Dundee–Aberdeen line

The Dundee–Aberdeen line is a railway line linking Dundee and Aberdeen in Scotland.

Dundee–Aberdeen line
A view of the line at Arbroath looking south
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Network Rail
Locale	Angus Aberdeenshire Scotland
Termini	Dundee Aberdeen
Stations	13
Service
Type	Heavy rail
System	National Rail
Operator(s)	Abellio ScotRail Caledonian Sleeper CrossCountry London North Eastern Railway
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge

Dundee–Aberdeen line
Aberdeen–Inverness line Aberdeen ( NorthLink ferry to Orkney & Shetland ) Portlethen Stonehaven Laurencekirk Montrose River South Esk Arbroath Carnoustie Golf Street Barry Links Monifieth Balmossie Broughty Ferry Dundee Edinburgh–Dundee line Glasgow–Dundee line

History

The present line was built by three companies. The first section to open was the line from Dundee to Arbroath in 1838, constructed by the Dundee and Arbroath Railway. From 1849-50 the Aberdeen Railway opened the line between Montrose and Aberdeen. The North British, Arbroath and Montrose Railway opened the line between Arbroath and Montrose in 1883.

Route and line

The line runs from south to north and generally runs along the east coast, though it heads inland between Montrose and Stonehaven. The line is double-track apart from a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) single-track section south of Montrose, which includes the South Esk Viaduct.[1] Plans to dual this section were announced in 2008 and again in 2016.[2] It is not electrified.

At its northern terminus, Aberdeen railway station, the line meets the Aberdeen–Inverness line. At its southern terminus, Dundee railway station, the line meets the Dundee–Glasgow line (via Perth) and the Dundee–Edinburgh line.

Stations

Place	Station	Ordnance Survey grid reference	Services				Notes
			ScotRail	LNER	CrossCountry	Caledonian Sleeper
Dundee	Dundee	NO402298	●	●	●	●	Glasgow–Aberdeen line connection.
Dundee (Broughty Ferry)	Broughty Ferry	NO462309	●
Monifieth (Balmossie)	Balmossie	NO484317	●
Monifieth	Monifieth	NO497322	●				limited service
Carnoustie	Barry Links	NO542337	●				limited service
Carnoustie	Golf Street	NO557342	●				limited service
Carnoustie	Carnoustie	NO566345	●			●
Arbroath	Arbroath	NO638409	●	●	●	●
Montrose	Montrose	NO711579	●	●	●	●
Laurencekirk	Laurencekirk		●
Stonehaven	Stonehaven	NO863861	●	●	●	●
Portlethen	Portlethen	NO923967	●
Aberdeen	Aberdeen	NJ941058	●	●	●	●	Terminus of ECML services from London King's Cross, Caledonian Sleeper services from London Euston and Cross Country Route services from Penzance; Aberdeen to Inverness Line connection; NorthLink ferry to Orkney and Shetland.

Incidents

The Stonehaven derailment occurred on 12 August 2020 which killed three people and required the line to remain closed between Stonehaven and Laurencekirk until 3 November. This section was closed again after a bridge parapet collapsed on 15 January 2021.[3]

References

1. Strachan, Graeme. "£218m rail overhaul would only cut journeys by a few minutes". The Courier. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
2. Strachan, Graeme. "£218m rail overhaul would only cut journeys by a few minutes". The Courier. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
3. Smith, Claire (18 January 2021). "Parapet failure closes Stonehaven rail line after speed warnings issued". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 26 January 2021.