ScotRail’s night train to return to Inverness-Tain route on Far North Line after five-year absence; move follows long-standing Highland calls for its resumption

Delighted rail campaigners have welcomed the return of late night train services from Inverness to Ross-shire after a five-year wait.

ScotRail will be reintroducing the late night service from Inverness to Tain on Fridays and Saturdays when the new timetable comes into effect in May. The first of these late night services, which will depart the Highland capital at 11.12pm, will run on Friday, May 23.

It will mean the return of late night weekend trains on the route for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

The 2020 lockdown sparked immediate cuts to rail services across Scotland, with the late night Tain service being among those to fall by the wayside as the rail operator shifted focus to essential and work-related travel only.

In the months and years which followed, the various mothballed services gradually returned to the route as passenger numbers rose - but the late night train, used mostly by weekend revellers, remained stuck in limbo.

Local politicians - including MSP Kate Forbes and MP Jamie Stone - the Friends of the Far North Line, and Highland business leaders have long called for the service’s return to the timetable.

They argue that the journey is a vital cog in the region’s night-time economy - providing an affordable way for Highland residents to travel home after enjoying nights out in the city, and also boosting Inverness’s hospitality trade.

Speaking last November, Mike Duncan from the Federation of Small Businesses, described the mothballed service as a lifeline for the hospitality trade - providing extra revenue for bars, restaurants and hoteliers at a time of financial uncertainty and rising costs.

Inverness Chamber of Commerce chief executive, Colin Marr, aired similar concerns last year, describing the lack of a late night train as “a problem for people from Tain, and all the stops along the way, who want a weekend night out in Inverness and would like a wider choice of ways to get home”. He added: “It also has an affect on our night-time economy businesses as some of these people will now choose not to travel into Inverness.”

So news of the service’s imminent resumption is likely to be warmly welcomed by locals, business leaders and politicians alike - despite a slightly earlier departure time of 11.12pm compared to its original 11.33pm slot.

Confirming its return, Mark Ilderton, ScotRail service delivery director, said: “We’re excited to introduce these timetable enhancements, which will offer greater flexibility for evening travellers.

“Everyone at ScotRail is working hard to deliver a safe, reliable, and sustainable rail service that provides a positive experience for our customers.

“The reintroduction of this late night service on a trial basis will make it even easier for customers to get where they need to go, and choose rail as their preferred mode of transport.”

The Friends of the Far North Line has hailed the planned resumption of the late night service, and has urged ScotRail to be even more ambitious and consider making it an all-week addition rather than just a weekend option.

They also hope that the train’s return journey from Tain back as far as Muir of Ord - which also used to operate as a passenger service - will also one day resume.

“We're delighted to see that the late departure from Inverness to Tain on Fridays and Saturdays has been reinstated and hope that the return journey as far as Muir of Ord, which is currently run empty, will be reinstated too.

“However, we still think the time of the last train on other weekdays is far too early. Anyone attending an event in, for example Eden Court, will miss the current last train and will probably choose to drive.”

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.