Pitlochry station is the best in Britain

Pitlochry station, on the Perth to Inverness line in Scotland’s highlands, has been named as the best medium-sized station in Britain.

The Abellio ScotRail-managed railway station won the ‘Medium Station of the Year’ award at the 2019 National Rail Awards. Judges assessed the nominees against set criteria, including safety, infrastructure and customer-friendly presentation.

The award win comes after the historic McFarlane Foundry cast-iron station fountain was recently restored, along with some of the station’s other Victorian features and benches, coinciding with the completion of Network Rail’s Highland main line improvement works.

This Scottish Government-funded £57 million programme of upgrades was undertaken to deliver an hourly service, with average journey times reduced by around 10 mins, and enable potential improvements to the times of the first and last trains between Inverness and the Central Belt.

The project, which took place between Summer 2018 and Spring 2019, primarily focussed on Aviemore and Pitlochry and delivered work to remodel and extend tracks and upgrade signalling.

ScotRail head of economic and community development James Ledgerwood said: “We’re committed to making our stations a more pleasant and relaxing place to catch a train, so we’re delighted that Pitlochry has won this accolade.

“The station has been given a new lease of life recently and it’s fantastic to see the hard work of the volunteers, station team, and the local community get the recognition it deserves.”

Highland Main Line Community Rail Partnership chairman and station adopter Sally Spaven said: “We’re so thankful for the brilliant staff at Pitlochry station, and all the volunteers who work so hard to keep the station looking good, including Pitlochry in Bloom and the lovely welcome from the volunteers in the Bookshop.

“This win is a fantastic example of community spirit, with volunteers and staff working together to achieve the common goal of making Pitlochry station an attractive and welcoming environment for locals and visitors to the area.”