Oban railway station

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.

Oban Scottish Gaelic: An t-Òban[1]
General information
Location	Oban, Argyll and Bute Scotland
Coordinates	56.4121°N 5.4749°W / 56.4121; -5.4749
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
2018/19	0.178 million
2019/20	0.169 million
2020/21	89,004
2021/22	0.155 million
2022/23	0.186 million
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

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

Oban station in 1948

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

The 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

Passenger Volume at Oban^[8]

	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

On 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

v t e Caledonian MacBrayne
Legend
Lochboisdale, South Uist to Mallaig Eriskay Ardmore, Barra Castlebay, Barra Baile Mòr, Iona Fionnphort, Mull Tobermory, Mull Kilchoan Fishnish, Mull Lochaline Craignure, Mull Scarinish, Tiree Arinagour, Coll Achnacroish, Lismore Scalasaig, Colonsay to Port Askaig & Kennacraig Oban  A85  to Glasgow Queen Street

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

1. 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.
2. Deaves, Phil. "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
3. 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.
4. Quick 2023, p. p=348.
5. 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.
6. Thomas, John (1966). The Callander and Oban Railway (1st ed.). Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. OCLC 2316816.
7. "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
8. "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
9. eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 218
10. eNRT December 2021 Edition, Table 218
11. "Oban". CalMac Ferries. Retrieved 19 September 2022.

Bibliography

• 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

• Video footage of the station on YouTube