Spean Bridge railway station
Railway station in Highland, Scotland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Spean Bridge railway station is a railway station serving the village of Spean Bridge in the Highland region of Scotland. This station is on the West Highland Line, between Roy Bridge and Fort William, sited 90 miles 56 chains (146 km) from Craigendoran Junction, near Helensburgh.[4] ScotRail manage the station and operate most services, along with Caledonian Sleeper.
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| General information | |||||
| Location | Spean Bridge, Highland Scotland | ||||
| Coordinates | 56.8899°N 4.9215°W | ||||
| Grid reference | NN221814 | ||||
| Manager | ScotRail | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | SBR[2] | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 7 August 1894 | Opened | ||||
| 22 July 1903 | Services to Fort Augustus commenced | ||||
| 1 December 1933 | Passenger service to Fort Augustus withdrawn | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2020/21 |  946 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  4,836 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 5,932 | ||||
| 2023/24 | 7,850 | ||||
| 2024/25 | 7,516 | ||||
Listed Building – Category C(S) | |||||
| Designated | 5 October 2010 | ||||
| Reference no. | LB51615[3] | ||||
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History
The station opened on 7 August 1894.[5] The station buildings were designed by James Miller.[6]
Between 1903 and December 1933, there was a branch line from this station which offered service north up the Great Glen to Fort Augustus, terminating at a pier on Loch Ness. The North British railway extended Spean Bridge adding a bay platform at the west end at a cost of £303 0s 5d (equivalent to £31,853.55 in 2025)[7] to accommodate Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway trains.[8] The I&FA line was not successful. Passenger services stopped in 1933 and the line was eventually abandoned completely in 1947.[9]
The station was host to a LNER camping coach from 1936 to 1939.[10] A camping coach was also positioned here by the Scottish Region from 1961 until all camping coaches in the region were withdrawn at the end of the 1969 season.[11]
Facilities
The station buildings are on platform 1, which passengers can use for shelter, whilst platform 2 only has a rudimentary glass structure. The help point is on platform 1, and the car park and bike racks are also adjacent to this platform. Both platforms have step-free access.[12] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.
Passenger volume
| 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 | 2023–24 | 2024–25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entries and exits | 5,911 | 5,725 | 6,361 | 6,345 | 6,570 | 6,312 | 6,386 | 6,960 | 6,558 | 6,808 | 7,240 | 7,332 | 6,262 | 7,444 | 7,452 | 7,832 | 946 | 4,836 | 5,932 | 7,850 | 7,516 |
The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.
Services
Mondays to Saturdays, the station is served by three ScotRail trains per day in each direction, northbound to Mallaig and southbound to Glasgow Queen Street, along with the Highland Caledonian Sleeper between London Euston and Fort William via Edinburgh Waverley (the latter doesn't run southbound on Saturday nights or northbound on Sunday mornings). Sundays see two trains per day call each way, as well as the southbound sleeper. The sleeper also carries seated coaches and thus can be used by regular travellers to/from Glasgow Queen Street (Low Level) and Edinburgh.[14]
| Preceding station |  National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roy Bridge | ScotRail West Highland Line |
Fort William | ||
| Caledonian Sleeper Highland Caledonian Sleeper |
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| Historical railways | ||||
| Roy Bridge Line and Station open |
West Highland Railway | Fort William Line and Station open | ||
| Terminus | Invergarry and Fort Augustus Railway | Gairlochy Line and Station closed | ||
