The Highland Main Line is a railway line in Scotland. It is 118mi (190km) long and runs through the central Scottish Highlands, mainly following the route of the A9, and linking a series of small towns and villages with Perth at one end and Inverness at the other. Today, services between Inverness and Edinburgh, Glasgow and London use the line. At Inverness the line connects with the Far North Line, the Aberdeen-Inverness Line and the Kyle of Lochalsh Line. All trains are diesel-powered.
Much of the Highland Main Line is single track, and trains coming in opposite directions are often timed to arrive at stations at the same time, where crossing loops permit them to pass. Journey times between Inverness and Edinburgh or Glasgow are approximately three and a half hours.[1]
There are two significant summits on the line: Drumochter Summit (also spelled Druimuachdar) (elevation 1,484 feet (452m)) between Blair Atholl and Dalwhinnie,[2][3][4] and Slochd Summit (elevation 1,315 feet (401m)) between Carrbridge and Inverness.[5] Other distinct features on the route include the viaducts at Culloden and Tomatin, the spectacular mountain pass at Drumochter and the severe gradients encountered in both directions, particularly the extended climb from Inverness to the Slochd summit which averages around 1 in 60 the whole way.
Initially the only double track was between Inverness and Daviot and also Stanley Junction and Perth. In the 1890s the single line working was improved with the replacement of telegraphing orders to trains along the line with staff and tablet control instruments. This was later upgraded to automatic token-exchange apparatus. However, the main improvement came with the doubling of sections of line, designed by the engineer Alexander Newlands, beginning with Blair Atholl to Dalnacardoch (8.25 miles (13.28km)) in 1900, extended to Druimuachdar (8.5 miles (13.7km)) in 1901 and Dalwhinnie (5.5 miles (8.9km)) in 1909.[6] In the 1960s, many sections of the line were converted from double track to single track. In 1976, 23 miles from Blair Athol to Dalwhinie was redoubled.[7][8] In March 2019 Network Rail completed a programme of works to increase capacity on the line and support the introduction of InterCity 125 sets on ScotRail services, with passing loops and platforms extended.[9]
Stations and services
As of 2020, there are stations on the line as follows:
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The Caledonian Sleeper travels overnight between Inverness and London Euston via the West Coast Main Line. The southbound train joins portions from Aberdeen and Fort William at Edinburgh Waverley, and similarly the northbound train divides there. South of Edinburgh it forms the longest locomotive-hauled passenger train in the United Kingdom, with 16 coaches.
The annual passenger usage is based on sales of tickets in stated financial years from Office of Rail and Road estimates of station usage. The statistics are for passengers arriving and departing from each station and cover twelve-month periods that start in April. Methodology may vary year on year. Usage from the periods 2019-20 and especially 2020-21 onwards have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic
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Future
In the Scottish Government's National Transport Strategy, published in February 2020, it was stated that the line would be electrified with overhead lines by 2035.[11]
Baker, Stuart K. (2015) [1977]. Rail Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland (14thed.). Addlestone: Oxford Publishing Co. p. 60, section B2. ISBN978-0-86093-669-5.
Thomas, John; Turnock, David (1989). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain. Volume 15 North of Scotland. David St John Thomas. p.236. ISBN0946537038.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Highland_Main_Line, and is written by contributors.
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