Least Used Stations 2019-20

[Recessio]

I found Wellingborough interesting; only a slight (3%) increase over the last ten years, with the suggestion of recent decline.
In the future, it will be interesting to see the effect of electrification, which means changing for any Northbound journey at Kettering & slightly slower southbound. We'll be able to see the 'Sparks Effect' - usually, this is claimed for newly electrified services when, usually, the immediately-prior service had been reduced from the normal because of the engineering work to carry out electrification, enhancing the effect. This has not happened to any great extent on this part of the MML.

There's also a shedload of new housing development in Wellingborough and some surrounding villages (e.g. Earls Barton), with the Wellingborough development being built literally next to the station. I'd be astonished if this doesn't increase the numbers.

 

[Merle Haggard]

There's also a shedload of new housing development in Wellingborough and some surrounding villages (e.g. Earls Barton), with the Wellingborough development being built literally next to the station. I'd be astonished if this doesn't increase the numbers.

That's a fair observation but Wellingborough has been expanding for a long time - it was designated a London overspill town in 1962, and expanded as a result in the 1960 and 1970s. There has continued to be development in and around the town since, but, as I said, if you look at the station figures you'll see that usage fluctuates but has not generally followed the upward population trend.
The opportunity to fill those 8 and 12 car trains relies on a big increase in commuting. Relevant factors are that local employment has broadly increased in line with the population, and it is far from clear that London employment will continue to expand to provide all those extra jobs for commuters. It might be that people will move out from Herts and Beds to Northamptonshire to benefit from lower house prices though, but this would cannibalise the demand for the same service further south.

Wonder how Wellingborough's usage will respond to empty 8-car EMUs turning up from Corby, rather than 1tph being filled with longer distance passengers.

May I point out that Wellingborough gets 2 tph in each direction at the moment - one per hour being a 4 or 5 car 221 - or once in the evenings' an HST - from Corby (all with a buffet) and they're not crowded.
And, as I said, the present long distance services (well, all stations Nottingham actually) will be withdrawn, and longer Northward journeys become more difficult.

 

[vlad]

-Etruria (quiet station closed to allow track realignment)

It was quiet as the TOCs kept reducing the service - by the end there were a couple of trains a day, northbound only, and a rail replacement taxi to Stoke.

 

[geoffk]

Just thinking of the stations formally closed in the last decade or so:

-Abercynon, Rochester and Angel Road (due to relocation or very close replacement stations)
-Oldham Loop stations (conversion to Metrolink)
-Norton Bridge (quiet station not served for years and eventually demolished for remodelling works)
-Etruria (quiet station closed to allow track realignment)

And then the mothballed stations of Redcar British Steel and IBM - basically the thing they exclusively served no longer operates.

So in summary, a closure is only done of a quiet station where there is benefit to making the "hassle" worth it. Otherwise it may as well just carry on with a 'token' service.

A token service as provided at Teesside Airport, Pilning, Polesworth, Bordesley, Denton and Reddish South - some of these being served in one direction only. Barlaston and Wedgwood are in a different category, having no trains at all, only buses, but still technically "open". Then there's Lakenheath and Buckenham, which have trains only at weekends. Going further down the list you could add Combe and Finstock, Whitley Bridge to Rawcliffe inclusive, and Pegswood to Chathill (excluding Alnmouth) but improving services at any of these requires an increase in resources.

 

[Deafdoggie]

Wonder how Wellingborough's usage will respond to empty 8-car EMUs tirning up from Corby, rather than 1tph being filled with longer distance passengers.




Just thinking of the stations formally closed in the last decade or so:

-Abercynon, Rochester and Angel Road (due to relocation or very close replacement stations)
-Oldham Loop stations (conversion to Metrolink)
-Norton Bridge (quiet station not served for years and eventually demolished for remodelling works)
-Etruria (quiet station closed to allow track realignment)

And then the mothballed stations of Redcar British Steel and IBM - basically the thing they exclusively served no longer operates.


So in summary, a closure is only done of a quiet station where there is benefit to making the "hassle" worth it. Otherwise it may as well just carry on with a 'token' service.

Just to be pedantic, Norton Bridge platforms are still standing and not demolished.
Etruria is demolished and there is no sign a station ever existed there at all now.

A token service as provided at Teesside Airport, Pilning, Polesworth, Bordesley, Denton and Reddish South - some of these being served in one direction only. Barlaston and Wedgwood are in a different category, having no trains at all but still technically "open". Then there's Lakenheath and Buckenham, which have trains only at weekends. Going further down the list you could add Combe and Finstock, Whitley Bridge to Rawcliffe inclusive, and Pegswood to Chathill (excluding Alnmouth) but improving services at any of these requires an increase in resources.

Wedgwood & Barlaston do have a service. Just a permanent Bus Replacement Service. Rail tickets accepted, but not sold, on the bus. Passengers must buy a bus ticket if they don’t have a rail ticket. Up until lockdown there was a Wedgwood-Manchester rail season ticket holder travelling daily. Whilst rail tickets are rare on the bus, it’s also surprising how many there are considering the total lack of purchase facilities. However, both Wedgwood & Barlaston are excluded from the passenger station usage figures.

 

[YorksLad12]

However, both Wedgwood & Barlaston are excluded from the passenger station usage figures.

This is one of the things that annoys me about the ORR's data. They exclude Barlaston and Wedgwood completely (and Norton Bridge until it was formally closed) but keep Corfe Castle and MUF* in there with a zero/blank figure.

* I'm a Leeds fan, I'm not writing the name of that station.

 

[Deafdoggie]

I'm a Leeds fan,

Someone has to be!
Seriously though, MU station doesn’t have trains anymore, which is a whole different story.

 

[railneighbour]

I found Wellingborough interesting; only a slight (3%) increase over the last ten years, with the suggestion of recent decline.
In the future, it will be interesting to see the effect of electrification, which means changing for any Northbound journey at Kettering & slightly slower southbound. We'll be able to see the 'Sparks Effect' - usually, this is claimed for newly electrified services when, usually, the immediately-prior service had been reduced from the normal because of the engineering work to carry out electrification, enhancing the effect. This has not happened to any great extent on this part of the MML.

Don't forget for at least the last year there's been no Peak Stopper train service south from Wellingborough, so only been able to/from go from St Pancras, rather than Luton or Bedford

 

[bunnahabhain]

Seeing reports that the statistics showing the most and least used stations for 2019-20 have been issued today by the ORR I had a quick look at the link to the report, at:
https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/usage/estimates-of-station-usage

The least used being Berney Arms, with 42 entries and exits, and Elton & Orston second, with 68.

There was an interesting comment on the lowest two stations in the same statistics for last year:
"In previous years, usage at some of the least used stations presented as part of these statistics have greatly increased the following year. We understand that highlighting the least used stations within these statistics can encourage people to visit them. Last year’s joint least used stations, Denton and Stanlow & Thornton each had 46 entries and exits. In 2019-20, the number of entries and exits at these stations increased to 92 and 82 respectively."

Is there any prospect for a similar boom in traffic (or maybe just ticket purchases) this year for Berney Arms and Elton & Orston?

Elton & Orston has a paltry and hardly convenient service of just one train From Grantham / to Nottingham at 0625, and one from Nottingham / to Grantham at 1710.
Given a better and more usable service, and a fair slice of imagination I have a picture in my mind of an upgrade to "Orston Parkway" .........


Any thoughts on the listing in the report?

Part of the issue for Elton & Orston is that the one person I know who semi-regularly alights/alighted always had a ticket to another station so was never included in the statistics.

 

[youngiecj]

Part of the issue for Elton & Orston is that the one person I know who semi-regularly alights/alighted always had a ticket to another station so was never included in the statistics.

We often have a passenger jump on at Aslockton on 2S02 who asks for a Elton-Notts return..

 

[Merle Haggard]

Don't forget for at least the last year there's been no Peak Stopper train service south from Wellingborough, so only been able to/from go from St Pancras, rather than Luton or Bedford

Wellingborough to Bedford is not an unlikely journey to work.
There are timetabled rail replacement buses which take 55 minutes and NRES also offers a 09.03 Wellingborough to Bedford rail alternative, travelling via Luton Airport, at £36.90
It's 15 1/2 miles - 65m11ch to 49m35ch, so the bus averages 16.9 m.p.h. and the train is £2.38 per mile. Spoilt for choice...

 

[Ianno87]

Just to be pedantic, Norton Bridge platforms are still standing and not demolished.

Ah yes, I see it would have needed infrastructure work to restore to an operational condition (to modern standards) in its current location, plus the small matter of a bridge to access the platform. That and the remodelled layout puts the platform only with a face on the 'Chord' line and/or on the Up Fast line, so not ideal for pathing (unless the station were to be relocated completely).

 

[Stathern Jc]

Part of the issue for Elton & Orston is that the one person I know who semi-regularly alights/alighted always had a ticket to another station so was never included in the statistics.

I can imagine that anyone hoping to travel on the days only train from Nottingham might have more confidence buying a ticket through to Bottesford in case they miss it.
Leaving Nottingham at 1645 it isn't a particularly useful service for commuters.
I suspect it was never intended to be, and it's difficult to see how having the only service of the day to Nottingham at 0625 is any use to anyone at all.

 

[bunnahabhain]

I can imagine that anyone hoping to travel on the days only train from Nottingham might have more confidence buying a ticket through to Bottesford in case they miss it.
Leaving Nottingham at 1645 it isn't a particularly useful service for commuters.
I suspect it was never intended to be, and it's difficult to see how having the only service of the day to Nottingham at 0625 is any use to anyone at all.

There's very occasionally a chap who boards at Elton on the 0625, but yes, it isn't a very busy service unfortunately. I did push for it to call at Netherfield some time ago to provide better opportunities but it never got progressed.

 

[Stathern Jc]

Very much approve of your username btw.
Bowmore and Ardbeg regularly appear on my top shelf, and while I'm always likely to return there when replenishing supplies I will need to look to the Northeast of the island sometime!

 

[Cliveblackpool]

youtube video posted 07/12/20 Re least used stations

ITV also present
''The new 2019/20 statistics have just been released and it shows that Berney Arms in Norfolk only had 42 passengers making it the new least used station in the whole of Britain. Berney Arms was actually closed for 15 months due to Network Rail works replacing manual crossing gates in the area with automated ones. It reopened on Monday 24th February 2020, meaning that the accouting period for this years figures only lasted 52 days until it ended on the 31st March 2020.......''

 

[splashoutradio]

In the off chance that it'll be of some interest, I've done a little number crunching and merged the latest ORR station usage figures with some of Network Rail's and the Rail Delivery Group's data. It's on no way official, but shows the stations with the most and fewest passengers per meter of platform and average passengers per train.
http://www.railwaydata.co.uk/reports/station-usage-2019-2020

 

[TBY-Paul]

This is something I do every year to keep my various IT skills up to date. There are a few formatting errors (any Scottish station and any with an & in the name, for example) because of the way the text is encoded, but it broadly does what I created it for. Trouble is, I only look at it once a year and thus never fix my errors

GB railway stations &amp patronage data

Might I suggest an edit....Thornaby & Yarm have never been in County Durham , but apart from that it a very good effort.

 

[YorksLad12]

Might I suggest an edit....Thornaby & Yarm have never been in County Durham , but apart from that it a very good effort.

Thanks! Some of the ceremonial county and Local Transport Authority stuff was a guesstimate culled from various sources (okay, Wikipedia). As a child of the West Riding* I know it's all Yorkshire south of the river but keeping track of the latest boundary changes is sometimes difficult. All help always appreciated.

* The county, not the pub in Leeds frequented by Northern & LNER staff

 

[Essexman]

I'm surprised that Teeside Airport has increased to over 300 when it has only one train a week in one direction.

 

[Stathern Jc]

If someone could refresh my memory as to how an "Airport" station has such a woeful service it would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

If someone could refresh my memory as to how an "Airport" station has such a woeful service it would be much appreciated. Thanks.

In a nutshell, the station isn't particularly well located for the not so nearby airport terminal.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

If someone could refresh my memory as to how an "Airport" station has such a woeful service it would be much appreciated. Thanks.

It has a pretty woeful flight service too, to be fair.

 

[Stathern Jc]

Thanks.
Sounds disappointingly similar to the missed opportunity at Inverness Airport about 20 years ago when the replacement terminal was built on the site of the original rather than starting afresh on the opposite side of the runway close to the Inverness to Aberdeen line. There is talk of a Dalcross Station serving the airport and the new village at Tornagrain but it will still be about a mile from the terminal building and far less use than it would have been.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Similar issue at Dyce (Aberdeen) where the passenger terminal is on the opposite side of the runway to the railway station.

 

[Stathern Jc]

That does seem a strange one considering the number of people travelling to / from the North Sea as well as the regular airport traffic.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Presume that the adjacent village / town developed around Dyce station when it was a railway junction and that the airport terminal came along much later.

Unlike Teeside Airport, Dyce is hardly a least used station, though!

 

[earthmover]

Is there any way to convert the station usage data, into data per line, the data could be compiled for say the line to Windermere by adding Kendal, Burneside, Staveley and Windermere
More difficult on routes line Tyne Valley, where there is both a flow between the Principle stations at each end of the line and as a long distance journey say Durham to Dumfries. Or is there another set of data for this in the public domain?

 

[Watershed]

Is there any way to convert the station usage data, into data per line, the data could be compiled for say the line to Windermere by adding Kendal, Burneside, Staveley and Windermere
More difficult on routes line Tyne Valley, where there is both a flow between the Principle stations at each end of the line and as a long distance journey say Durham to Dumfries. Or is there another set of data for this in the public domain?

This data is usually considered commercially sensitive and is thus not publicly available.

 

[alistairlees]

If someone could refresh my memory as to how an "Airport" station has such a woeful service it would be much appreciated. Thanks.

I think the question should not be about the station, but the airport itself, which has a woeful service. There is simply no point to either airport, or station.