Broughty Ferry railway station

Summary

Broughty Ferry railway station is a railway station serving the suburb of Broughty Ferry in Dundee, Scotland. It is sited 3 miles 38 chains (5.6 km) from the former Dundee East station, on the Dundee to Aberdeen line, between Dundee and Balmossie.[5]

Broughty Ferry

Scottish Gaelic: Port Bhruachaidh[1]
National Rail
Broughty Ferry railway station
General information
LocationBroughty Ferry, Dundee City
Scotland
Coordinates56°28′04″N 2°52′27″W / 56.4677°N 2.8741°W / 56.4677; -2.8741
Grid referenceNO462309
Managed byScotRail
Platforms2
Other information
Station codeBYF[2]
Key dates
8 October 1838[3]Opened
Passengers
2018/19Increase 57,454
2019/20Increase 91,678
2020/21Decrease 21,720
2021/22Increase 76,182
2022/23Increase 84,268
Listed Building – Category A
Designated8 May 1985
Reference no.LB25823[4]
Location
Broughty Ferry is located in Dundee City council area
Broughty Ferry
Broughty Ferry
Location within Dundee City council area
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

It is the oldest railway station in Scotland which is still in operation.[6]

History edit

The station was opened on 8 October 1838 on the Dundee and Arbroath Railway.[3]

Accidents and incidents edit

At 7:20 pm on 21 October 1991, a Dundee bound AberdeenLondon Intercity express destroyed two out of the four gates of the level crossing. The fifty passengers on board and five people in a passing car were fortunate to avoid collision when the train passed through the crossing at around 80 miles per hour.[7] The gates had not been closed before the train passed the level crossing. Dundee District Council (now defunct) had previously postponed planning permission to modernise the gates.[citation needed]

Facilities edit

 
The station seen in 2014

The station is unstaffed, with benches and help points available on both platforms, plus a payphone and cycle racks on platform 1, although a shelter is available on platform 2. Step-free access is available to both platforms from the main road, but both platforms are also joined via the subway.[8] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.

Passenger volume edit

In recent years, passenger usage has grown phenomenally, from under 10,000 in 2011–12 to over 90,000 in 2019–20, including a 24,000 rise between 2018–19 and 2019–20. 15 years earlier, usage hovered around 5,000 passengers per year.[9]

Passenger Volume at Broughty Ferry[9]
2002–03 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23
Entries and exits 5,237 4,943 4,996 6,271 6,277 5,918 5,570 5,362 9,288 23,180 34,970 41,246 43,276 40,718 43,330 57,454 91,678 21,720 76,182 84,268

The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.

Services edit

Service frequencies at the station have varied significantly over the years - prior to 1990, there were regular local trains to Arbroath and Dundee or Perth throughout the day along with a small number of longer-distance workings. For the next twenty years, only a handful of trains (4 per day each way on average) stopped here, but since then there has a gradual increase in provision following a campaign by the local authority & rail user groups (for example, eight additional stops were added in December 2011).[10]

As of May 2023, on weekdays and Saturdays there is an hourly service in each direction, to Dundee westbound (with one extended to Glasgow and one to Perth), and eastbound to Arbroath (with one extended to Aberdeen, one to Inverurie and one to Inverness). On Sundays, there are only 3 northbound services to Aberdeen and 4 southbound services: two to Edinburgh, one to Glasgow Queen Street and one to Perth.[11]

Preceding station   National Rail Following station
Dundee   ScotRail
Dundee–Aberdeen line
  Balmossie
  Historical railways  
West Ferry
Line open: Station closed
  Dundee and Arbroath Railway   Monifieth
Line and Station open
West Ferry
Line open: Station closed
  Dundee and Arbroath Railway
Broughty Ferry Pier Branch
  Broughty Ferry Pier
Line and Station closed
West Ferry
Line open, Station closed
  Caledonian Railway
Dundee and Forfar Direct Line
  Barnhill
Line and Station closed

References edit

  1. ^ Brailsford, Martyn, ed. (December 2017) [1987]. "Gaelic/English Station Index". Railway Track Diagrams 1: Scotland & Isle of Man (6th ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. ISBN 978-0-9549866-9-8.
  2. ^ Deaves, Phil. "Railway Codes". railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b Quick 2022, p. 105.
  4. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Broughty Ferry, Gray Street, Railway Station including Subway (Category A Listed Building) (LB25823)". Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  5. ^ Bridge, Mike, ed. (2017). TRACKatlas of Mainland Britain: A Comprehensive Geographic Atlas Showing the Rail Network of Great Britain (3rd ed.). Sheffield: Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. p. 92. ISBN 978 1909431 26 3.
  6. ^ "Fun facts - station edition | ScotRail". www.scotrail.co.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  7. ^ "80 mph train misses five "by yards"". Dundee Courier and Advertiser. 23 October 1991. pp. 11, 14.
  8. ^ "National Rail Enquiries -". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  9. ^ a b "Estimates of station usage | ORR Data Portal". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  10. ^ Reporter (16 September 2011). "Campaign pays off with more train stops at Broughty Ferry". The Courier. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  11. ^ eNRT May 2023, Table 214

Bibliography edit

  • Quick, Michael (2022). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain: A Chronology (PDF) (5th ed.). London: Railway and Canal Historical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.

External links edit

  • Train times and station information for Broughty Ferry railway station from National Rail
  • RailScot History of Broughty Ferry station