Nairn railway station
Nairn railway station is a railway station serving the town of Nairn in Scotland. The station is managed and served by ScotRail and is on the Inverness Line, between Forres and Inverness Airport, measured from Perth via the former Dava route. It is a category B listed building.
History
The station was first opened on 7 November 1855 by the Inverness and Nairn Railway. In 1857, the line was extended eastwards to Dalvey. The route from Aberdeen to Inverness was merged into one company, the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway, in 1861.In 1885 the Highland Railway Company agreed to improve the facilities at Nairn. The station buildings were replaced with improved accommodation for passenger and staff. The gables of the cross wings were surmounted with the Scotch thistle, the Prince of Wales feather, and other designs sculpted in stone. The masonry work was completed by Mr. Squair of Nairn. At the same time a new station master’s house was erected. The platforms were extended to around and raised in height to the level of the carriages. A new iron foot bridge over the line connected the platforms, avoiding passengers using a foot crossing over the running lines. The bridge over Cawdor Road was also widened at the same time. The work was completed in 1886.
The station was notable for being the last working example of Highland Railway signalling principles, where a signal box was provided at each end to work the signals & points whilst the key token instruments for working the single line were located in the main building. The distance between the boxes was such that a bicycle was officially provided by BR for the signaller to use.
Control of the signalling at the station has since transferred to a new workstation in the Inverness signalling centre, following a 10-day line closure that also saw the loop at Elgin lengthened and a new station and loop commissioned at Forres. A replacement bus service ran whilst the work was in progress, with the line reopening on schedule on 17 October 2017.