# Dalwhinnie railway station

Dalwhinnie railway station is a railway station serving the village of Dalwhinnie, Highland, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is on the Highland Main Line, 58 miles 47 chains (94.3 km) from Perth, between Blair Atholl and Newtonmore. There is a crossover at the south end of the station to allow trains to turn back if the line north to Newtonmore is closed.

## History

The station opened in 1863. The station buildings were completed in 1864 by Joseph Mitchell & Company.

### Accidents and incidents

In early March 1881, during a severe snow storm a passenger train was stranded for 20 hours two miles from Dalwhinnie. Employees of the railway company were dispatched to the Dalwhinnie Hotel to procure food and refreshments for the passengers, but the gale and drift were so severe that the effort failed. In the darkness the employees failed to reach the hotel. Eventually the employees escorted the 15 passengers in daylight two miles to the hotel but it took them two hours. Some passengers chose to remain on the train but as there was no relief in the weather, and the train being completely covered by snow by the next day, they too were escorted to the hotel.
On 4 July 1927 the body of the station master, William Maclaren was found in the burned out station buildings. He had sustained a bullet wound to the head.
In 1938, John Ross joined a train from Dalwhinnie. He leaned out of the window and waved to friends on the platform. He failed to observe a water tank at the side of the line and the protruding hose hanging from the tank struck him and he was pulled out of the carriage window and fell onto the line. He suffered a fractured leg and other injuries and was treated at the Royal Northern Infirmary.
On 10 April 2021, an HST derailed near Dalwhinnie. The line between Aviemore and Pitlochry was closed.

## Facilities

Dalwhinnie has very basic facilities, being a small car park and bike racks adjacent to platform 1, benches on both platforms and a waiting shelter (within which there is also a payphone) on platform 1. There is step-free access to platform 1 only: platform 2 can only be accessed from the footbridge. As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.

## Platform layout

It has a passing loop 35 chains (700 m) long, flanked by two platforms. Platform 1 on the southbound line can accommodate trains having five coaches, whereas platform 2 on the northbound line can hold nine. The passing loop continues south towards Blair Atholl as double-track line.

## Passenger volume

Passenger Volume at Dalwhinnie :
| | 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 | 2,066 | 1,619 | 2,013 | 1,774 | 1,975 | 2,296 | 2,208 | 1,894 | 1,984 | 2,172 | 2,472 | 2,460 | 2,392 | 3,188 | 3,372 | 3,368 | 3,226 | 614 | 1,960 | 2,832 |
The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

## Services

As of May 2022, there are five daily departures in each direction on weekdays and Saturdays to Inverness, and 5 southbound (2 to Edinburgh and 3 to Glasgow Queen Street). The Caledonian Sleeper between Inverness and London Euston also calls here (set down only northbound, pickup only southbound). On Sundays, there are only three trains northbound to Inverness (one of which extends to Elgin), and three south to Edinburgh, including the Caledonian Sleeper.
| Preceding station | National Rail | National Rail | National Rail | Following station |
| Blair Atholl or Pitlochry | | ScotRail Highland Main Line | | Newtonmore or Kingussie |
| Blair Atholl | | Caledonian Sleeper (Highland Caledonian Sleeper) | | Newtonmore |
| | Historical railways | Historical railways | Historical railways | |
| Dalnaspidal Line open; station closed | | Highland Railway Inverness and Perth Junction Railway | | Newtonmore Line and station open |