A long-running dispute about the ownership of Altnabreac Station (ABC) platform and track, and access for maintenance and development came to a head in the Autumn. The station is around six miles from the nearest public road and accessed only by rough vehicle tracks.

The background to the current situation is that maintenance vehicles cannot access the station without crossing ground belonging to the old station building, which has been a private house for several decades. The overall landowners of the area around the station have never had a problem with allowing access to the railway, but in recent years the current owners of the house, along with the previous owner, who still holds some adjacent land, have been stating that they own parts of the railway property, including the station platform.

ScotRail called an online meeting on 6 November, including FoFNL as stakeholders, to inform us that it was about to issue a press statement announcing the temporary closure of the station due to railway staff being unable to gain access, even for essential safety work.

The announcement triggered several newspaper articles - notably an investigation by The Times which had coincidentally been on the verge of carrying a feature about the Far North Line when the story broke.

Very few people live at Altnabreac, and the news coverage unearthed much about the colourful characters to be found there, most of which is readily available online for anyone interested. Such research will reveal an interesting and illuminating history which probably sheds much light on recent events. The main characters involved are the current owners of the station house and the previous owner, along with the owner of nearby Lochdhu Lodge.

The shocking aspect of the story is that recent attempts to access the station, for example to install the request-stop kiosk in March, have been met with verbal intimidation and threats from both the current and previous owners of the station house. Fortunately there are no reports of any intimidation of passengers using the station.

A full meeting for further discussion was held in Inverness on 27 November to agree a way forward. The ownership dispute is completely baseless - individuals cannot own station platforms or track. The various organisations involved are not prepared to put their staff in harm's way, so a legal solution which can be enforced by British Transport Police will be pursued, after a final attempt to persuade the owners of the station house to see reason. There is no question of the station being permanently closed; although it is little used it is seen as a valuable part of the railway's purpose of enabling access for walkers and cyclists to a unique part of Scotland. As a Transport Scotland official said, "We don't close railway stations."