Fort William railway station

File:Fort William station, 1957 (geograph 5316051).jpg

File:Fort William station and the loch wall - 1973 - geograph.org.uk - 477575.jpg

The first station was constructed by the West Highland Railway which was later absorbed by the North British Railway. They chose a site for the station alongside the town shipping pier, which required the purchase of a strip of the foreshore. The railway company bought this for £25 ({{Inflation|UK|25|1890|r=-2|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}){{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} an acre.{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=John |author-link= |date=1965 |title=The West Highland Railway |url= |location= |publisher=David St John Thomas |page=60 |isbn=0946537143}} Purchase of this land displaced some people from their houses and the railway company was obliged to provide replacement housing. Other residents realised too late that the railway line cut the town off from the shore and the company responded by providing some wicket gate crossings.

It was opened by the Marchioness of Tweedale, Candida Louisa Bartolucci, wife of the chairman of the North British Railway, William Hay, 10th Marquess of Tweeddale{{cite news |author= |title=West Highland Railway | url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000295/18940813/085/0004 |newspaper=DundeeAdvertiser |location=Scotland |date=13 August 1894 |access-date=7 November 2021 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription }}

on 7 August 1894. They had departed by special train comprising two locomotives and eleven carriages from Glasgow at 8.15am, and arrived in Fort William at 1.30pm. It was sited to the west of the present station on what is now the A82 town bypass, alongside Loch Linnhe at Station Square, at the time in close proximity to then location of the former Caledonian MacBrayne bus station. The old station was a stone built construction featuring a turret and a double arched entranceway and had three platforms. Two of the platforms terminated under the platform canopy, but the third continued past the station, crossing the MacBrayne pier and terminated at the jetty just beyond.{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=John |author-link= |date=1965 |title=The West Highland Railway |url= |location= |publisher=David St John Thomas |page=85 |isbn=0946537143}}

In 1970 the British Railways Board put forward proposals to re-site the station {{convert|700|yd|m}} north of its location to allow the improvements to the A82 to be implemented.{{cite news |author= |title=British Railways Board. Re-siting of Fort William Railway Station | url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000578/19700305/187/0010 |newspaper=Aberdeen Press and Journal |location=Scotland |date= 5 March 1970 |access-date=7 November 2021 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription }} The last train from the old station departed on 7 June 1975{{cite news |author= |title=Last train given big send off at Fort-William | url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000578/19750609/395/0020 |newspaper=Aberdeen Press and Journal |location=Scotland |date= 9 June 1975 |access-date=7 November 2021 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription }} and the station closed on 9 June. It was demolished immediately afterwards to permit construction of the bypass.Fort William re-sited The Railway Magazine issue 892 August 1975 page 377

The present Fort William station of grey concrete construction was opened on 13 June 1975. The current station lies in the shadow of Ben Nevis.

During high winds in February 1980 a brick wall at the station collapsed onto the track and blocked a platform.{{cite news |author= |date=5 February 1980 |title=Winds |newspaper=Aberdeen Press and Journal |location=Scotland |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000445/19800205/006/0001 |url-access=subscription |access-date=7 November 2021 |via=British Newspaper Archive}}

Since its opening in 1975, the present Fort William station has been equipped with colour light signals. The signalling is controlled from an 'NX' (entrance-exit) panel in Fort William Junction signal box. The single line between the junction and the station is worked by the Track Circuit Block system, so no tokens are needed for that part of the route.

Refurbishment of the facilities at Fort William railway station was completed in 2007 thanks to a £750,000 investment.{{cite news |date=20 October 2007 |title=Full steam ahead for new transport hub |work=Lochaber News |url=http://www.lochaber-news.co.uk/News/Full-steam-ahead-for-new-transport-hub-1746.htm |access-date=6 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416003830/http://www.lochaber-news.co.uk/News/Full-steam-ahead-for-new-transport-hub-1746.htm |archive-date=16 April 2016}} The refurbishment includes new shower facilities and refurbished toilets. The shower facilities include two showers for ladies, two for gentlemen and one unisex shower facility for disabled people.{{Citation needed|date=August 2022}}

The island platform is also equipped with a few shops and restaurants, a ticket office, bike racks, a car park and a taxi rank, and some benches. All areas of the station are step-free.{{Cite web |title=National Rail Enquiries - |url=https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations-and-destinations/stations-made-easy/fort-william-station-plan |access-date=2022-09-02 |website=www.nationalrail.co.uk}}

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

File:Fort William station.jpg

Fort William has three daytime trains per day in each direction on Mondays to Saturdays, running between {{Stnlnk|Glasgow Queen Street}} and {{Stnlnk|Mallaig}}. There is also a daily early morning service to Mallaig that starts at Fort William, with a similar return service in the evening, which connects with the Caledonian Sleeper. The regular Sunday service consists of two train per day each way between Glasgow and Mallaig, with the schedule in the peak season supplemented by one service between Fort William and Mallaig.

The Caledonian Sleeper operates six nights per week (not Saturday nights) to and from {{Stnlnk|London Euston}}, starting and terminating at Fort William. The sleeper also carries seated coaches and can thus be used as a regular service train to/from Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Waverley.

The Jacobite operates non-stop between Fort William and Mallaig. This runs all year round, with a maximum of two trains per day Monday to Saturday and one on Sunday. A reduced Jacobite timetable is operated later in the summer.eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 218eNRT December 2021 Edition, Table 218eNRT May 2022 Edition, Table 220

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• West Highland Railway

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book |editor-last=Brailsford |editor-first=Martyn |title=Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man |edition=6th |date=December 2017 |orig-year=1987 |publisher=Trackmaps |location=Frome |isbn=978-0-9549866-9-8 }}
• {{Butt-Stations}}
• {{Jowett-Atlas}}
• {{Jowett-Nationalised}}

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• {{cite web| url=http://www.railbrit.co.uk/West_Highland_Railway/frame.htm| website=RAILSCOT| title=West Highland Railway| date=2 April 2012}}
• {{cite web| url=http://www.railscot.co.uk/Mallaig_Extension_Railway/frame.htm| website=RAILSCOT| title=Mallaig Extension Railway| date=24 March 2012}}
• {{cite web| url=http://treintjes.fotki.com/extra_bureaubladen/schotland_2006/| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205202826/http://treintjes.fotki.com/extra_bureaubladen/schotland_2006/| archive-date=5 February 2012| title=schotland 2006| website=treintjes.info| language=nl}}

{{Railway stations served by ScotRail}}

{{Railway stations served by Caledonian Sleeper}}

Category:Railway stations in Highland (council area)

Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1894

Category:Former North British Railway stations

Category:Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1975

Category:Railway stations opened by British Rail

Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1975

Category:Railway stations served by ScotRail

Category:Railway stations served by Caledonian Sleeper

Category:Fort William, Highland