Oban railway station
Oban  | |
|---|---|
| Scottish Gaelic: An t-Òban | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Place | Oban |
| Local authority | Argyll and Bute |
| Coordinates | 56°24′44″N 5°28′30″W / 56.4121°N 5.4749°WCoordinates: 56°24′44″N 5°28′30″W / 56.4121°N 5.4749°W |
| Grid reference | NM857298 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | OBN |
| Managed by | Abellio ScotRail |
| Number of platforms | 2 |
|
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries | |
| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2004/05 | 0.114 million |
| 2005/06 |
 0.110 million |
| 2006/07 |
0.109 million |
| 2007/08 |
 0.109 million |
| 2008/09 |
 0.157 million |
| 2009/10 |
0.120 million |
| 2010/11 |
0.122 million |
| 2011/12 |
0.126 million |
| 2012/13 |
0.123 million |
| 2013/14 |
0.129 million |
| 2014/15 |
0.170 million |
| History | |
| Original company | Callander and Oban Railway |
| Pre-grouping | Callander and Oban Railway operated by Caledonian Railway |
| 1 July 1880 | Opened |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Oban from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
 UK Railways portal | |
Oban railway station is a railway station serving Oban in Scotland. It is the terminus of one branch of the highly scenic West Highland Line 101.3 miles (163 km) north of Glasgow Queen Street. It was originally the terminus of the Callander and Oban Railway. Services are operated by Abellio ScotRail.
Oban station provides interchange with the adjacent ferry terminal, offering connections to a number of destinations in the Inner and Outer Hebrides via ferry services operated by Caledonian MacBrayne (Cal Mac). Known as the "Gateway to the Isles", Oban is Cal Mac's busiest ferry terminal,
History
Oban station opened on 1 July 1880. A ticket platform (long since disused but still in situ) was located on the west side of the single line, about half a mile to the south. Just south of there, a short branch line diverged to the east, towards a goods yard and engine shed.
Two additional platforms were constructed on the west side of the station in 1904, following the opening of the branch from Connel Ferry to Ballachulish.
Following closure of the goods yard and engine shed, a rail-connected oil storage depot occupied part of the site for a number of years, although this has itself since closed.
Since 1982, only the 1904-built platforms remain in use (still numbered as Platforms 3 and 4). The present small station building was officially opened on 3 January 1986, the occasion being marked by the naming of two Class 37 locomotives. Despite it being a listed building, the original station building was subsequently demolished.
Signalling
Since its opening on 1 July 1880, the single line between Dalmally and Oban was worked by the electric token system, this being the first ever application of that system in everyday service.
Oban originally had two signal boxes, namely Oban Station signal box (the larger of the two), and Oban Goods Junction signal box. The latter was situated about a quarter mile further south, where the line to the goods yard and engine shed diverged from the single line. The original signal boxes contained 21 and 5 levers, respectively. The single line between the two boxes was doubled in 1881.
In connection with the station's enlargement, Oban Station Signal Box was replaced (on the opposite side of the line and slightly nearer the station) in 1904. The new box contained a frame of 64 levers, subsequently shortened to 48. Oban Goods Junction S.B. was replaced in 1929.
Oban Goods Junction S.B. closed on 4 May 1969. Oban Station S.B. closed on 5 December 1982, when a 'no signalman' system of electric token working was introduced on the section from Taynuilt signal box. The last remaining semaphore signals were removed at that time, including the signal gantry.
The Radio Electronic Token Block system was introduced in 1988 and the Train Protection & Warning System was installed in 2003.
Services
2014
Monday-Friday, there are 7 trains a day, 6 going to Glasgow Queen Street, and 1 terminating at Dalmally. On Saturdays, there are 5 services to/from Glasgow Queen Street. On Sundays until 26 October, there are 3 trains to/from Glasgow Queen Street, with a 4th train running to/from Edinburgh Waverley from 22 June until 24 August. From 2 November, there is just one train to/from Glasgow Queen Street.
2016
The Monday to Friday service remains the same as 2014 and also runs on Saturdays (save for the afternoon Dalmally train, which doesn't run at weekends). On Sundays, there are 4 trains each way in summer (with one through train to Edinburgh) and 3 in the winter months.[1]
Ferries
Oban station is located next to Oban ferry terminal. Caledonian MacBrayne ferries sail daily from here to the islands of Lismore, Colonsay, Islay, Coll, Tiree, to Craignure on Mull, to Castlebay on Barra and to Lochboisdale on South Uist. The times of connecting trains to/from Glasgow Queen Street are included on Cal Mac timetables.
In 2005 a new ferry terminal was opened, and in 2007 a second linkspan opened, allowing two vessels to load/unload at the same time.
| Preceding station | National Rail |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connel Ferry | Abellio ScotRail West Highland Line |
Terminus | ||
 Ferry services |
||||
| Scalasaig | Caledonian MacBrayne Oban – Colonsay |
Terminus | ||
| Achnacroish | Caledonian MacBrayne Oban – Lismore, Mull, Coll & Tiree |
Terminus | ||
| Arinagour | ||||
| Craignure | ||||
| Castlebay | Caledonian MacBrayne Oban – Outer Hebrides |
Terminus | ||
| Lochboisdale | ||||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Connel Ferry Line and station open |
Callander and Oban Railway Caledonian Railway |
Terminus | ||
References
- ↑ GB National Rail Timetable May 2016 Edition, Table 227
Sources
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oban railway station. |
- Butt, R. V. J. (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 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.
- Fryer, Charles (1989). The Callander and Oban Railway. Oxford: Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-8536-1377-X. OCLC 21870958.
- 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 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137.