Inverness Railway Station


(Inbhir Nis)

Inverness Railway Station & the Royal Highland Hotel
©2022 Gazetteer for Scotland

Inverness Railway Station & the Royal Highland Hotel

Located is Station Square off Academy Street, in the northeast of the town centre, and adjacent to the Eastgate Shopping Centre, Inverness (Gael: Inbhir Nis) has a significant railway station which serves as a terminus for services coming from Wick, Thurso, Kyle of Lochalsh, Perth and Aberdeen; there are no through-trains providing a passenger service. It lies at the southern apex of a triangular junction. The original station was built in 1855 by Joseph Mitchell (1803-83) for the short Inverness and Nairn Railway. It was extended by Murdoch Paterson (1826-98) in 1876 and a modern but uninspiring entrance was applied in 1968. Operated by ScotRail, Inverness Station is staffed part-time and is used by around 1.3 million passengers per annum (2016). Colourful plaques inside commemorate the building of the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway, and the Directors of that company.

A train maintenance depot, engine sheds and freight sidings are located to the north of the station, while a remarkable roundhouse and turntable complex lying just to the east was demolished in 1963 and is now the site of a supermarket.

The Royal Highland Hotel (formerly the Station Hotel) lies adjacent. This was operated by the state-owned British Transport Hotels group following the nationalisation of the railways in 1948, but sold off in 1982 and is now privately-owned.


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