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Biggest town/city in UK with no station?

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ng1980

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Hi guys,

Firstly, an apology: I am sure that this must have been done before (probably many times). I HAVE used the search function in an attempt to find it, but I am sorry that my search has NOT been successful. If the URL of the previous thread is found and posted here, I am happy for a moderator to lock this thread.

Anyway, my question:
Which is the biggest town/city in Great Britain (by population figures) not to be served by a railway station on the National Rail network?

I am aware that there is probably not an easy answer to this, as some towns may have a station outside but close, and hence it is subjective as to whether the station "serves" the town.

I am also aware that many towns and cities have outgrown their official boundaries, and therefore the population of the connurbation of a town/city could be much larger than the population who technically live within a historical boundary. Here is a list of UK settlements and the population according to the 2001 census: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_United_Kingdom_settlements_by_population

Anyway, I know that many threads here go off topic, so I am sure that there will also be a few other interesting facts thrown in for good measure.

Again, apologies if this has been down before, and thank you in advance for your help!
 
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ng1980

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It's Dudley. Though the people of Dudley have many many many nearby stations they can use.

Thank you, Cherry_Picker.

Dudley - 23rd largest city in UK by population (2001) - 194,619.

Thank you for your quick response!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Oldham? Now that the heavy rail line is being converted to Metrolink...

Good idea, Robinson.

However, in 2001, Oldham was smaller than Dudley (63rd largest city in UK, population 103,554).

Thanks for your suggestion.
 
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John55

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Thank you, Cherry_Picker.

Dudley - 23rd largest city in UK by population (2001) - 194,619.

Thank you for your quick response!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Good idea, Robinson.

However, in 2001, Oldham was smaller than Dudley (63rd largest city in UK, population 103,554).

Thanks for your suggestion.


Why not use the 2011 census data now it has been published?
 

ng1980

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Why not use the 2011 census data now it has been published?

Because it's not listed on Wikipedia, and I'm currently busy planning my trip over the next few days!

You are very welcome to post a link to 2011 data for us to use but Cherry_Picker seems to be quite certain with his answer.
 

ng1980

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Has it been published? I didn't think it was due to be done (for public access) for a year or two.

Actually, I thought that, too, when Wikipedia was using 2001 data.

Release of census data is the sort of thing that would come to my attention and I would look at (but living outside of UK, I do miss some stuff).
 

MidnightFlyer

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Not released in full yet, only some general demographics. Another couple are Newcastle-under-Lyne and Gosport, both 70,000+ population I think.
 

exile

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This is a bit of an old chestnut and always descends into an argument about what constitutes a town/city and what is meant by "having a station".

Dudley DOES "sort of" have a station - Dudley Port - which is 1.8 miles from the town centre.

The largest separate urban area (as opposed to town/settlement within a larger urban area) with no National Rail station is Rossendale (49,000 in 2001).
 

dvboy

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Dudley Port serves the area of Dudley Port, which is in the town of Tipton, in the borough of Sandwell; Sandwell & Dudley is also in Sandwell (which neighbours Dudley borough).

The closest station to Dudley town centre actually within Dudley borough is Coseley.
 

ng1980

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Another couple are Newcastle-under-Lyne and Gosport, both 70,000+ population I think.

Newcastle-under-Lyne (population 123,900) is a good call. Gosport (population 82,600) is good, too.

Thank you.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
This is a bit of an old chestnut and always descends into an argument about what constitutes a town/city and what is meant by "having a station".

I foresaw that hence saying the following in my opening post:

I am aware that there is probably not an easy answer to this, as some towns may have a station outside but close, and hence it is subjective as to whether the station "serves" the town.

I am also aware that many towns and cities have outgrown their official boundaries, and therefore the population of the connurbation of a town/city could be much larger than the population who technically live within a historical boundary.

I was hoping that most people could be pragmatic about what is a town and how close a station should be for it to "serve" a town. It is all subjective and we will not always all agree. In these cases we can agree to disagree. I have to say, that so far, we have all done that really well!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
This is a bit of an old chestnut and always descends into an argument about what constitutes a town/city and what is meant by "having a station".

Dudley DOES "sort of" have a station - Dudley Port - which is 1.8 miles from the town centre.

The largest separate urban area (as opposed to town/settlement within a larger urban area) with no National Rail station is Rossendale (49,000 in 2001).

Dudley Port serves the area of Dudley Port, which is in the town of Tipton, in the borough of Sandwell; Sandwell & Dudley is also in Sandwell (which neighbours Dudley borough).

The closest station to Dudley town centre actually within Dudley borough is Coseley.

Thanks for your comments. Sometimes, we won't all agree if a town is "served" by a station. As I said before, it can be subjective, and sometimes we have to agree to disagree.

I don't know the Dudley area so I have no local knowledge of the area, but as a general rule I would say that a town where there is a station (named after the town or not) just 1.8 miles from the town centre (even if across a historical, ceremonial or administrative boundary line) is served by the station. Realistically, it is probably possible to get there fairly easily by bus. Many people live more than 1.8 miles from a station.

As I say, we might need to agree to disagree, but, to me, this sounds like Dudley is served by the rail network.
 
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CaptainHaddock

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Newcastle-under-Lyne (population 123,900) is a good call. Gosport (population 82,600) is good, too.

Thank you.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


I foresaw that hence saying the following in my opening post:



I was hoping that most people could be pragmatic about what is a town and how close a station should be for it to "serve" a town. It is all subjective and we will not always all agree. In these cases we can agree to disagree. I have to say, that so far, we have all done that really well!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---




Thanks for your comments. Sometimes, we won't all agree if a town is "served" by a station. As I said before, it can be subjective, and sometimes we have to agree to disagree.

I don't know the Dudley area so I have no local knowledge of the area, but as a general rule I would say that a town where there is a station (named after the town or not) just 1.8 miles from the town centre (even if across a historical, ceremonial or administrative boundary line) is served by the station. Realistically, it is probably possible to get there fairly easily by bus. Many people live more than 1.8 miles from a station.

As I say, we might need to agree to disagree, but, to me, this sounds like Dudley is served by the rail network.

Technically these towns are all part of a larger conurbation; Dudley is part of Birmingham, Newcastle under Lyme part of Stoke and Gosport part of Portsmouth.

In terms of the largest "stand alone" town without a railway station, I'd suggest Ilkeston in Derbyshire, which must be frustrating for residents seeing as the Erewash Valley line goes right past the town.
 

richw

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Tiverton has got to be quite high up there i'd imagine. Tiverton Parkway is 7 or 8 miles from the town, and from visiting the town it seems quite a large town. population around 18000 i believe
 

billio

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It's a question of whether you include services such as Metrolink in this discussion, but if you don't there are for example, two large metropolitan boroughs in Greater Manchester that don't have mainline railway services : Oldham (already mentioned) and Bury. If you also include Rossendale that is approaching half a million without direct access to a mainline railway service.

For passengers seeking to use the railway every journey starts with more or less 30 minutes on the Metrolink. Not that journeys on Metrolink are too bad and it's a convenient local service, but I think consideration could be made for providing mainline services through these towns.
 
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Technically these towns are all part of a larger conurbation; Dudley is part of Birmingham, Newcastle under Lyme part of Stoke and Gosport part of Portsmouth.

I think you'll find Dudley is a part of the West Midlands conurbation. I'd strongly advise not shouting out it is a part of Birmingham in Dudley town centre:lol:
 

dvboy

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I think you'll find Dudley is a part of the West Midlands conurbation. I'd strongly advise not shouting out it is a part of Birmingham in Dudley town centre:lol:

Why not? It's not like anyone will hear you... :lol:

Dudley Town Centre might as well be relocated to Westfield Merry Hill.
 

swcovas

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In Wales it would have to be Caernarfon with no rail connection. A royal borough, plus the county of Gwynedd.

Not sure about that......Porthcawl, Abertillery Blackwood and technically perhaps Gorseinon are all bigger. Certainly shame it hasn't got "real" station.
 

Gwenllian2001

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Not sure about that......Porthcawl, Abertillery Blackwood and technically perhaps Gorseinon are all bigger. Certainly shame it hasn't got "real" station.

You can add Dolgellau and Tredegar to that list. Caernarfon was one of the stupidest closures imaginable. It does, however, have a station from which you can travel through some of the finest scenery in Snowdonia.
 

MidnightFlyer

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West Browich has The Hawthorns serving it doesn't it? Not the town centre per se, but quite a lot of the southern conurbation I'd imagine.
 

172212

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West Browich has The Hawthorns serving it doesn't it? Not the town centre per se, but quite a lot of the southern conurbation I'd imagine.

It doesn't have one in the Town Centre, it has a tram station though, the closest station to West Brom Town Centre is Sandwell & Dudley which is about a 3-5 min drive and a 10 minute walk
 

Cherry_Picker

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West Brom does have a train station. It's called Birmingham Snow Hill. ;) (now runs for cover from outraged yam yams!)
 

dvboy

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West Bromwich has the metro; if/when Line 2 is done, so will Dudley and Merry Hill.
 

Batman

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The Aldridge-Brownhills area of the Walsall borough has a population of about 70,000 and no station since 1965.

I know it's not a town but a collection of small towns and semi-urban villages. It's a matter of constant local debate as to whether it constitutes as part of the West Midlands conurbation (I personally think it is) and it had it's own local government district before 1974.
 

HH

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Perhaps it should be defined as no rail (including light rail and underground) station within 5(?) miles. Otherwise it's a bit silly - there are plenty of places in London without a nearby heavy rail station (there isn't one in Westminster for example) - but to include them in this would be pointless.
 
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