Trivia: Neglected railway stations in busy areas?

lancededcena · 21 Sep 2020

The other day I was at South Ruislip station (Friday afternoon) and I couldn't help but to imagine how many people use the London Underground platforms and hardly anyone uses the Chiltern Railway platforms. They still have a Permit to Travel machine and have NSE signage. Granted the Chiltern Railway services are not frequent at all compared to the LUL services which got me thinking, is there any other examples of neglected\forgotten stations in busy suburbs? Apart from South Ruislip, the Northern City line stations go up there too.

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frediculous · 21 Sep 2020

Sudbury & Harrow Road on the same line has a pretty appalling service - 8 trains a day compared to the 6tph from nearby Sudbury Town on the Piccadilly line. Presumably the two track line prevents any increase in frequency

Realtime Trains | Departures from Sudbury & Harrow Road all day on 21/09/2020

Train information at Sudbury & Harrow Road all day on 21/09/2020. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

DerekC · 21 Sep 2020

The main line platforms at Queens Park are (I think) still theoretically operational although they have had no services for a few years now.

Manclion · 21 Sep 2020

Reddish and Denton spring to mind!

Cambus731 · 21 Sep 2020

Brondesbury comes to mind, as I do wonder how many people actually realise that it is in Kilburn town centre.
Maybe it should be renamed to reflect this.

Railwaysceptic · 21 Sep 2020

Cambus731 said:
Brondesbury comes to mind, as I do wonder how many people actually realise that it is in Kilburn town centre.
Maybe it should be renamed to reflect this.

Several London Overground trains call at Brondesbury every hour.

flitwickbeds · 22 Sep 2020

Bordesley? ☺

GLC · 22 Sep 2020

Ardwick is pretty forlorn by all accounts

Cambus731 · 22 Sep 2020

Railwaysceptic said:
Several London Overground trains call at Brondesbury every hour.

well yes, obviously, but I do suspect that several people simply do not know that Brondesbury station is in the heart of Kilburn, and therefore use the Jubilee line station instead when it may be easier for them to use Brondesbury station. This particularly applies for people travelling from the Great Eastern Mainline who can get to Brondesbury station much easier by changing at Stratford, rather than travelling to Kilburn station.

Andy Pacer · 22 Sep 2020

Pear tree!

Greetlander · 22 Sep 2020

I find the empty trackbed (on both sides), expanse of platform and encroaching bushes make Halifax a candidate, even though its so much better than the 80s.

Mcr Warrior · 22 Sep 2020

lancededcena said:
...which got me thinking, is there any other examples of neglected\forgotten stations in busy suburbs?

Manors in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

stuu · 22 Sep 2020

Cambus731 said:
well yes, obviously, but I do suspect that several people simply do not know that Brondesbury station is in the heart of Kilburn, and therefore use the Jubilee line station instead when it may be easier for them to use Brondesbury station. This particularly applies for people travelling from the Great Eastern Mainline who can get to Brondesbury station much easier by changing at Stratford, rather than travelling to Kilburn station.

It's used by 2.7m people per year! That puts it a long way up the list of stations by usage. A traveller from Stratford will save 2 mins travel time by using the NLL rather than the Jubilee line, which is also direct (in the sense of not having to change, not geographically). Kilburn High Road, and South Hampstead are more suitable candidates for this topic

A0wen · 22 Sep 2020

lancededcena said:
The other day I was at South Ruislip station (Friday afternoon) and I couldn't help but to imagine how many people use the London Underground platforms and hardly anyone uses the Chiltern Railway platforms. They still have a Permit to Travel machine and have NSE signage. Granted the Chiltern Railway services are not frequent at all compared to the LUL services which got me thinking, is there any other examples of neglected\forgotten stations in busy suburbs? Apart from South Ruislip, the Northern City line stations go up there too.

I don't think the NCL falls into that - there's been work to improve it recently and even the two least used stations, Drayton Park and Essex Road, still get over 800k entry / exits a year. The others doubtless get more due to their connectivity with other services.

geoffk · 22 Sep 2020

Salford Central, at platform level anyway. Very low platforms and profuse weeds last time I got off there. At street level it's been renovated. Plans for an extra two (or three) platforms seem to have been kicked into the long grass.

I had difficulty finding the entrance to Manors station from the Metro station a few years ago. I hope the signing has been improved.

Cambus731 · 22 Sep 2020

stuu said:
A traveller from Stratford will save 2 mins travel time by using the NLL rather than the Jubilee line, which is also direct (in the sense of not having to change, not geographically).

I must admit I overlooked that the Jubilee line goes direct from Stratford to Kilburn, although I don't think it has completely undermined my point about the NLL being a equally good way of getting from the GEML to Kilburn, especially for anyone with aversions to using deep level tubes (like myself due to my claustrophobia) But working on the West Anglia Line I have experienced customers who wish to go to Kilburn who say they wish to go the the Jubilee line station, and were completely unaware that Brondesbury, which is quicker to get to from the WAML , by changing at Tottenham Hale and Highbury & I, is in Kilburn town centre.
I do think there is a case for renaming Brondesbury or adding a strapline ie Brondesbury for Kilburn town centre

norbitonflyer · 22 Sep 2020

Bordesley, Salford central, Ardwick, and Manors all have in common that they are the first stop out from a major city centre station, and have no interchange with other lines. There are likely to be much more frequent bus services to the city centre so will only attract passengers heading out of town (and only on the same route), which are likely to be much fewer. Edge Hill is probably another.

Mcr Warrior · 22 Sep 2020

As is Bethnal Green on the route out of Liverpool Street.

camflyer · 22 Sep 2020

Redland, Bristol. I used to live 5 minutes walk away but hardly ever used it as it was quicker to get the bus to Temple Meads.

JohnRegular · 22 Sep 2020

camflyer said:
Redland, Bristol. I used to live 5 minutes walk away but hardly ever used it as it was quicker to get the bus to Temple Meads.

Almost all of the Severn Beach line is crying out for investment. If more of the route can be doubled and wires strung up allowing more frequent services, you'd have yourself a proper metro route in Bristol. As it stands you're better off walking to Temple Meads from Redland/Clifton if you just missed a train.

A0wen · 22 Sep 2020

JohnRegular said:
Almost all of the Severn Beach line is crying out for investment. If more of the route can be doubled and wires strung up allowing more frequent services, you'd have yourself a proper metro route in Bristol. As it stands you're better off walking to Temple Meads from Redland/Clifton if you just missed a train.

I think Severn Beach is alot like the Felixstowe branch - it's survived in part due to the access to Avonmouth docks. The passenger numbers aren't that great and never will be. Severn Beach is tiny, the areas within Bristol it serves are more efficiently served by local buses - Temple Meads isn't brilliantly sited for alot of things in Bristol. Trying to make a 'metro' rail link using the Servern Beach line will cost alot and probably never realise the benefits to justify it.

swt_passenger · 22 Sep 2020

Mcr Warrior said:
Manors in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Wouldn’t people in the area be more likely to use the Metro? Even for getting to Central Station, (with a change), it’s much more frequent.

NorthOxonian · 22 Sep 2020

swt_passenger said:
Wouldn’t people in the area be more likely to use the Metro? Even for getting to Central Station, (with a change), it’s much more frequent.

Yes, the only destinations Manors is useful for are Cramlington* and possibly the Tyne Valley line or Morpeth. I do think Manors could be busier if rebranded and spruced up - it is very close to the Quayside with all its attractions. But at the moment, it's very forlorn indeed.

*Actually, Cramlington could probably fit this thread too - the station never seems to have more than a handful of passengers. The bus service is very regular and reasonably fast, and also goes to Haymarket which is closer to where most people are actually heading in Newcastle.

stuu · 22 Sep 2020

Cambus731 said:
I do think there is a case for renaming Brondesbury or adding a strapline ie Brondesbury for Kilburn town centre

Yes, that would probably make sense. Strictly the Jubilee station has the wrong name and should be called Brondesbury as well, but clearly that ship has sailed!

JohnRegular · 22 Sep 2020

A0wen said:
I think Severn Beach is alot like the Felixstowe branch - it's survived in part due to the access to Avonmouth docks. The passenger numbers aren't that great and never will be. Severn Beach is tiny, the areas within Bristol it serves are more efficiently served by local buses - Temple Meads isn't brilliantly sited for alot of things in Bristol. Trying to make a 'metro' rail link using the Servern Beach line will cost alot and probably never realise the benefits to justify it.

You may well be mostly correct, however (at least pre Covid) trains on the line are quite well used despite the irregular service. If 3tph to Avonmouth could be acheived I think the inner city stations would see sigificantly more custom.
Furthermore the opening of a station at Portway P+R, and the current developments around Temple Meads, may mean the line has more potential than you suggest.

In the south of Bristol, Bedminster and Parson Street are both quite well served but definitely have a very run down feeling, at least last time I was there.

Sprinter107 · 22 Sep 2020

A0wen said:
I think Severn Beach is alot like the Felixstowe branch - it's survived in part due to the access to Avonmouth docks. The passenger numbers aren't that great and never will be. Severn Beach is tiny, the areas within Bristol it serves are more efficiently served by local buses - Temple Meads isn't brilliantly sited for alot of things in Bristol. Trying to make a 'metro' rail link using the Servern Beach line will cost alot and probably never realise the benefits to justify it.

Before the Covid lockdown, I caught a train into Temple Meads from Clifton Down about tea time on a weekday, and the 3 car 166 was absolutely packed. Had to stand all the way. Not sure what loadings are like now, as I havent made that journey since.

A0wen · 22 Sep 2020

Sprinter107 said:
Before the Covid lockdown, I caught a train into Temple Meads from Clifton Down about tea time on a weekday, and the 3 car 166 was absolutely packed. Had to stand all the way. Not sure what loadings are like now, as I havent made that journey since.

But one busy train a day hardly justifies turning it into a "Bristol Metro".

Let's look at the usage figures on the line:

Severn Beach: 250k
St Andrew's Road: 4k
Avonmouth: 100k
Shirehampton: 47k
Sea Mills: 50k
Clifton Down: 600k
Redland: 90k
Montpelier: 90k
Stapleton Rd: 170k
Lawrence Hill: 150k

So a grand total of about 1.6m / year or about 30,000 a week across the whole line - not that busy in the scheme of things.

camflyer · 22 Sep 2020

JohnRegular said:
Almost all of the Severn Beach line is crying out for investment. If more of the route can be doubled and wires strung up allowing more frequent services, you'd have yourself a proper metro route in Bristol. As it stands you're better off walking to Temple Meads from Redland/Clifton if you just missed a train.

I was a student in Bristol living Redland and I walked from Temple Meads - must be a good 3 miles, much of it up hill - more times than I can remember. Often after getting the last train back from Paddington and well after the last bus home.

geoffk · 22 Sep 2020

camflyer said:
I was a student in Bristol living Redland and I walked from Temple Meads - must be a good 3 miles, much of it up hill - more times than I can remember. Often after getting the last train back from Paddington and well after the last bus home.

I grew up in Bristol and recall the main passenger movement then (late 50s/early 60s) was of dockers to/from Avonmouth. Last year I had a trip from Shirehampton to Stapleton Road and back on a 166, while driving to Devon. I was surprised at the return fare of £2 (with railcard) which would have been the same from Avonmouth to Temple Meads. The guard said the fares had not gone up for eight years. There was a significant movement of scholars from Montpelier to Stapleton Road and on the way back more from Montpelier and Redland, most of whom got off at Clifton Down, so these won't contribute much revenue but good to see the service used, and a fair few adults as well. I agree that the stations need investment and perhaps better signing. Shirehampton and Sea Mills stations are alongside the river and a bit remote from the main centres of population. If the line was electrified, you could have a new station in Clifton Down tunnel serving the Zoo!

willgreen · 22 Sep 2020

A0wen said:
So a grand total of about 1.6m / year or about 30,000 a week across the whole line - not that busy in the scheme of things.

I agree it's not huge, but as a suburban railway line with decent loadings, surely the usage would be likely to significantly increase if it was converted to a Metro, especially with university traffic?

Trivia: Neglected railway stations in busy areas?

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