• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Largest station that doesn't have a Sunday service? Trivia

Status
Not open for further replies.

Howardh

Established Member
Joined
17 May 2011
Messages
8,120
Due to Arriva Northern having a shortage of drivers, Bolton is served today (Sun) by a skeleton rail service, Bustitutions and cancellations.

Made me wonder what would be the largest station under normal conditions which doesn't have any trains calling on a Sunday? "Largest" could mean passenger numbers, working platforms or just overall size?
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

mmh

Established Member
Joined
13 Aug 2016
Messages
3,744
Really? That IS a big station!

Much of The City of London is traditionally a ghost town at weekends (although that's slowly changing for some corners of it), unlike the nearest stations (which are very near) Blackfriars and Farringdon, City Thameslink connects with no other lines, so it (as fas as I know) has never opened on Sundays.

Even these days with a busier City of London realistically the only thing you'd use it for on a Sunday is St Paul's Cathedral - I doubt the north entrance would see more than one or two passengers per train. There's nothing there that anyone who doesn't work there would go there for, other than the Old Bailey.
 

transmanche

Established Member
Joined
27 Feb 2011
Messages
6,018
Much of The City of London is traditionally a ghost town at weekends (although that's slowly changing for some corners of it).
Similarly Cannon Street used to be closed on Sundays (in fact going back further, it was closed on Saturdays and Sundays), I think it was the Thameslink works which prompted it to be opened at weekends, as Greenwich line services can no longer access Charing Cross.

Even a few tube stations in the City used to be closed on Sundays; Chancery Lane and Temple, with Barbican and Cannon Street closed on Saturdays too.
 

Howardh

Established Member
Joined
17 May 2011
Messages
8,120
Much of The City of London is traditionally a ghost town at weekends (although that's slowly changing for some corners of it),
Yes, years ago I remember wandering around at the weekend looking for an open pub in the evening. If memory serves I was probably staying at the Youth Hostel which is in or around the "City". Probably never found an open pub!
 

Dhassell

Member
Joined
22 Mar 2015
Messages
1,011
Not a Sunday, but I seem to recall when visiting London in around 2013/2014 Moorgate never seemed to have a Saturday service, and 313's would run into King's Cross instead.
 

mmh

Established Member
Joined
13 Aug 2016
Messages
3,744
Not a Sunday, but I seem to recall when visiting London in around 2013/2014 Moorgate never seemed to have a Saturday service, and 313's would run into King's Cross instead.

Yeah, Moorgate was closed both Saturday and Sunday until a couple of years ago. Similarly Cannon Street was closed on Sundays until around the same time.

They were before my time, but I wonder if Holborn Viaduct and Broad Street were also stations in the City with a limited or no service at the weekend too.
 

transmanche

Established Member
Joined
27 Feb 2011
Messages
6,018
Yeah, Moorgate was closed both Saturday and Sunday until a couple of years ago.
The whole Northern City line was closed late evenings and weekends from the late 1980s(?) onwards. Re-opening at weekends not only allows better access to the Old Street/Shoreditch area (now a major destination) but releases platform capacity at King's Cross.

Moorgate and Barbican stations on the City Widened Lines route were closed at weekends after the Thameslink route opened.

However, Moorgate was always open on Sundays for Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan and Northern line trains.

They were before my time, but I wonder if Holborn Viaduct and Broad Street were also stations in the City with a limited or no service at the weekend too.
Broad Street was open daily until the service was diverted to North Woolwich when it was only open for a handful of Mon-Fri peak trains. (There would literally have been nowhere else for them to go before then!)

City Thameslink is effectively the modern incarnation of Holborn Viaduct, so it wouldn't surprise me if Holborn Viaduct had been closed at weekends.
 

rogercov

Member
Joined
8 Feb 2019
Messages
185
Location
Coventry/London
I've been looking at a few timetables from the early 60s.
Holborn Viaduct and Blackfriars were always open on Sundays. The half-hourly Sevenoaks via Otford used them, just as Thameslink does now.
As previously mentioned, Cannon Street was closed on Sunday as it was only used by City workers. However it was open on Saturdays but only until about 2pm. This is because the City of London traditionally worked on Saturday mornings at that time. I'm not sure when this practice stopped.
 

I13

Member
Joined
26 Aug 2017
Messages
207
So, what might the next biggest station without a Sunday service be?
Having had a quick but far from exhaustive look, the next busiest I can offer is Small Heath (approx 140k passengers per annum).
 

adrock1976

Established Member
Joined
10 Dec 2013
Messages
4,450
Location
What's it called? It's called Cumbernauld
Regarding the physical size of stations, there is "No Sunday Service" at both Carstairs and Coatbridge Central.

Both stations have platforms designed for Intercity trains to call at, and apart from Springfield, Balmossie, Barry Links, and Golf Street, all stations in Scotland have a Sunday service including the two seasonal stations of Falls of Cruachan and Dunrobin Castle.
 

Kite159

Veteran Member
Joined
27 Jan 2014
Messages
19,153
Location
West of Andover
So, what might the next biggest station without a Sunday service be?
Having had a quick but far from exhaustive look, the next busiest I can offer is Small Heath (approx 140k passengers per annum).

Bromley North (468K)?
 

BigCj34

Member
Joined
5 Apr 2016
Messages
761
Millom would have been a contender until it got a Sunday service again in May 2018.
 

scrapy

Established Member
Joined
15 Dec 2008
Messages
2,081
Edge Hill has 196k per annum, and four long platforms, 10 trains per hour weekdays, yet no Sunday service.
 

dk1

Veteran Member
Joined
2 Oct 2009
Messages
15,821
Location
East Anglia
Always amuses me that people think certain City of London stations should open at weekends. Must purely be down to their own naivety as to how that area of the capital operates.
 

Howardh

Established Member
Joined
17 May 2011
Messages
8,120
Edge Hill has 196k per annum, and four long platforms, 10 trains per hour weekdays, yet no Sunday service.

If they opened Edge Hill on a Sunday and trains stopped there, would there be any loss?
 

transmanche

Established Member
Joined
27 Feb 2011
Messages
6,018
Always amuses me that people think certain City of London stations should open at weekends. Must purely be down to their own naivety as to how that area of the capital operates.
A few decades ago, the City was deserted at weekends. Some pubs were even closed by 8pm on a Friday evening, as everyone had gone home. But it's not the case today; shops, cafés, pubs and tourist attractions are open at weekends.

Whilst still closed on Sundays, the last trains on the Waterloo & City line on Saturday are now the same time as Mon-Fri. Previously, the line closed at lunchtime on Saturdays.
 

Welshman

Established Member
Joined
11 Mar 2010
Messages
3,017
Llandudno, [pop.20,000], currently has no service on winter Sundays - ie from 15th September this year - although I think I read somewhere there are plans to change this situation.

Edit - just seen Llandudno's post [#46] on the "request stops" thread - Llandudno will only be trainless on winter Sundays until December of this year.
 
Last edited:

d9009alycidon

Member
Joined
22 Jun 2011
Messages
837
Location
Eaglesham
Before Closure, Glasgow Buchanan Street did not open on a Sunday, all trains were diverted to either Queen Street or Central

Regarding the physical size of stations, there is "No Sunday Service" at both Carstairs and Coatbridge Central.

Both stations have platforms designed for Intercity trains to call at, and apart from Springfield, Balmossie, Barry Links, and Golf Street, all stations in Scotland have a Sunday service including the two seasonal stations of Falls of Cruachan and Dunrobin Castle.

Coatbridge Central only has two platforms, and although perhaps originally designed for express services, have been cut back and it is effectively an unstaffed halt now. Even when the Clansman called, the up service was far too long for the platform and stopped with the first class and restaurant car off the platform.
 

AndyHudds

Member
Joined
17 Jun 2012
Messages
530
You sure? Fenchurch Street until recently used to be shut on Sundays

Maybe it is now then but I always thought City Thameslink was closed on a Saturday too, it was when I tried to last use it on a Saturday, granted it was over a year ago.

Edit: Yes it is open on a Saturday, just checked.
 

DannyMich2018

Member
Joined
19 Dec 2018
Messages
732
Although only a town Spalding in Lincolnshire (188000) journeys per annum has no Sunday service at all.
 

Rail Ranger

Member
Joined
20 Feb 2014
Messages
581
Edinburgh Princes Street wasn't open on Sundays in the years leading up to its closure. Bury had no Sunday service from the 1960s until Metrolink opened.
 

Ken H

On Moderation
Joined
11 Nov 2018
Messages
6,271
Location
N Yorks
Did the walsall branch have a sunday service in the 1980's? Before they opened to Rugeley. Seem to remember not.
 

Sprinter107

Member
Joined
26 Mar 2019
Messages
935
Did the walsall branch have a sunday service in the 1980's? Before they opened to Rugeley. Seem to remember not.
Not many West Midlands local stations did have a Sunday service in the early 1980s. They started in dribs and drabs through the 1980s and into the 90s. The Stourbridge line got its Sunday service back in May 1983 with the start of the Express Link service, a 2 hourly frequency starting about 14.00 ish, apart from Cradley Heath, the other local stations on that line remained firmly shut.
 

El Magnifico

Member
Joined
8 Jan 2013
Messages
11
Location
MK
I've been looking at a few timetables from the early 60s.
Holborn Viaduct and Blackfriars were always open on Sundays. The half-hourly Sevenoaks via Otford used them, just as Thameslink does now.
As previously mentioned, Cannon Street was closed on Sunday as it was only used by City workers. However it was open on Saturdays but only until about 2pm. This is because the City of London traditionally worked on Saturday mornings at that time. I'm not sure when this practice stopped.
I commuted from West Dulwich to Holborn Viaduct 1980-81. Holborn Viaduct (and Blackfriars) were both closed on Sundays at this time.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top