Culrain railway station
Culrain railway station serves the village of Culrain in Kyle of Sutherland in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is located on the Far North Line. It is from, between Ardgay and Invershin. ScotRail, who manage the station, operate all services.
History
The station opened in 1871, as part of the Sutherland Railway, later becoming part of the Highland Railway and later the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.The original nameboard is now preserved at the Bredgar and Wormshill Light Railway, in Kent.
Location
The station is close to Carbisdale Castle, which operated from 1945 to 2011 as a youth hostel owned by the Scottish Youth Hostels Association. The hostel has been closed since 2011 as a result of structural damage. Following its sale to a consortium in 2016, planning permission was granted in 2017/2018 to turn the castle back into a private residence but now with swimming pool.Facilities
The station has a waiting shelter, a bench, a help point and cycle racks, and has step-free access. As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.On 20 December 2022, Transport Scotland introduced a new "Press & Ride" system at Culrain, following successful trials of the system at over the previous four months. Previously, passengers wishing to board a train at Culrain had to flag the train by raising their arm ; this meant that the driver needed to reduce the train's speed before a request stop, even if the platform was empty. The new system consists of an automatic kiosk at the platform; this will alert the driver about any waiting passengers in advance and, if there is no requirement to stop, the train can maintain line speed through the request stops, thus improving reliability on the whole line.