Do trains call twice at same station on single journey?

[David M]

Mad Mac wrote in uk.railway
about: Re: Do trains call twice at same station on single journey?

If it is only a two car unit one of the platforms at Inverness has access to
both lines.

IIRC, the connection from that platform to the Far North is Ground Frame
operated and can't be used for passenger movements in normal circumstances.

Not so, for some time now there have been several through trains daily
from various places in the south to various places north of Inverness
which enter the station from one direction, reverse and then leave in
the other direction directly.

[David M]

John Salmon wrote in uk.railway
about: Re: Do trains call twice at same station on single journey?

[Platform at Inverness station with connections to both south and north]

Post by David M

IIRC, the connection from that platform to the Far North is Ground Frame
operated and can't be used for passenger movements in normal
circumstances.

Not so, for some time now there have been several through trains daily
from various places in the south to various places north of Inverness
which enter the station from one direction, reverse and then leave in
the other direction directly.

Are you quite sure about that? It contradicts the National Rail Timetable,
which only shows one through train (1523 from Aberdeen) and it also

Perhaps things have changed recently, but it was certainly the case a
few years ago that there were some (one a day of each?) through trains
between (iirc) Glasgow and Kyle of Lochalsh, and Edinburgh and
Thurso - Wick. It is possible that these may have been 'high summer'
services only (summer comes later, and departs sooner on the West and
North Highland lines, making the official summer timetables rather
difficult to read, with restricted dates of operation listed for almost
every service shown!)

I certainly caught the Glasgow - Kyle train on one occasion in 2000 (iirc),
which entered Inverness from the south, and then the driver switched
ends and the train subsequently left to the north directly from the station
platform, without having to reverse around the triangle.

contradicts everything that has been posted both here and on the Gensheet
group on the subject, and also contradicts PSUL [1], the definitive
reference for unusual routes in the British Isles. The entry there is as
Inverness Rose Street Jn - Welsh's Bridge Jn [88] (239) GC
1523 SuX Aberdeen - Kyle of Lochalsh
[note: Train uses this route between Inverness and Muir of Ord. ]
[1] http://www.psul4all.free-online.co.uk/intro.htm

Perhaps the above service is listed because /that/ is a rather unusual
move, whereas the direct in-and-out is not deemed to be unusual enough?

It's possible that the services I mentioned no longer run, but
unfortunately it doesn't seem to be possible to check for train times
more than three months in advance to confirm.