General view, looking south | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Blair Atholl,Perth and Kinross Scotland | ||||
| Coordinates | 56°45′55″N3°50′59″W / 56.7653°N 3.8496°W /56.7653; -3.8496 | ||||
| Grid reference | NN870652 | ||||
| Managed by | ScotRail | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | BLA[2] | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 9 September 1863 | Opened asBlair Athole[3] | ||||
| 1872 | Possibly renamed toBlair Athol[3] | ||||
| 1893 or 1894 | Renamed toBlair Atholl[3] | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2019/20 | |||||
| 2020/21 | |||||
| 2021/22 | |||||
| 2022/23 | |||||
| 2023/24 | |||||
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Blair Atholl railway station is a railway station serving the village ofBlair Atholl,Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The station is managed byScotRail and is on theHighland Main Line, 35 miles 9 chains (56.5 km) fromPerth, betweenPitlochry andDalwhinnie. There is a crossover at the north end of the station to allow trains to turn back if the line south to Pitlochry is closed.[4]

The station was opened by theInverness and Perth Junction Railway on 9 September 1863.[3]
One of the first visitors to the station wasQueen Victoria, who arrived in a Royal Train on 15 September 1863 during a visit toBlair Castle to seeGeorge Murray, 6th Duke of Atholl, who was very ill.[5] For its first thirty years until 1893, the station was named 'Blair Athole';[3] the present B-listed station was renamed to its current name in the 1890s.[3]
It originally had a 770-yard (700 m) long passing loop, which was flanked by the two platforms, but this has since been extended northwards as double track as far asDalwhinnie.[6]
There are benches on both platforms, with a waiting shelter on platform 2 and natural shelter from the station buildings on platform 1, with a small car park and bike racks adjacent to the latter. As well as the footbridge between the platforms, there is also step-free access to both platforms (from the car park to platform 1 and from the level crossing to platform 2).[7] As there are no facilities to purchase tickets, passengers must buy one in advance, or from the guard on the train.
The station has apassing loop 35 chains (700 m) long, with two platforms. Platform 1 on the southbound line can accommodate trains having seven coaches, whereas platform 2 on the northbound line can hold eleven. Beyond here the line is double track as far asDalwhinnie.[4]
| 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 | 8,613 | 11,708 | 11,896 | 10,491 | 10,443 | 10,580 | 11,572 | 13,948 | 12,608 | 14,280 | 14,084 | 16,062 | 16,652 | 17,598 | 19,802 | 21,008 | 18,388 | 3,688 | 11,870 | 13,402 |
The statistics cover twelve month periods that start in April.
As of the May 2022 timetable, on weekdays and Saturdays there are 5 trains per day northbound (all going to Inverness), and 6 trains per day southbound (three toGlasgow Queen Street, two toEdinburgh and the southboundCaledonian Sleeper, picking up only, weekdays only). A reduced service operates on Sundays, with 3 trains per day to Inverness (1 of which extends toElgin), and 2 trains to Glasgow and 2 trains to Edinburgh, including theHighland Chieftain toLondon Kings Cross, as well as the Caledonian Sleeper.[9]
| Preceding station | Following station | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitlochry | London North Eastern Railway Sundays, Southbound Only Highland Main Line | Newtonmore | ||
| Pitlochry | ScotRail Highland Main Line | Dalwhinnie or Newtonmore or Kingussie | ||
| Pitlochry | Caledonian Sleeper Highland Caledonian Sleeper Southbound only | Dalwhinnie | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Killiecrankie Line open; station closed | Highland Railway Inverness and Perth Junction Railway | Black Island Platform Line open; station closed | ||