Thurso railway station

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Template other Thurso railway station is a railway station located in Thurso, in the Highland council area in the far north of Scotland. It serves the town and its surrounding areas, along with ferry services linking the mainland with Stromness on the Orkney Islands.

The station, opened in 1874 by the Sutherland and Caithness Railway, is the terminus of a branch line off the Far North Line. It is not the terminus for passenger services on the line, which instead extend to Wick. It is the northernmost station on mainland Britain's National Rail network and is managed by ScotRail, which operates all services to the station.

Location and facilities

The station is situated at the end of a short branch line off the Far North Line. It is down the line from the start of the branch at Template:Rws, and from Template:Rws.

Thurso has a single platform, which is long enough to accommodate a nine-carriage train.Template:Sfn It is fully wheelchair-accessible and has a part-time ticket office. There is also a small car park, waiting rooms, and toilets.

History

File:Disused cattle pens and siding at Thurso - geograph.org.uk - 624386.jpg

The disused goods line, seen in 2007

There were plans for a railway to Thurso as early as the 1860s, but funding could not be obtained for its construction. In 1870, a survey was conducted and land was offered in Thurso, to begin the funding process. The station was built and opened with the rest of the Sutherland and Caithness Railway on 28 July 1874 after a special train ran to inspect the station and the line on 25 July. Despite being the northernmost station on the line, Thurso was not built as the terminus for passenger services, with trains instead reversing and continuing further east to Wick. This was necessary due to the difficult terrain, including a hill and a valley, which would have been encountered if the railway decided to take the most direct route to Wick by following the existing road.

Thurso was built with a single platform, a goods line at the rear platform face, and a small goods yard and engine shed.Template:Rp A wrought-iron turntable, in diameter, was built at the station by the Railway Steel and Plant Company of Manchester.

Along with passenger services, the station has also seen some goods traffic. Its connection to the Orkney Islands played an important role in both World War I and World War II, with trains carrying soldiers and goods bound for Scapa Flow.Template:Rp Before the Dounreay nuclear site was constructed, Thurso station was surveyed for the possibility of extending the line towards the site. However, an extension was considered more likely to originate from Forsinard, which is off the Thurso branch line. The extension was never built, and materials were transported to Thurso station instead.Template:Rp

The turntable was removed in the mid-1950s, and the engine shed was removed prior to the introduction of diesel services in May 1961.Template:Rp The station roof was refurbished in 1999, prior to the introduction of services operated by Class 158 trains.

Services

File:158710 Thurso.jpg

A passenger train at the station

As of the December 2023 timetable, the station is served by eight trains per day to Template:Rws on weekdays and Saturdays, of which four continue to Template:Rws (via Template:Rws, Template:Rws, Template:Rws, Template:Rws and Template:Rws), and four continue to Template:Rws. On Sundays the frequency drops to two trains per day to Georgemas Junction, of which one goes to Inverness and one to Wick.

Preceding station	National Rail National Rail			Following station
Template:Rws	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 Far North 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;" |	Template:Rws
	Historical railways
Template:Rws Line open, station closed		Highland Railway Sutherland and Caithness Railway Thurso Branch		Template:Rws Line open, station closed

External links

• Train times and station information for Thurso railway station from National Rail
• RAILSCOT article on Sutherland and Caithness Railway
• RAILSCOT page on Thurso