Kyle of Lochalsh line

The route was built in three sections:

• Inverness and Ross-shire Railway between Inverness and Dingwall, opening on 1 October 1864.
• Dingwall and Skye Railway between Dingwall and Stromeferry, opening on 19 August 1870.[2]
• Kyle of Lochalsh Extension (Highland Railway) between Stromeferry and Kyle of Lochalsh, opening on 2 November 1897.[3]

The Strathpeffer Branch operated between 1885 and 1951.[4]

In 1933, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway introduced two named trains on the line, The Hebridean and The Lewisman.[5]

In July 1939 a landslide between Attadale and Stomeferry derailed an engine and six freight vans. The landslide was caused by recent heavy rains.[6]

In 1949 it was planned to relocate Lochluichart station to allow the flooding of the area by the Glascarnoch-Luichart-Torr Achilty hydroelectric scheme.[7] On 3 May 1954 a new station was opened as Lochluichart.[8] The deviation required about 2-mile (3.2 km) on stone-pitched embankments and in rock cuttings, a 100-foot (30 m) bridge over the River Conon and a 36-foot (11 m) bridge.[9]

In the 1960s the line was listed to be closed under the Reshaping of British Railways report; however it was reprieved and services continued.[10]

In 1970, British Rail wanted to close the line when Ross and Cromarty council voted to create a new £460,000 (equivalent to £7,200,000 in 2019)[11] ferry terminal at Ullapool (43 miles from Stornoway) replacing that at Kyle of Lochalsh (71 miles from Stornoway).[12] In December 1971 it was reported that the costs of operating the line were £318,000 per annum (equivalent to £4,530,000 in 2019),[11] with revenue of £51,000 per annum (equivalent to £730,000 in 2019),[11] and the Secretary of State for Transport agreed that the line should close,[13] but a spirited local campaign again succeeded in reversing this decision and keeping it open.

In 1989 the bridge over the River Ness at Inverness was washed away, leaving both the Kyle line and the Far North Line stranded, but new "Sprinter" trains were brought over by road, and a temporary yard was built to service them at Muir of Ord. The section of line along Loch Carron is particularly troublesome and prone to landslides, often closing that section.

ScotRail Class 158s at Strathcarron

From 1999 onwards, the then ScotRail operator, National Express, began the removal of the Class 156 "Sprinter" trains. Their replacement was to be the faster, higher standard Class 158s. These trains offered a better all round travelling experience, with air conditioning, improved speed, lighting, seating, storage and general comfort. There is now a dedicated fleet of Class 158 units based at Inverness serving the Kyle of Lochalsh line, the Far North Line to Wick and Thurso, and the Aberdeen to Inverness Line. The next franchise owner First ScotRail had continued the current situation, with improvement to the depot facilities at Inverness.

A Class 158 at Kyle of Lochalsh, the Isle of Skye can be seen across the water.

The view from Duirinish. Skye can be seen in the background with a covering of snow.

The stations on the line that have passing loops are Muir of Ord, Dingwall, Garve, Achnasheen and Strathcarron. Only Dingwall and Kyle stations are staffed, however all stations along the route have lighting and passenger information posters with train timetable details. Most have passenger information telephone points fitted so that remote customer service staff can be contacted. Normal office hours apply. Along the route there are 29 bridges and 31 cuttings.

The Kyle of Lochalsh Line was featured in Eddie McConnell's lyrical documentary The Line to Skye (1973) with commentary by Scottish writer William McIlvanney, commissioned as part of Ross & Cromarty's campaign to keep the line open at a time when it was threatened with closure. The film follows the train from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh, describing the communities, landscape and wildlife along its route, while contrasting the frustration of motorists with the relaxation of the journey by rail.[15]

In Stephen Durrell's 1939 documentary West of Inverness, the importance of the Kyle of Lochalsh line to the crofters of the West Highlands is demonstrated through its role of transporting passengers, mail, parcels, food and livestock to and from their communities. The film shows the LMS steam locomotives that operated the line at this time.[16]

In the episode of Great Railway Journeys of the World "Confessions of a Trainspotter" (1980), Michael Palin travels from London to the Kyle of Lochalsh and returns with the railway station's sign.

Video 125 Ltd. produced a driver's eye view documentary of the line in 1987, when the service was still operated using loco-hauled trains, in this case motive power being provided by Class 37 no. 37262 named Dounreay after the nuclear power station. Narration was by Paul Coia.

Nicholas Whittaker travelled the line both ways during the summer of 1973, an experience he wrote about in his 1995 book Platform Souls.[17]

As with the other railway lines of the western Highlands (the West Highland Railway and the Callander and Oban Railway), John Thomas wrote a comprehensive and highly readable history, The Skye Railway.

• Thomas, John (1977). The Skye Railway. David and Charles. ISBN 0 7153 7383 8.
• Kelly, Peter (September 1983). "Pearls beyond price". Rail Enthusiast. EMAP National Publications. pp. 23–33. ISSN 0262-561X. OCLC 49957965.
• Dunn, Pip (22 October – 4 November 1997). "The Skye survivor". RAIL. No. 316. EMAP Apex Publications. pp. 40–41. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.
• Vallance, H.A. (November 1966). "The Northern Highland Lines Today: Part One – Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh". Railway Magazine. Vol. 112 no. 787. pp. 612–616.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kyle of Lochalsh Line.

• RailScot - Dingwall and Skye Railway
• RailScot - Kyle of Lochalsh Extension Railway
• RailScot - Strathpeffer Branch
• Route on OpenStreetMap (Dingwall–Kyle of Lochalsh)
• Timetable World - Historical timetables for this line
• Kyle of Lochalsh Station in 2018
• Views of the stations in 1970