The smallest station in the UK is just 15 meters long and only one train door can open. There are hundreds of stations all across the UK that connect villages, towns and cities.

One of them takes the title of being the smallest, and it’s Beauly Station in the Scottish Highlands. Its platform is much smaller than a single train carriage and passengers are given advanced warning if they want to depart there. An annoucement warns travellers to correctly plan if they want to get off at Beauly.

The station has a long history as it opened back in 1862. However, the station closed in 1960 due to competition from local bus services.

Over 40 years later, it was re-opened following campaigns from residents. Since 2002, Beauly Station has a small 10-bay car park, bike storage and shelter.

There is no ticket office and, despite its size, the station welcomes around 35,000 passenger journeys, according to the Carno Station Action Group. The station sits around 10 miles west of Inverness and welcomes ScotRail trains.

Trains passing through Beauly head to Wick, Kyle of Lochalsh, Dingwall, Invergordon, Ardgay and Inverness. Beauly Station wasn’t always as small as it is now, as it even had two platforms.

The station was built for the original line connecting Inverness and Invergordon in the 1800s. It had two platforms, a passing loop and a goods shed. 

In the 1960s, Beauly was among a number of stations to close. The station, and all the others, between Inverness and Dingwall shut.

Beauly’s single platform that stands there today was built in 2002 when the station re-opened. The project to reinstate the station cost £250,000.

Class 158 trains typically use the route, which are longer than Beauly’s platform. Typically, the frontmost door of the train is the one that is opened to let passengers on and off.