Highland Main Line

Highland Main Line
The Highland Main Line viaduct over the River Findhorn at Tomatin
Overview
Type	Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Perth and Kinross Highland Scotland
Termini	Perth Inverness
Stations	10
Operation
Owner	Network Rail
Operator(s)	Abellio ScotRail Virgin Trains East Coast Caledonian Sleeper
Rolling stock	Class 43 "HST" Class 158 "Express Sprinter" Class 170 "Turbostar" Class 800 "Azuma" (from 2018-19)
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)

The Highland Main Line is a railway line in Scotland. It is 118 mi (190 km) long and runs through the Scottish Highlands linking a series of small towns and villages with Perth at one end and Inverness at the other. Today, services between Inverness and Edinburgh, Glasgow and London use the line. At Inverness the line connects with the Far North Line, the Aberdeen-Inverness Line and services on the Kyle of Lochalsh Line. All trains are diesel-powered, since the line is not electrified.

Much of the Highland Main Line is single track, and trains coming in opposite directions are often timed to arrive at stations at the same time, where crossing loops permit them to pass. Journey times between Inverness and Edinburgh or Glasgow are approximately three and a half hours.

The vast majority of the line was built and operated by the Highland Railway with a small section of the line between Perth and Stanley built by the Scottish Midland Junction Railway, amalgamated with the Aberdeen Railway to become the Scottish North Eastern Railway in 1856, and then absorbed by the Caledonian Railway in 1866. Originally, the line between Inverness and Perth went via Forres, but the Inverness and Aviemore Direct Railway was opened in 1898 to allow for a more direct routeing.