Beasdale railway station

56°54′00″N 5°45′50″W / 56.9001°N 5.7640°W / 56.9001; -5.7640Grid referenceNM709850Managed byScotRailPlatforms1Other informationStation codeBSL^[2]HistoryOriginal companyMallaig Extension Railway of West Highland RailwayPre-groupingNorth British RailwayPost-groupingLNERKey dates1 April 1901Station opened^[3]6 September 1965Opened to the public^[4]Passengers2018/19 3422019/20 3242020/21 02021/22 1622022/23 170

Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Beasdale railway station is a railway station serving Glen Beasdale in the Highland region of Scotland. This station is on the West Highland Line, sited 28 miles 49 chains (46.0 km) from the former Banavie Junction, between Lochailort and Arisaig.^[5] ScotRail manage the station and operate all services.

History

It was originally a private station for the nearby Arisaig House,^[6] and the station was thus originally opened on 1 April 1901,^[7] but was fully open to the public from 6 September 1965.^[8]

The former station building is now a private holiday cottage.^[6]

Facilities

The station is equipped with a bench, a shelter and a help point, with a small car park adjacent to the station.^[9]

Passenger volume

Beasdale was one of six railway stations in Britain to see zero passengers in the 2020/21 period, due to decreased travel throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It is therefore Britain's joint-least-used station alongside Abererch, Llanbedr, Sampford Courtenay, Stanlow and Thornton and Sugar Loaf.

It has been noted to consistently be one of the lesser-used stations across Scotland.^[10][11]

Passenger volume at Beasdale^[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	489	349	264	307	213	200	272	378	376	410	506	472	366	312	418	342	324	0	162	170

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

There are four trains per day to Mallaig on Monday to Saturday, and three trains on Sunday. In the opposite direction, there are three through trains per day to Glasgow Queen Street (via Fort William) and one train per day to Fort William with a connecting train to Glasgow, Edinburgh and London Euston. On Sunday there are two Glasgow trains and one to Fort William.^[13][14]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Lochailort		ScotRail West Highland Line		Arisaig
	Historical railways
Lochailort Line and Station open		North British Railway Mallaig Extension Railway of West Highland Railway		Arisaig Line and Station open

References

Bibliography

• Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
• 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.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
• Quick, Michael (2022). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain: A Chronology (PDF) (5th ed.). London: Railway and Canal Historical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
• Wills, Dixe (2014). Tiny Stations (Paperback, 1st reprint ed.). Basingstoke: AA Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7495-7732-2.

External links