the Highlands and northern Lowlands, it is not electrified and all trains are diesel-powered.
Dingwall railway station serves Dingwall, Scotland. It is located just south of the junction of the Far North Line and the Kyle of Lochalsh Line, and is served by Abellio ScotRail.
Aviemore railway station serves the town and tourist resort of Aviemore in the Highlands of Scotland. The station, which is owned by Network Rail (NR) and managed by Abellio ScotRail, is on the Highland Main Line between Perth and Inverness, and is also the southern terminus of the Strathspey preserved railway.
Inverness railway station is the railway station serving the Scottish city of Inverness.
Altnabreac railway station is a rural railway station located in the Highland council area of Scotland. It serves the area of Altnabreac – a settlement in which the station itself is the main component – in the historic county of Caithness. The station is on a private dirt road between Loch More and Forsinain, which is marked as a cycle trail on Ordnance Survey maps.
Lenzie railway station is a railway station serving Lenzie and Kirkintilloch in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It is located on the Croy Line, 6 1⁄4 miles (10.1 km) northeast of Glasgow Queen Street. Trains on the Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk Line pass Lenzie by. The station is served by Abellio ScotRail.
Falkirk Grahamston railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town of Falkirk in Scotland. It is located on the Edinburgh to Dunblane Line and also the Cumbernauld Line. Train services are provided by Abellio ScotRail. The "Highland Chieftain", the daily London North Eastern Railway service from London King's Cross to Inverness and vice versa also calls here.
Larbert railway station is a railway station serving Larbert near Falkirk, Scotland.
Alness railway station is a railway station on the Far North Line, serving the village of Alness, on the Cromarty Firth, in the Highland council area of Scotland. The station consists of one platform on the northern side of the railway, with only a small shelter available. The original station platforms can still be seen on both sides of the single line through the station.
Tain railway station is an unstaffed railway station serving the burgh of Tain in the Highland council area of Scotland. The station is on the Far North Line.
Ardgay railway station is a railway station serving the village of Ardgay and its neighbour Bonar Bridge in the Highland council area of Scotland. The station is on the Far North Line, 57 miles 70 chains (93.1 km) from Inverness, near Bonar Bridge, and has a passing loop 32 chains (640 m) long, flanked by two platforms. Platform 1 on the up (southbound) line can accommodate trains having ten coaches, but platform 2 on the down (northbound) line can only hold five.
Kinbrace railway station is a railway station serving the village of Kinbrace in the Highland council area in the north of Scotland. It is located on the Far North Line. Trains stop on request.
Forsinard railway station is a railway station serving the village of Forsinard in the Highland council area in the north of Scotland. It is located on the Far North Line.
Scotscalder railway station is a railway station located in the Highland council area in the far north of Scotland. It serves several rural hamlets in the historic county of Caithness, including Scotscalder, Olgrinmore, Westerdale and Calder.
Georgemas Junction railway station is a railway station located in the Highland council area in the far north of Scotland. It serves several rural hamlets in the historic county of Caithness, including Georgemas, Roadside and Banniskirk. It is also the nearest station to the village of Halkirk, which lies approximately 1.6 miles (2.6 km) west of the station.
Wick railway station is a railway station located in Wick, in the Highland council area in the far north of Scotland. It serves the town of Wick and other surrounding areas in the historic county of Caithness, including Staxigoe, Papigoe and Haster. The station lies adjacent to Caithness General Hospital and Wick police station; it is also the nearest station to Wick Airport, although no passenger flights currently operate, and to the village of John o' Groats at the northeastern tip of mainland Britain.
Gleneagles railway station serves the town of Auchterarder in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.
Inverurie railway station is a railway station serving the town of Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is managed by Abellio ScotRail and is on the single-track Aberdeen to Inverness Line. It is also the terminus for some trains on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Lines through Aberdeen as part of the Aberdeen Crossrail project. The station, Category B listed, is single storied and has a cupola with windvane. The main building, adjacent to the car park to the west, is on platform 1 which is used for most trains at the two-platform through station.
Ladybank railway station serves the town of Ladybank in Fife, Scotland.
The Sutherland and Caithness Railway was a railway worked by, and later absorbed by the Highland Railway running through Sutherland and Caithness, Scotland. Caithness and Sutherland are former counties, and former districts of the Highland region.
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