, symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Mallaig railway station from The Jacobite 02.jpg , borough = Main Street,

Mallaig, Highland Mallaig (; gd, Malaig derived from Old Norse , meaning sand dune bay) is a port in Lochaber, on the west coast of the Highlands of Scotland. The local railway station, Mallaig, is the terminus of the West Highland railway line (Fort William ...

, country = Scotland , coordinates = , grid_name =

Grid reference A projected coordinate system, also known as a projected coordinate reference system, a planar coordinate system, or grid reference system, is a type of spatial reference system that represents locations on the Earth using cartesian coordin ...

, grid_position = , manager = ScotRail , platforms = 2 , code = MLG , original =

Mallaig Extension Railway The Mallaig Extension Railway is a railway line in Highland, Scotland. It runs from Banavie Junction (New) on the Banavie Pier branch of the West Highland Railway to Mallaig. The previous "Banavie Junction" closer to Fort William was renamed ...

West Highland Railway The West Highland Railway was a railway company that constructed a railway line from Craigendoran (on the River Clyde west of Glasgow, Scotland) to Fort William and Mallaig. The line was built through remote and difficult terrain in two stages ...

, pregroup = North British Railway , postgroup =

LNER LNER may refer to: * London and North Eastern Railway, a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1923 until 1947 * London North Eastern Railway, a train operating company in the United Kingdom since 2018 * Liquid neutral earthing resistor, a typ ...

, years = 1 April 1901 , events = Station openedButt (1995) , mpassengers = , footnotes = Passenger statistics from the

Office of Rail and Road The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the economic and safety regulation of Britain's railways, and the economic monitoring of National Highways. ORR regulates Network Rail by setting its ...

, embedded = Mallaig railway station is a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

serving the ferry port of

Mallaig, Lochaber Mallaig (; gd, Malaig derived from Old Norse , meaning sand dune bay) is a seaport, port in Lochaber, on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The local railway station, Mallaig railway station, Mallaig, is the ter ...

, in the

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

region of Scotland. This station is a terminus on the

West Highland Line The West Highland Line ( gd, Rathad Iarainn nan Eilean - "Iron Road to the Isles") is a railway line linking the ports of Mallaig and Oban in the Scottish Highlands to Glasgow in Central Scotland. The line was voted the top rail journey in the ...

, by rail from and from

Glasgow Queen Street , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Queen Street railway station (geograph 6687389).jpg , caption = Main entrance in 2020 , borough = Glasgow , country = Scotland , coordinates = , grid_name = Grid reference , grid_positi ...

. The station building is Category C listed. ScotRail, who manage the station, operate most of the services.

History

Mallaig station opened on 1 April 1901. The station was laid out as an

island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...

with tracks on either side. There were sidings on both sides, and a

turntable A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

to the south of the station, on the west side of the line, right beside the sea. Until 1968 two tracks continued down onto the pier, which was built and originally owned by the West Highland Railway Company. The tracks were removed when the harbour passed from British Rail ownership to that of the Mallaig Harbour Authority. The glass overall roof was removed in 1975 and the ticket office was extended at the same time. In 1978, Lochaber divisional planning committee agreed to a proposed £34,000 extension to the station which allowed for the station to be extended in a south western direction on part of the existing platform area. The extension included permission for a permanent tourist office within the existing building, and also a parcels office, mess room and concourse. In 1998 Railtrack announced expenditure of £90,000 to repair the station.

Signalling

From the time of its opening in 1901, the Mallaig Line was worked throughout by the electric token system. Mallaig signal box was situated south of the station, on the east side of the line. On 14 March 1982, the method of working on the section between and Mallaig was changed to ''One Train Working'' (with train staff). Mallaig signal box was closed as a token station, but retained as a

ground frame Mechanical railway signalling installations rely on lever frames for their operation to interlock the signals, track locks and points to allow the safe operation of trains in the area the signals control. Usually located in the signal box, th ...

with four levers. All the

semaphore signals Railway semaphore signal is one of the earliest forms of fixed railway signals. This semaphore system involves signals that display their different indications to train drivers by changing the angle of inclination of a pivoted 'arm'. Semaphore ...

were removed. On 6 December 1987 the

Radio Electronic Token Block Radio Electronic Token Block is a system of railway signalling used in the United Kingdom. It is a development of the physical token system for controlling traffic on single lines. The system is slightly similar to North American Direct Traffic ...

(RETB) system was commissioned between Mallaig Junction (now called 'Fort William Junction') and Mallaig. The RETB is controlled from a Signalling Centre at

Banavie railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Banavie Station (geograph 5324117).jpg , caption = The platform at Banavie with Ben Nevis's peak covered in cloud and snow. , borough = B ...

. In November 1992, the former signal box was demolished and replaced by an ordinary ground frame. The

Train Protection & Warning System The Train Protection & Warning System (TPWS) is a train protection system used throughout the British passenger main-line railway network, and in Victoria, Australia. The British Rail Safety and Standards Board's definition is: The purpose of TPW ...

was installed in 2003.

Facilities

The station is equipped with a spacious ticket office (adjacent to the car park), inside of which is a help point and the toilets. The island platform has seats, cycle racks and luggage trolleys. The station has step-free access.

Passenger volume

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services

The railway line from Mallaig is noted as a scenic route, especially as it passes along the

Glenfinnan Viaduct The Glenfinnan Viaduct is a railway viaduct on the West Highland Line in Glenfinnan, Inverness-shire, Scotland, built from 1897 to 1901. Located at the top of Loch Shiel in the West Scottish Highlands, the viaduct overlooks the Glenfinnan Monu ...

out of Mallaig, so many journeys to and from the station are typically leisure travellers. Most scheduled train services out of Mallaig railway station are operated by ScotRail. Currently, four trains a day depart Monday to Saturdays from Mallaig for Fort William, three of which continue to

(the fourth terminates at Fort William to connect with the ''

Caledonian Sleeper ''Caledonian Sleeper'' is the collective name for overnight sleeper train services between London and Scotland, in the United Kingdom. It is one of only two currently operating sleeper services on the railway in the United Kingdom, the other b ...

'' to

London Euston Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city rail ...

). On Sundays, three trains depart for Fort William, with two trains continuing on to Glasgow. Mallaig is also the destination of a special tourist steam train operated by

West Coast Railways West Coast Railways (WCR) is a railway spot-hire company and charter train operator based at Carnforth MPD in Lancashire. Using buildings and other facilities previously owned by the Steamtown Carnforth visitor attraction, in June 1998 the com ...

, '' The Jacobite'', which runs sightseeing trips non-stop to Fort William running twice daily, Monday to Friday (with additional weekend services during the summer months).eNRT December 2021 Edition, Table 218

Mallaig Ferry Terminal

Armadale-Mallaig ferry arriving at Mallaig - geograph

The Ferry port is located in front of the railway station, approximately away.

Caledonian MacBrayne Caledonian MacBrayne ( gd, Caledonian Mac a' Bhriuthainn), usually shortened to CalMac, is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries, and ferry services, between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west ...

operate ferry services from Mallaig to Armadale on the Isle of Skye, a thirty-minute sailing, as well as daily services to the

Small Isles The Small Isles ('' gd, Na h-Eileanan Tarsainn'') are a small archipelago of islands in the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland. They lie south of Skye and north of Mull and Ardnamurchan – the most westerly point of mainla ...

of Canna,

Rùm Rùm (), a Scottish Gaelic name often anglicised to Rum (), is one of the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides, in the district of Lochaber, Scotland. For much of the 20th century the name became Rhum, a spelling invented by the former owner, Sir ...

Eigg Eigg (; gd, Eige; sco, Eigg) is one of the Small Isles in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. It lies to the south of the Isle of Skye and to the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Eigg is long from north to south, and east to west. With an a ...

and

Muck Muck most often refers to: *Muck (soil), a soil made up primarily of humus from drained swampland Muck may also refer to: Places Europe * Muck, Scotland, an island * Isle of Muck, County Antrim, a small island connected by sand spit to Portmu ...

, although the timetable, itinerary and calling points differ from day to day. A small, independent ferry service run by former lifeboatman Bruce Watt sails up

Loch Nevis Loch Nevis (Scottish Gaelic: ''Loch Nibheis'') is a sea loch in Lochaber on the west coast of Scotland. It runs inland from the Sound of Sleat, and is bounded on the north by the peninsula of Knoydart and on the south by North Morar (the region ...

to the remote village of

Inverie Inverie (; ) is the main village on the Knoydart peninsula in the Scottish Highlands. It is located on the north side of Loch Nevis and, although on the mainland of Britain, the network of single-track roads surrounding the village is not conne ...

Knoydart Knoydart (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cnòideart'') is a peninsula in Lochaber, Highland, on the west coast of Scotland. Knoydart is sandwiched between Lochs Nevis and Hourn — often translated as "Loch Heaven" (from the Gaelic ''Loch Néimh'') an ...

, and also calls by prior arrangement at Tarbet in

Morar Morar (; gd, Mòrar) is a small village on the west coast of Scotland, south of Mallaig. The name Morar is also applied to the northern part of the peninsula containing the village, though North Morar is more usual (the region to the south we ...

, locations that are only accessible by sea. Both Cal Mac and Bruce Watt also offer non-landing sightseeing tickets.

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Video footage of the station on YouTube
{{Railway stations served by ScotRail Railway stations in Highland (council area) Former North British Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1901 Railway stations served by ScotRail Railway stations serving harbours and ports in the United Kingdom James Miller railway stations 1901 establishments in Scotland Mallaig Category C listed buildings in Highland (council area) Listed railway stations in Scotland