Far North Line
| Far North Line | |
|---|---|
Train near Muir of Ord.
|
|
| Overview | |
| System | National Rail |
| Status | Operational |
| Locale |
Inverness Highland Scotland |
| Termini | Wick/Thurso Inverness |
| Stations | 25 |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1862-1874 |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Operator(s) | Abellio ScotRail |
| Character | Rural |
| Rolling stock | Class 158 "Express Sprinter" |
| Technical | |
| Number of tracks | Single track with Passing loops |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
The Far North Line is a rural railway line entirely within the Highland area of Scotland, extending from Inverness to Thurso and Wick. It is the northernmost railway in the United Kingdom. The line has many sections of single track, mostly north of Dingwall. In common with other railway lines in the Highlands and northern Lowlands, it is not electrified and all trains are diesel-powered.
Like the A9 road north of Inverness, the Far North Line generally follows the line of the east-facing Moray Firth coast. Much of the population of the far north of Scotland is concentrated in coastal areas and, in places, the railway is almost on the shore, the track running along the raised beaches left behind as land rebounded following the end of the last Ice Age.
The railway links many of the same places as the road. Many more places were served by both the railway and the road before three new road bridges were built: across the Moray Firth (between Inverness and the Black Isle), the Cromarty Firth and the Dornoch Firth. The railway is now, in many places, a long way inland from the route of the A9.
The railway loops inland from Tain to Lairg, which has never been on the A9, a diversion intended at the time of construction to open the centre of Sutherland to trade. The route then returns to the coast at Golspie. Beyond Golspie, the railway continues along the coast as far as Helmsdale, then inland up the Strath of Kildonan and then across the Flow Country to Halkirk and back to the east coast at Wick. At Georgemas Junction near Halkirk, there is a branch to Thurso.
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Wikipedia