The 25-year-long journey to the opening of the Inverness Airport Railway Station has finally come to an end.
Scotland’s Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth took the first train, the maiden voyage, into the £42 million station, which has been built onto the existing Inverness-Aberdeen rail line.
The occasion was marked with a grand opening ceremony at the platform this afternoon.
Croy Primary School pupils played the starring role, planting a tree and a time capsule containing a teddy bear, a school tie, and letters to their future selves, while a bagpiper called Spud flooded the platform with his tunes.
Ms Gilruth said she hopes the new facility will be transformational for the region.
‘We need to get people out of their cars and back to public transport’
Ahead of receiving a bouquet from P7 Croy Primary pupils Izzy Hughes and Evie Strachan, Mrs Gilruth took to the podium and she was “delighted” to be opening the new station.
“This station is hugely important, I know, for the local area,” she said.
“It’s an investment of £42 million from the Scottish Government, it makes rail more attractive, but it also connects the railway here to the railway network which is really important.
“We know in terms of our transport emissions we need to get people out of their cars and back to public transport so new stations are hugely important.”
‘Wee bit of a distance’ between new Inverness Airport Railway Station and Inverness Airport terminal
In an ideal world, the new station would be right next to the airport.
In fact, one of the most common questions we saw ahead of the grand opening today from our readers was asking why the station and terminal aren’t closer together, and how people are meant to get between them both.
Right now, to get between the two facilities, you can take a short bus ride or a half-mile walk — however, there is no dedicated shuttle service, and Stagecoach will transport passengers on one of its regular buses.
The transport minister said: “I know that talks are ongoing between Hitrans and Transport Scotland to see if we can bring about a resolution there, to get that connectivity because I recognise that it is a wee bit of a distance.
“Fundamentally, we do need that connectivity to provide that joined-up travel that we want to see in the future.”
New terminal plans could be just the ticket
A plan to replace the passenger terminal at Inverness Airport with a new building situated far closer to the railway station is being considered by its operator, Highlands and Islands Airports (Hial).
It is one of four options for expanding the terminal to meet forecast growth in customer numbers under consideration by Hial.
‘It’s a huge improvement to the infrastructure to the east of Inverness’
Today’s grand opening was also be a big moment for Frank Roach from regional transport body Hitrans.
Mr Roach has been chasing the dream of a train station at Inverness Airport for 25 years.
“It’s great to see this finally coming to fruition, it’s been quite a long time coming,” he told those who had gathered for the occasion.
He added: “It has to be said though, we didn’t quite anticipate a station of this size with two platforms, and a passing loop.
“We thought it would be something a bit smaller, but look at the project we have ended up with. It’s a huge improvement to the infrastructure to the east of Inverness.”
Stepping onto the new station
The station itself cost £15 million, which paid for two 490ft platforms, and a bridge with lifts linking the two platforms.
The wider project to finally get the station up and running today has cost £42 million.
It also features ramped active travel paths to both platforms, and cycle parking on each platform for 20 bikes, and a 64-space car park, 10 with electric vehicle charging facilities.
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