Connel Ferry railway station

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Template other Connel Ferry railway station is a railway station serving the village of Connel in western Scotland. This station is on the Oban branch of the West Highland Line, originally part of the Callander and Oban Railway, between Oban and Taynuilt, sited from Callander via Glen Ogle. All services are operated by ScotRail, who also manage the station.

History

File:"Sprinter" Train at Connel Ferry, 1994 - geograph.org.uk - 2715244.jpg

The station seen in 1994

The station was opened in either 1880 or 1903, and in its heyday, when it served a branch to Ballachulish, it had three platforms, a goods yard and a turntable. Later this was reduced to just the single platform, after the branch closed in 1966, as it remains today.

Accidents and incidents

During the 1968 demolition of Connel Ferry West signal box, contractors burning the wooden remains set fire to the track formation. Despite efforts to put the fire out, it continued to burn for several days, causing the embankment to crumble and smoke to issue from fissures in the trackbed. This resulted in a 5 mph speed restriction being imposed and, at the time, caused concerns that the line may be forced to close.

Facilities

Facilities at the station are basic, consisting of just a shelter, a bench, bike racks, a help point and a small car park. As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.

Passenger volume

Passenger Volume at Connel Ferry

	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	2,686	3,268	3,482	3,834	4,058	4,330	4,088	4,056	4,316	4,004	4,400	8,564	6,592	6,262	7,272	6,996	7,220	14,552	15,630	18,620

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

There are 7 departures in each direction weekdays, with 6 on Saturdays, with trains heading eastbound to Template:Rws and westbound to Template:Rws. On weekdays only, the 7th service in each direction runs from Oban to Template:Rws and back. On Sundays, there are three departures each way throughout the year, plus a fourth in the summer months only to Edinburgh Waverley, which only runs from late June–August.

Preceding station	National Rail National Rail			Following station
Taynuilt	style="background:#Template:ScotRail colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |	ScotRail West Highland Line	style="background:#Template:ScotRail colour; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |	Oban
	Historical railways
Ach-na-Cloich Line open; Station closed		<div style="height:8px; background-color:#; color:inherit; border:none; margin:0 -5px -2px;">		Oban Line and station open
		<div style="height:8px; background-color:#; color:inherit; border:none; margin:0 -5px -2px;">		North Connel Line and station closed

External links

• Train times and station information for Connel Ferry railway station from National Rail