Ardlui railway station

Ardlui railway station is a rural railway station, serving Ardlui at the north end of Loch Lomond, in Scotland. The station is located on the West Highland Line, sited 27 miles 43 chains (44.3 km) from Craigendoran Junction, near Helensburgh, between Crianlarich and Arrochar and Tarbet.^[5] ScotRail manage the station and operate most services, others provided by Caledonian Sleeper.

Ardlui Scottish Gaelic: Àird Laoigh[1]
Looking south towards Arrochar & Tarbet, with the old signal box in view
General information
Location	Ardlui, Argyll and Bute Scotland
Coordinates	56.3019°N 4.7217°W / 56.3019; -4.7217
Grid reference	NN316155
Managed by	ScotRail
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	AUI[2]
History
Original company	West Highland Railway
Pre-grouping	North British Railway
Post-grouping	LNER
Key dates
7 August 1894	Opened[3]
Passengers
2018/19	5,622
2019/20	3,982
2020/21	864
2021/22	3,054
2022/23	3,282
Listed Building – Category C(S)
Designated	29 March 1996
Reference no.	LB43177[4]
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

Trains crossing at Ardlui in 1948

Opened to passengers on 7 August 1894 by the West Highland Railway, then run by the North British Railway,^[6] it became part of the London and North Eastern Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The station was host to an LNER camping coach from 1935 to 1939 and possibly one for some of 1934.^[7] A camping coach was also positioned here from 1964 to 1966.^[8]

Between 1945 and 1948 a station and passing loop were located to the west of Ardlui at Inveruglas which served the passenger and freight requirements of the Sloy hydroelectric scheme.^[9]

Trains have used the procedure of right-hand running at the station since 1988, when RETB (Radio Electric Block Token) was introduced. This in turn makes the station sidings easier to access for engineering trains.^[10]

The former signal box, on the platform itself, now functions as a waiting room. The former waiting room was demolished in the 1970s.^[10]

Facilities

The station seen in 2006

The station has an island platform, equipped with a shelter and a waiting room, benches, bike racks and a help point. The only entrance to the station is directly off the A82, so there is no step free access.^[11] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.

Passenger volume

Passenger Volume at Ardlui^[12]

	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	1,569	2,309	2,344	2,383	1,870	2,212	1,970	2,092	2,260	2,216	4,566	5,074	5,072	5,426	5,104	5,622	3,982	864	3,054	3,282

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

Monday to Saturday, there are six services to Oban and three to Mallaig (the latter combined with Oban portions, dividing at Crianlarich), and one service to Fort William (the Highland Caledonian Sleeper, weekday mornings only) northbound. Southbound, there are six services to Glasgow Queen Street High Level and one service to London Euston via Queen Street Low Level & Edinburgh Waverley (the Highland Caledonian Sleeper, which does not run on Saturday).

On Sundays, there are two trains northbound to Mallaig, with one to Oban, along with the Caledonian Sleeper to Fort William. There is also an extra summer service to Oban. Southbound there are three trains southbound to Glasgow Queen Street. In summer months, the extra summer Sunday service returns to Edinburgh, avoiding Glasgow.^[13][14][15]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Arrochar and Tarbet		ScotRail West Highland Line		Crianlarich
Arrochar and Tarbet		Caledonian Sleeper Highland Caledonian Sleeper		Crianlarich
	Historical railways
Arrochar and Tarbet Line and Station open		West Highland Railway North British Railway		Glen Falloch Halt Line open; Station closed

References

1. Brailsford 2017, Gaelic/English Station Index.
2. Deaves, Phil. "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
3. Butt (1995) page 17
4. "ARDLUI RAILWAY STATION BUILDING WITH SUBWAY AND GATES". Historic Scotland. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
5. 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. 88. ISBN 978-1909431-26-3.
6. Quick 2022, p. 54.
7. McRae 1997, p. 11.
8. McRae 1998, p. 28.
9. McGregor, John (1994). 100 years of the West Highland Railway. ScotRail. p. 71.
10. Jimmy (28 January 2013). "Ardlui - Page 2 of 2". Friends of the West Highland Lines. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
11. "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
12. "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
13. eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 218
14. eNRT December 2021 Edition, Table 218
15. eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 220

Bibliography

• Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
• 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.
• 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.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
• McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.
• McRae, Andrew (1998). British Railways Camping Coach Holidays: A Tour of Britain in the 1950s and 1960s. Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part Two). Foxline. ISBN 1-870119-53-3.
• Quick, Michael (2022). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain: A Chronology (PDF) (5th ed.). London: Railway and Canal Historical Society.

External links

• Train times and station information for Ardlui railway station from National Rail
• Station on navigable O.S. map.
• RAILSCOT on the West Highland Railway