Falls of Cruachan railway station


Falls of Cruachan railway station is a railway station located at the foot of Ben Cruachan in Scotland. This station is on the Oban branch of the West Highland Line, originally part of the Callander and Oban Railway.

Services

All services at Falls of Cruachan are operated by Abellio ScotRail. However, unlike other stations on the line, the station is only open in the summer months from March to October every year. This is because the station is mainly used by hikers in the summer months, who walk past the falls to climb Ben Cruachan.
When the station is operational, four eastbound trains to and five westbound trains to stop on weekdays and Saturdays along with three each way on Sundays.

History

The station opened on 1 October 1893 with a single platform on the south side of the line. It was closed on 1 November 1965.

Reopening

The station was reopened on 20 June 1988 by BR's West Highland Area Business Group, at a cost of just £10,000 – achieved by collecting "dumped" concrete sleepers from the lineside all over the Highlands and having them stacked at the site of the old station here. They were topped by slabs, and BR's Business Manager Highland, Callum MacLeod persuaded the then Strathclyde Regional Council to rebuild the footpath down to the A85 and to install a pavement from there to the Cruachan Power Station Visitors Centre about 300 yards away. There is no station lighting, so trains call during daylight hours only. Col. Dalziel, retiring as Chairman of the Scottish TUCC, performed the opening ceremony. Some years later, a shelter and better signing were added to the halt.

Signalling

Although Falls of Cruachan station has never had any signalling directly associated with it, its platform falls within the four mile stretch of railway that is protected by the Pass of Brander stone signals.

Accidents

On 6 June 2010, a two carriage train from Glasgow to derailed near Falls of Cruachan station. The train derailed shortly before 8.53 p.m. and was left balanced precariously on a embankment. There was also a minor fire. Sixty passengers had been on board the train, but all were safely evacuated down the line to the station with no major injuries. Nine people were injured. The train hit a boulder that had fallen onto the track. The train crew later received a commendation for the actions they took to protect their passengers.