Stonehaven railway station

Stonehaven railway station serves the town of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, United Kingdom. It is sited 224 miles 74 chains (362.0 kilometres) from Carlisle via Perth, on the Dundee to Aberdeen line, and is situated between Laurencekirk and Portlethen. There is a crossover at the southern end of the station, which can be used to facilitate trains turning back if the line towards Aberdeen is blocked.[3]

Stonehaven
National Rail
General information
LocationStonehaven, Aberdeenshire
Scotland
Coordinates56°58′00″N 2°13′32″W / 56.9667°N 2.2256°W / 56.9667; -2.2256
Grid referenceNO863861
Managed byScotRail
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeSTN[1]
History
Original companyAberdeen Railway
Pre-groupingCaledonian Railway
Post-groupingLMS
Key dates
1 November 1849Station opened
late 19th centurymodernised & extended
Passengers
2018/19Decrease 0.470 million
2019/20Decrease 0.452 million
2020/21Decrease 65,246
2021/22Increase 0.286 million
2022/23Increase 0.360 million
Listed Building – Category C(S)
Designated23 March 2006
Reference no.LB50270[2]
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

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The station seen in 2022

The station was opened as part of the Aberdeen Railway on 1 November 1849. This later became part of the Scottish North Eastern Railway and then the Caledonian Railway. The North British Railway began serving it in 1883, with the opening of the line from Arbroath to Kinnaber Junction via Montrose – this has been the only route south since the closure of the original main line to Perth via Coupar Angus in September 1967.

In 1899, work started to improve the station. The platforms were raised, widened, and extended southward over the bridge to the south of the station. The buildings on the down platform were also replaced.[4][5]

The station previously had a third platform, a bay facing north. The land where this once stood is now used as parking. There was also a station building on the northbound platform which has since been demolished.

On 12 August 2021, one year after the Stonehaven derailment occurred at Carmont, southwest of Stonehaven railway station, a plaque was unveiled dedicated to the three people killed in the derailment.[6]

Stonehaven also has a B listed signal box with a 40 lever Stevens and Sons frame.

Facilities

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The station is equipped with a ticket office and an accessible toilet on platform 1, with help points, benches and waiting rooms on both platforms, as well as car parks adjacent to both platforms. Platform 2 also has a ticket machine. Both platforms have step-free access to their car parks, but they are linked by a stepped subway.[7]

Services

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Trains on both the Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line and the Glasgow to Aberdeen Line call here, though some services to and from Glasgow skip this station outside peak periods. Four London North Eastern Railway services also call each way Mondays - Saturdays (three to/from London King's Cross, the other to/from Leeds), along with the two CrossCountry services between Aberdeen and Plymouth/Edinburgh. The Caledonian Sleeper also operates to London Euston six days per week (not on Saturday nights).[8]

Service frequencies to the station were improved in 2018 as part of a revised timetable funded by Transport Scotland. A new "Aberdeen Crossrail" commuter service was introduced between Montrose and Inverurie, which calls hourly in each direction at Stonehaven (in addition to existing services) and the other intermediate stations.[9][8]

Preceding station   National Rail Following station
Montrose   CrossCountry
Cross Country Route
  Aberdeen
Laurencekirk
or Terminus
  ScotRail
Dundee–Aberdeen line
  Portlethen
Laurencekirk
To Montrose
  ScotRail
Aberdeen Crossrail
  Portlethen
To Inverurie
Montrose   Caledonian Sleeper
Highland Caledonian Sleeper
  Aberdeen
Montrose   London North Eastern Railway
East Coast Main Line
  Aberdeen
  Historical railways  
Carmont
Line open; Station closed
  Caledonian Railway
Aberdeen Railway
  Muchalls
Line open; Station closed

References

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  1. ^ Deaves, Phil. "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  2. ^ "STONEHAVEN RAILWAY STATION, GOODS SHEDS". Historic Scotland. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  3. ^ 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. ISBN 978-1909431-26-3.
  4. ^ "Extension of Stonehaven railway station". Montrose, Arbroath and Brechin review. 8 September 1899. p. 8.
  5. ^ "Skeleton Found". The Press and Journal. 16 May 1900. p. 11.
  6. ^ "Trains stop for one minute to remember Stonehaven crash victims". BBC News. 12 August 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  7. ^ "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  8. ^ a b eNRT May 2022 Edition, Tables 050, 214
  9. ^ "‘Rail revolution’ means 200 more services and 20,000 more seats for Scots passengers" Archived 2016-08-20 at the Wayback MachineTransport Scotland press release 15 March 2016; Retrieved 19 August 2016

Bibliography

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