Harleyford

Harleyford
Harleyford is a small rural town situated in the southern end of Staggington. It's the largest settlement of all of southern Staggington, hence the district being named after the town.

Harleyford lies rather close to nearby Ashire town Jade, which is more populated than Harleyford.

Harleyford was given its status as an official town in 1995. At the time, its population was just under six thousand.

History
Harleyford, despite its rather low population, was home to one of Highland's oldest railway lines. The first rail link between Drum and Staggington, completed in 1979, included Harleyford as a principle stop - almost all services stopped here, while some passed Rawdon without stopping.

At the time, Harleyford was very active in terms of local market and impact on the economy, especially in the west.

Station and Railway Line
Harleyford station was built in 1978, though the line wasn't fully operational until 1979. Trains served the station once every thirty minutes, while keeping the same frequency at peak times also. The station had no canopy, two platforms, and was built right at the end of the long tunnel that stretches between Staggington and Harleyford.

In 1983, Staggington Council approved the Western Country Railway Company's decision to build a small line between Farsk station (now Rawdon) and Harleyford, with three small stations on the route. This also helped Harleyford station gain a third platform, though this was a terminus platform so the line didn't join with the existing Staggington line.

In 1991, the line closed, as the year prior's figures showed that only 357 passengers used this line in 1990. The WCRC said that "we couldn't find a way to make any profit for this line, so with great regret, we may have to cease operations".

The station still continued to be served half-hourly on Drum-Staggington services until 2017.

New Station
In 2012, Staggington criticised Torella for the "lack of maintenance" within the station. The two shelters from the early 80s had been long gone, however, Torella consistently refused to build more shelters for Harleyford.

In the summer of 2014, a storm, along with heavy rainfall, damaged half of platform 2 (eastbound towards Drum), rendering it unusable. Torella, again, refused to act.

It wasn't until late 2017 when Staggington won a court case against Torella's abuse of power and lack of "respect" for Harleyford station. Harleyford station was demolished in January of 2018, while the new Harleyford station had not yet been constructed. Local residents luckily had a bus alternative to Staggington or other areas.

The new Harleyford station was completed on 22 May 2018, with four platforms. The same day, a shuttle line between Harleyford and Jade was also open, with Panbury station being an intermediate stop.

Torella plans to add a new timetable, giving Harleyford one extra Staggington service in peak times, as well as two terminating services - one from Hurshing, and one from Ashway (via Jade).