Inverness station was opened on 5 November 1855 as the western terminus of the Inverness and Nairn Railway to designs by the architect, Joseph Mitchell. The station originally comprised a single covered passenger platform with three lines of rails, one for arrivals, one for departures and a spare line for carriages. In 1857 the railway company erected a clock in front of the station facing Academy Street. This clock by Bryson & Sons, Princes Street, Edinburgh, was illuminated at night. In 1865 the station was enlarged. The platform was lengthened to and a shed added which was long, wide and high. There were double lines for north and south traffic. The platforms were extended again to and the platform roofs were extended in 1876 by Murdoch Paterson. The station platforms were lit by electricity for the first time in 1908. In 1933, as part of an internal reorganization, the London and North Eastern Railway closed their offices at the station and the staff relocated to Aberdeen. Between 1966 and 1968 under British Rail the station buildings were replaced, the new design by Thomas Munro and Company. It is now the terminus of the Highland Main Line, the Aberdeen–Inverness line, the Kyle of Lochalsh line and the Far North Line. A revamp by Mott Macdonald of the station's frontage, forecourt and concourse is planned to be completed by 2018.
Inverness is owned by Network Rail. However, it is operated byAbellio ScotRail who run most of the services using the station. Caledonian Sleeper and London North Eastern Railway run the only non-ScotRail services. The station itself sits at one apex of a triangular junction in the centre of Inverness, with each half of the station connected to one line. The Highland Main and Aberdeen Lines both approach the station from the east and use Platforms 1–4, while the Far North Line approach from the north-west and use Platforms 5–7. Platform 5 also has a connection from the east side, but it is only usable by a two car train, and even then, it must not be in passenger service and movements from Platform 5 to the east line are not allowed. Platform 1 is long enough for a 13-coach train; platform 2 can hold 15 coaches; platforms 3 and 4, eight each; and platforms 5–7 will accommodate five coaches each. The third chord runs between Rose Street Junction on the Far North Line and Welsh's Bridge Junction on the Aberdeen/Perth line. The Aberdeen and Perth lines diverge at Millburn Junction a short distance beyond Welsh's Bridge. Platforms 1–4 are from ; Millburn Junction, from Perth, is also from Perth. The station is the zero point for the Far North Line, and platforms 5–7 are along this line; Rose Street Junction, along the Far North Line, is from Perth. Signalling for the entire area is controlled from a panel box near the station built in 1988. This supervises the station area & approaches and also houses the Radio Electronic Token Block control desk that monitors the full length of the Kyle & Far North lines. RETB was installed by British Rail. Platform destination LED screens are installed, along with a main departures and arrivals information board. Each of Platforms 1-7 has its own screen showing departures from that platform. Screens are also present behind the wall for all platforms from 3–6. In addition, several other screens are also visible for general information. In early 2020, a massive reconstruction project was announced, which included the neighbouring Sports Direct and TK Maxx stores being purchased as well as the former Royal Mailsorting office and car park. It is part of a plan to majorly reduce CO2 emissions in the City Centre, with this, the ability to have electric trains running to the station suggested electrification of lines north of the central belt. It was also announced that it would have fuelling for hydrogen vehicles as well as e-bike stations.
Services
Rail
As of 2020, Inverness has the following Monday–Saturday services:
1 sleeper train per day to London Euston via Preston and Crewe
On Sundays a reduced service operates on all routes, this being:
4 trains per day to Edinburgh Waverley via Perth
2 trains per day to Glasgow Queen Street
1 train per day to Wick
1 train per day to Kyle of Lochalsh
4 trains per day to Invergordon
1 train per day to London Kings Cross
1 sleeper train per day to London Euston via Preston and Crewe
Future planned improvements
From 2018, this station will be one of those to benefit from a package of timetable enhancements to be introduced by Transport Scotland and Scotrail. The current Perth to Inverness timetable will be increased to hourly each way, with trains south of there running on alternate hours to Edinburgh & Glasgow. Journey times will be reduced by 10 minutes to both cities. The service to Nairn, Forres & Elgin will also be enhanced to hourly and some Aberdeen trains extended through to Dundee and beyond.
Bus
The main coach and bus station is located in Margaret Street, 150 m northwest of and just around the corner from the railway station. Many services can also be joined at the stop on Millburn Road outside Marks and Spencer, closer to the station. Aside from local buses, there are also long-distance coach services which allow rail passengers to continue their journey to areas of the Highlands not on the rail network:
Scottish Citylink route 961 operates two daily return services to Ullapool to connect with Caledonian MacBrayne ferry sailings to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. Rail passengers may also connect with this bus at on the Kyle of Lochalsh line, but the timings are not so convenient.
Scottish Citylink route 919 operates six daily return services down the Great Glen to Fort William, calling at Urquhart Castle, Fort Augustus and intermediate points. Two of these services allow onward connections with Citylink route 918 from Fort William to Oban.
Stagecoach North Scotland route 11 runs every 30 minutes between Inverness city centre and Inverness Airport. The bus leaves from Strothers Lane, just around the corner from the station. Journey time to the airport is 25 minutes.
