Insch railway station

Insch railway station is a railway station serving the village of Insch, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The station is managed by ScotRail and is on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line, between Inverurie and Huntly, 27 miles 47 chains (44.4 km) from Aberdeen.^{[4][page needed]}

Insch Scottish Gaelic: Innis[1]
View from Insch railway station looking west towards Hill of Dunnideer (2004)
General information
Location	Insch, Aberdeenshire Scotland
Coordinates	57.3374°N 2.6168°W / 57.3374; -2.6168
Grid reference	NJ629276
Managed by	ScotRail
Platforms	2
Other information
Station code	INS[2]
History
Pre-grouping	Great North of Scotland Railway
Key dates
20 September 1854[3]	Opened
Passengers
2019/20	57,690
2020/21	11,038
2021/22	42,090
2022/23	52,348
2023/24	61,436
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

History

The station was opened by the Great North of Scotland Railway on 20 September 1854, on the route from Aberdeen to Keith.^[5]

In 2019, the platforms were extended to a length of 160m as part of a series of improvements to the Aberdeen to Inverness line.^[6]

Facilities

The station building accommodates the Insch Connection Museum, which records the history of the railway in Insch and the local region. The station has two platforms, a signal box and a level crossing at its northern end. Both platforms are equipped with waiting rooms and benches. A help point is located on platform 2, whilst there is a ticket machine on platform 1, the latter of which is adjacent to the car park and some bike racks. Only platform 1 has step-free access - a footbridge connects the two platforms, and is the only way to get to platform 2.^[7]

Passenger volume

Passenger Volume at Insch^[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	53,325	62,261	66,432	65,823	72,644	79,466	82,706	86,854	93,712	107,122	113,922	122,404	118,378	98,140	88,362	69,952	57,690	11,038	42,090	52,348

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

There is a basic two-hourly frequency in each directions (with peak extras), to Inverness via Elgin northbound and Aberdeen southbound (12 trains southbound, 11 northbound). The first departure to Aberdeen each weekday and Saturday continues south to Edinburgh Waverley, and another continues to Stonehaven in the evening. On Sundays there are five trains each way.^[9]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Inverurie		ScotRail Aberdeen to Inverness Line		Huntly
	Historical railways
Buchanstone Line open; Station closed		Great North of Scotland Railway GNoSR Main Line		Wardhouse Line open; Station closed

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. Quick 2022, p. 256.
4. 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. ISBN 978-1909431-26-3.
5. Quick 2022, p. p=256.
6. "Finishing the job – redoubling Aberdeen to Inverurie | Rail Engineer". 4 December 2019. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
7. "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
8. "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
9. eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 214

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.
• 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 (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 Insch railway station from National Rail
• Insch Connection Museum