Oban railway station is a railway station serving Oban in Scotland. It is the terminus of one branch of the highly scenic West Highland Line, sited 71 miles 44 chains (115.1 km) from Callander, via Glen Ogle.[3] It was originally the terminus of the Callander and Oban Railway. All services are operated by ScotRail, who also manage the station.
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| General information | |||||
| Location | Oban, Argyll and Bute Scotland | ||||
| Coordinates | 56°24′44″N 5°28′30″W / 56.4121°N 5.4749°W | ||||
| Grid reference | NM857298 | ||||
| Managed by | ScotRail | ||||
| Platforms | 2 (numbered 3 & 4) | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | OBN[2] | ||||
| History | |||||
| Original company | Callander and Oban Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | Callander and Oban Railway operated by Caledonian Railway | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 30 June 1880 | Opened | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2019/20 |  0.169 million | ||||
| 2020/21 | 89,004 | ||||
| 2021/22 |  0.155 million | ||||
| 2022/23 | 0.186 million | ||||
| 2023/24 | 0.222 million | ||||
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Oban station provides interchange with the adjacent ferry terminal, offering connections to a number of destinations in the Inner and Outer Hebrides via ferry services operated by Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac). Oban is CalMac's busiest ferry terminal.
History
edit
Oban station opened on 30 June 1880 as the terminus of the Callander and Oban Railway,[4] which joined the present railway at Crianlarich, and which was absorbed into the LMS Railway in 1922.[5] Two additional platforms were constructed on the west side of the station in 1904, following the opening of the branch from Connel Ferry to Ballachulish. The route from Dunblane and Callander to Crianlarich closed in 1965, as well as the Ballachulish line.[6] Formerly, a branch to Ballachulish railway station diverged just east of Connel Ferry railway station. A triangular junction was planned at Connel, but never completed.
Facilities
editThe station is well-equipped with a ticket office, toilets, a help point, a car park, bike racks and a pay phone. All of the station has step-free access.[7]
Passenger volume
edit| 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 | 101,553 | 113,830 | 110,000 | 109,053 | 108,903 | 126,676 | 119,876 | 121,746 | 125,900 | 122,568 | 129,311 | 170,682 | 176,104 | 164,332 | 181,172 | 177,522 | 169,174 | 89,004 | 154,970 | 186,138 |
The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April
Services
editOn Monday to Fridays, there are six trains per day to Glasgow Queen Street, plus an additional afternoon service that runs only as far as Dalmally, primarily for schools traffic. On Saturdays, the service is very similar to that on weekdays, with the exception of the Dalmally train, which does not run. On Sundays there are four trains per day to Glasgow Queen Street all year round.[9][10]
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connel Ferry | ScotRail West Highland Line |
Terminus | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Connel Ferry Line and station open |
Callander and Oban Railway Caledonian Railway |
Terminus | ||
Oban Ferry Terminal
edit
Oban station is located next to Oban ferry terminal. Caledonian MacBrayne ferries sail daily from here to the islands of Lismore, Colonsay, Coll, Tiree, to Craignure on Mull, to Castlebay on Barra and to Lochboisdale (winter only) on South Uist. Ferries also operate to Mallaig. The times of connecting trains to/from Glasgow Queen Street are included on CalMac timetables.[11]
| Preceding station | National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ferry services
|
||||
| Scalasaig | Caledonian MacBrayne Oban – Colonsay |
Terminus | ||
| Craignure | Caledonian MacBrayne Oban – Mull |
Terminus | ||
| Achnacroish | Caledonian MacBrayne Oban – Lismore |
Terminus | ||
| Scarinish | Caledonian MacBrayne Oban – Coll & Tiree |
Terminus | ||
| Arinagour | ||||
| Castlebay | Caledonian MacBrayne Oban – Barra |
Terminus | ||
| Lochboisdale | Caledonian MacBrayne Oban – South Uist (winter only) |
Terminus | ||
References
edit- ^ Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. "Gaelic/English Station Index". Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
- ^ Deaves, Phil. "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
- ^ Bridge, Mike, ed. (2017). TRACKatlas of Mainland Britain: A Comprehensive Geographic Atlas Showing the Rail Network of Great Britain (3rd ed.). Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. p. 87. ISBN 978-1909431-26-3.
- ^ Quick 2023, p. p=348.
- ^ Thomas, John; Turnock, David (1989). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 15: North of Scotland. Newton Abbot: David & Charles (Publishers). ISBN 0-946537-03-8.
- ^ Thomas, John (1966). The Callander and Oban Railway (1st ed.). Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. OCLC 2316816.
- ^ "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
- ^ eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 218
- ^ eNRT December 2021 Edition, Table 218
- ^ "Oban". CalMac Ferries. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
Bibliography
edit- Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
- Fryer, Charles (1989). The Callander and Oban Railway. Oxford: Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-8536-1377-X. OCLC 21870958.
- Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
- Quick, Michael (2023). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain: A Chronology (PDF) (5th ed.). London: Railway and Canal Historical Society.
External links
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