Dunblane railway station

Dunblane
The Dunblane station pedestrian overpass
Location
Place	Dunblane
Local authority	Stirling
Coordinates	56°11′10″N 3°57′54″W / 56.1860°N 3.9650°W / 56.1860; -3.9650Coordinates: 56°11′10″N 3°57′54″W / 56.1860°N 3.9650°W / 56.1860; -3.9650
Operations
Station code	DBL
Managed by	First ScotRail
Number of platforms	3
Live arrivals/departures and station information from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage
2004/05 *	0.399 million
2005/06 *	0.458 million
2006/07 *	0.466 million
2007/08 *	0.512 million
2008/09 *	0.557 million
History
Original company	Scottish Central Railway and Dunblane, Doune and Callander Railway
Pre-grouping	Caledonian Railway
Post-grouping	LMSR
National Rail - UK railway stations
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
* Annual passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Dunblane from Office of Rail Regulation statistics. Please note: methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Southbound train in SPT colours

Dunblane railway station serves the town of Dunblane in central Scotland.

Facilities

It has three platforms, one which serves as a terminus for trains from Glasgow (Queen Street) and Edinburgh, one which serves trains heading north to Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness. The last of the three platforms serves trains heading to Glasgow and Edinburgh, including those that terminate at Dunblane (which travel up the northbound track to the signal box, before heading back down into the station). The signal box in question now operates only the points and signals at Dunblane station.

The station is staffed by one person who runs the ticket office and does most jobs around the station. Several plants have been placed around the station by a voluntary group known as 'Dunblane in Bloom'.

• Passenger information system
• Automatic ticket machine (on Platform 1)
• Ticket office and waiting room (Mondays - Saturdays, a.m.)
• CCTV
• Waiting shelters and benches
• Limited car parking
• Help point

Services

The train operating company that serves Dunblane station is First ScotRail. Trains generally leave for Edinburgh at 28 and 58 minutes past the hour, and for Glasgow Queen Street at 14 minutes past the hour, though this is supplemented by trains from the north.

Three trains from Glasgow Queen Street to Inverness, 235 km (146 mi) away, stop at Dunblane and four Glasgow to Aberdeen trains per day stop there also.

Additionally, on Sundays only, the East Coast Trains service from Inverness to London Kings Cross stops at Dunblane.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Bridge of Allan		First ScotRail Edinburgh–Dunblane Line		Gleneagles
Bridge of Allan		First ScotRail Croy Line		Terminus
Stirling		First ScotRail Highland Caledonian Sleeper		Gleneagles
	Historical railways
Bridge of Allan Line and Station open		Scottish Central Railway Caledonian Railway		Kinbuck Line open; Station closed
Terminus		Dunblane, Doune and Callander Railway Caledonian Railway		Doune Line and Station closed

Train types

First ScotRail trains serving Dunblane are all DMUs. These consist mainly of Class 158 and Class 170 sets. Some services are still operated by a Class 156. The only exception to this is the Caledonian Sleeper service from Inverness to London Euston, which is a loco hauled rake of Mk2 and Mk3 coaches.

East Coast Trains that pass through the station and stop on a Sunday southbound are HST sets, made up of a pair of Class 43 power cars and nine Mk3 coaches.

Dunblane, Doune and Callander Railway

Dunblane used to be a junction where the present line and the Dunblane, Doune and Callander Railway diverged. This connected at Callander to the Callander and Oban Railway. The line was axed in the Beeching cuts, being formally closed on 5 November 1965.

Parts of the trackbed from near Dunblane to Doune and from Callander to Killin are now cycle paths.

A short section of track remains on the branch, and is used for storing track maintenance machines, or sometimes even a DMU.

References

• Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199. 
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0086-1. OCLC 22311137.