The station was opened by the
Sutherland and Caithness Railway on 28 July 1874 The reason for the station's construction is a mystery. At the time of construction it was from the nearest settlement and from the nearest road. The only source of traffic at the station, Lochdhu Lodge, approximately to the south, was not built until 1895 and the Altnabreac School was not built until 1930. However, it had a
passing loop with a water tank so may have been established for purely operational reasons. The water tank has not seen regular use since 1962 and the line was singled in 1986; both the water tank and the old second platform can still be seen. On 5 July 1988
The Independent newspaper published an article about the disposal of nuclear waste and one of the sites being considered was Altnabreac due to its remoteness and geology of the area and that if chosen the nuclear waste would be transported by train from
Sellafield. In 2021,
Highland Council approved the construction for a timber loading terminal near the station.
Access dispute and closure On 30 October 2023 Ian Appleby, the owner of a neighbouring property, was arrested for behaving in a threatening or abusive manner as part of a dispute with Scotrail and
Network Rail over access to the station. From Sunday 12 November 2023, ScotRail trains temporarily stopped calling at Altnabreac due to the altercation. On 24 November 2023, Appleby and his partner stated that they were being harassed by ScotRail drivers who were sounding their trains' horns as they passed, and denied claims by the previous residents that they had chained themselves up to stop railworkers access to the station and track, when they had only installed a chain on their gate instead. They also claimed that Network Rail had damaged their property by digging holes on it and leaving them open. On 15 May 2024, the case against Appleby was dropped due to a lack of corroboration. The civil dispute between neighbouring property and Network Rail remains ongoing following the resumption of service.
Accidents and incidents On 21 September 1898, a Highland Railway mail train was almost involved in a collision with a platelayer's trolley that had been left on the track. One of the platelayers, John Morrison noticed the train coming down the track at high speeds, so he scrambled to get the trolley off the track. He succeeded in getting the trolley off the track before the train collided with it but was killed in the process. In January 1978, a train from Inverness to Wick became trapped in a blizzard with approximately 70 passengers on board. A rescue locomotive was sent to recover the train but also had to turn back. All 70 passengers - apart from some who walked the to Scotscalder - were eventually rescued by helicopters approximately 24 hours after leaving Inverness. == Location ==