Kintore railway station is in Kintore, Scotland on the Aberdeen–Inverness line. Originally opened in 1854, it closed in 1964 but was reopened on a different site in 2020.[3][4]
History
Original station
The original station was opened on 20 September 1854 and located around 550 m (600 yd) south of the current station. The station became a junction in 1859 with the opening of a branch to Alford. This branch closed to passengers in 1949. Kintore railway station itself was closed in 1964 as part of the Beeching cuts.[5]
Modern station
Nestrans initially raised the possibility of reopening a Kintore station in 2009 as part of its 2010-2021 Rail Action Plan[6] and it was first discussed in the Scottish Parliament in October that year.[7] Plans to reopen the station were announced in December 2012.[8]
Reopening Kintore was made possible by the completion of phase one of the Aberdeen-Inverness Improvement Project, which redoubled the track between Aberdeen and Inverurie, increasing capacity for new passenger and freight services on the route.[9][5] The station cost £15 million,[10] funded by Transport Scotland, Aberdeenshire Council and Nestrans. The main contractor was BAM Nuttall. Construction started in 2019 with opening planned for May 2020,[11][12] but work was halted between March and July 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic,[13] which caused the opening date to be pushed back to 15 October.[14][15][16]
The new Kintore station is located around 550 m (600 yd) to the north of the old one, on the site of the junction for the now dismantled Alford branch.
Facilities
Facilities include a new footbridge and lifts for step-free access, bike storage facilities and a 168-space car park including disabled parking and 24 charging spaces for electric vehicles. Signs and benches from the original station were refurbished and installed at the new station.[17] The station is accessible generally including ticket machines; there is a waiting room but no ticket office.[18]
Passenger volume
| 2020–21 | 2021–22 | 2022–23 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entries and exits | 8,474 | 66,168 | 85,348 |
The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.
Services
The typical service in trains per hour is:[20]
- 2 tph to Inverurie, of which 1 train per hour 2 hours continues to Inverness
- 2 tph to Aberdeen, of which 1 continues to Montrose
On Sundays, the service to Inverurie is reduced to 1 tph, of which 5 trains per day continue to Inverness, the service to Aberdeen reduces to 1 train per hour, and these trains do not continue to Montrose.
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dyce | ScotRail Aberdeen to Inverness Line |
Inverurie | ||
| Dyce Towards Montrose |
ScotRail Aberdeen Crossrail |
Inverurie Terminus | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Kinaldie Line open; station closed |
Great North of Scotland Railway GNSR Main Line |
Inverurie Line and station open | ||
| Kemnay Line and station closed |
Great North of Scotland Railway Alford Valley Railway |
Terminus | ||
References
- ^ Deaves, Phil. "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
- ^ Butt 1995, p. 135.
- ^ Porter, David (9 October 2020). "Kintore station set for opening". Grampian Online. Archived from the original on 10 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ "Aberdeenshire railway station reopens 56 years after closure". Evening Express. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- ^ a b Work on track for north-east railway station to re-open in 2019 King, Joshua The Press & Journal article 20 April 2016; Retrieved 19 August 2016
- ^ Rail Action Plan 2010-2021 (PDF). Nestrans (Report). 5 January 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 July 2014.
- ^ "Aberdeen Crossrail (Kintore Station) – Debate in the Scottish Parliament at 5:00 pm on 7th October 2009". Theyworkforyou.com. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
- ^ "New rail stations for Kintore and Dalcross"BBC News - NE Scotland, Orkney & Shetland news article 7 December 2012
- ^ "Aberdeen to Inverness Rail Improvement Project, Scotland" Railway-Technology.com; Retrieved 19 August 2016
- ^ "New £15m Kintore station welcomes first passengers". Network Rail. 15 October 2020.
- ^ BAM wins contract for Aberdeenshire station The Construction Index article 30 May 2019; Retrieved 31 May 2019
- ^ Walsh, Stephen (26 March 2019). "Opening of north-east train station pushed back by six months". Press and Journal. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ Porter, David (29 March 2020). "Kintore Station work halted". GRAMPIANONLINE.
- ^ Smith, Claire (3 July 2020). "Covid-19 | Network Rail restarts major projects in Scotland". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ Morrice, Emma (22 August 2020). "New north-east train station planned to open in October". Evening Express.
- ^ "Kintore's first train service in more than 50 years". BBC News. BBC. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- ^ Beattie, Kieran (4 September 2020). "Original signs refurbished and reinstated at new Kintore railway station after decades in a farmer's shed". Press and Journal. Archived from the original on 10 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
- ^ "National Rail Enquiries - Station facilities for Kintore (KTR)". nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- ^ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
- ^ eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 214
Bibliography
- Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
- Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
External links
- Train times and station information for Kintore railway station from National Rail