Forres: The new Forres station, looking towards Inverness. The station is very spacious, laid out with a large car park and room for expansion. The previous station is landscaped, now an area of grass.
Ewan Crawford 05/10/2018

Forres

Location type

Station

Name and dates

Forres (2017-)

Station code: FOR National Rail ScotRail
Where: Moray, Scotland
Opened on the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway.
Open on the Aberdeen to Inverness.

Description

This is a modern two platform station, a footbridge with lifts, a station building on the westbound platform and a car park to the south. It is the third Forres station (fourth if we include a temporary station, Dalvey [1st]). Opening was in late 2017, the new station being to the north of Forres [2nd]. The station is on a long loop.

To the west of the station is a new road bridge, built to replace the Waterford Road Level Crossing to the east of the former station.

The former station suffered from having a single platform in its later days, with the passing loop to the east. This meant that a westbound train would have to wait in the loop for a late eastbound train, with the passenger who wished to alight unable to do so.

The site of the new station is similar to that of Forres [1st], a little to its west.

Tags

Station




Chronology Dates

22/07/1861Inverness and Perth Junction Railway
Aberfeldy Branch (Inverness and Perth Junction Railway)
Act obtained for a line between Dunkeld and Forres, and Ballinluig to Aberfeldy. Engineer: Joseph Mitchell. Running power from Stanley Junction to Perth General over the Scottish Midland Junction Railway.
18/09/2005Inverness and Perth Junction Railway
The 23 mile Dava Way is opened from Grantown-on-Spey West to Forres.
17/10/2017Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railway
New Forres station opened, a two platform station on a long loop, replacing the single platform remains of Forres [2nd] which had no a passing loop (with trains waiting to pass others frustratingly held in the passing loop when late running occurred). The new station opened on roughly the site of the original Forres [1st] station.

News items

30/09/2023Network Rail engineering works to hit Highland train services in October [Inverness Courier]
19/01/2023Inverness Airport Railway Station opening date revealed [Press and Journal]
25/01/2022ScotRail release plans for changes to ticket office opening hours in the north and north-east [Press and Journal]
10/12/2020Washed away rail track to cause travel misery into start of weekend [Grampian Online]
10/12/2020Fears rail flood disruption could run for longer [Inverness Courier]
09/12/2020Landslip cleared but floods wash away track elsewhere on Highland network [Ross-shire Journal]
26/10/2017Can the demand for new railway stations in Scotland be met? [Scotsman]
23/10/2017Forres station to transform Scottish rail travel [RTM]
18/10/2017UK railway news round-up - Forres [Railway Gazette]
10/10/2017HITRANS Autumn Newsletter [HITRANS]

Books


Forres and Area Past and Present

Landranger (27) Nairn & Forres, River Findhorn (OS Landranger Map)

Old Forres

OS Explorer Map (423) Elgin, Forres and Lossiemouth (OS Explorer Active Map)

Time Does Transfix: Recollections of a Forres Railwayman