Stations which should close

[Sleepy]

Shippea Hill and Eccles Road ?

 

[Eagle]

Alright then, Addiscombe.

Also replaced, albeit by Tramlink.

 

[yorksrob]

Also replaced, albeit by Tramlink.

Debateable, bearing in mind the distance between Addiscombe tram stop and the former railway station.

 

[Eagle]

Debateable, bearing in mind the distance between Addiscombe tram stop and the former railway station.

The Addiscombe rail branch was specifically closed to make way for the Addiscombe tram line. That's a replacement in my book.

 

[Ivo]

Do we really need St Margarets (London)? It's so close to Twickenham they may as well just extend TWI's platforms.

Couldn't you say the same about North Sheen though? At least SMG doesn't have a level crossing.

In all honesty I have often wondered why either exists.

Elsewhere, I would have said one of the Abercynon stations - but er, Network Rail beat me to it. By a few years.

 

[Eagle]

Elsewhere, I would have said one of the Abercynon stations - but er, Network Rail beat me to it. By a few years.

Related: I'd declare the two Heaths to be the same station. They're closer together than the gap between platforms at some stations (e.g. Earlestown, Liskeard). Ditto the two St Budeaux.

 

[yorksrob]

The Addiscombe rail branch was specifically closed to make way for the Addiscombe tram line. That's a replacement in my book.

It was indeed, but the tram line makes a considerable deviation from the branch route before the previous terminus. Needless to say, it doesn't count as a replacement in my book I'm afraid.

 

[tbtc]

Manors is served hourly, but only in the interpeak (for some reason).

Were you thinking of Dunston?

My mistake.

I was thinking of Manors (as a station that only had a rush hour service, but was at least well enough used at rush hour by Northumbrian commuters to justify retaining its service).

However, you are clearly right, it has a daytime service too (though no peak services for those heading northbound in the morning/ southbound at teatime) - has it always had a daytime service? In my mind it was peak only

 

[DavidBrown]

Likewise the Exeter St Davids - Barnstaple line (which we discussed earlier this year, I believe).

Indeed - a "public transport users group" (which seemingly consists of, erm, 2 people) suggested closing all but 3 stations. The only one that I believe should be closed is Chapelton, which only serves one house and has infrequent services which makes an afternoon journey into Barnstaple a non-goer. This is in a heavily car dependant area aswell, so driving to Umberleigh is not really an issue (though I am aware that the NDPTUG used this logic for closing all stations - I believe there is a difference in making 162 people drive from Chapelton each year compared to making ~2,000 people drive from each of the other smaller stations).

 

[Mutant Lemming]

As it did for Paul Simon as well..... :cry::cry:

It has always been one of those uncertain myths as to which station the song was dreamt up on. Apparently the concert was at Widnes but many reckon the station was actually Runcorn and not any of the Widnes stations. Though I suppose Widnes needs all the help it can get for it's bid to become a tourist trap.
Maybe someone should write or e-mail a picture of Widnes (nee Widnes North) to Mr.Simon and see if he recognises it.

 

[Shimbleshanks]

All intermediate stations between Purley and London Bridge (including East Croydon).

All intermediate stations between Purley and Clapham Junction.

All intermediate stations between Purley and Gatwick Airport...can you see a pattern here?

 

[lewisb]

Wrexham Central....whats the point....100yard walk!

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Wrexham Central....whats the point....100yard walk!

But a very well patronised station.

 

[Eagle]

Wrexham Central....whats the point....100yard walk!

More like 600 yards.

Also you can probably tell, from the size of the carparks in that aerial view, which one Wrexham residents tend to use.

 

[tsr]

I had a thought, actually - can we close Swale? It basically serves the underside of a road bridge.

 

[thelem]

Stations which are too close to each other on non-metro routes, for example Aldrington. Google says it's a 34 minute walk from Hove to Portslade (the stations either side on the same line), so the worst case scenario is someone who currently lives very close to Aldrington would have to walk up to 20 minutes. If heading to Portsmouth they could make this time back by cutting other stations on the line. If heading to Brighton they might be better served by buses and if heading to London they'd have had to change at Hove/Brighton anyway. Wikipedia shows Aldrington having about 5% of the passenger numbers that Hove has.

 

[Central Trains]

Dullingham, on the Cambridge to Ipswich Line.

 

[tsr]

Also replaced, albeit by Tramlink.

And a cracking good replacement (yes, in my book it is a fair replacement) it is too...

All intermediate stations between Purley and London Bridge (including East Croydon).

All intermediate stations between Purley and Clapham Junction.

All intermediate stations between Purley and Gatwick Airport...can you see a pattern here?

My greatest levels of wrath might have to be reached and even exceeded if this happened. "Redhill", on the other hand, would be a valid substitution for "Purley".

 

[Mutant Lemming]

Dullingham, on the Cambridge to Ipswich Line.

Dullingham is relatively well used and am told more trains would call if it weren't for the tight timings over the singled stretches.

 

[OxtedL]

It was indeed, but the tram line makes a considerable deviation from the branch route before the previous terminus. Needless to say, it doesn't count as a replacement in my book I'm afraid.

The branch was closed specifically for Tramlink, wasn't it? Very much a replacement. It certainly doesn't do much to make your point for you.

 

[jonesy3001]

Salwick on the preston-blackpool line as i dont think i`ve seen a train stop there yet!!

 

[Urban Gateline]

Do we really need St Margarets (London)? It's so close to Twickenham they may as well just extend TWI's platforms.

It still gets a fair amount of passengers though, same could be said for Hampton Wick which is just around the corner from Kingston, or Queenstown Rd Battersea which is 2mins from Clapham Junction!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Couldn't you say the same about North Sheen though? At least SMG doesn't have a level crossing.

In all honesty I have often wondered why either exists.

Elsewhere, I would have said one of the Abercynon stations - but er, Network Rail beat me to it. By a few years.

Agreed, definitely too many stops too close together.

Barnes Bridge and Barnes is another one, why not just have Barnes, most of the stops on the Hounslow loop are so close together anyways!

 

[Eagle]

Barnes Bridge and Barnes is another one, why not just have Barnes, most of the stops on the Hounslow loop are so close together anyways!

Why don't they just have continuous platforms all along the Hounslow loop and have the trains moving constantly along them at 3–4 mph with the doors open? (Would probably make the journeys faster, too ).

 

[Urban Gateline]

Why don't they just have continuous platforms all along the Hounslow loop and have the trains moving constantly along them at 3–4 mph with the doors open? (Would probably make the journeys faster, too ).

totally against H&S unfortunately, imagine if a Wheelchair user tried to board and the ramp had to have a wheel on it and move along the platform with the wheelchair chasing after it to get onto the train! I do like the idea though

 

[LE Greys]

Really, the best thing for the Hounslow Loop would be an extra Tube line absorbing some of the traffic, like my westbound version of the Chelney Line. That way, you could get away with closing some of the stations, and give better access for airport staff.

As for the one station I would close, Stevenage. Provided it was replaced with as near as possible a replica of the LNER Stevenage, which was a very nice station. It might have to be a bit bigger, and would ideally have a south-facing bay for the Hertford Loop service. On a grander scale, Birmingham New Street, if the Grand Central idea ever catches on. Berlin Hauptbahnhof in the Midlands, plus we sort out the junctions.

 

[TEW]

Another one I would suggest is Coombe Junction. Why can't they straight-line that stretch? It wouldn't exactly cost a fortune, and it would save money on maintaining the token system in place.

The gradients and curves involved mean that reversing is unavoidable, agree about closing Coombe Junction though, there is very little point in the station itself.

 

[SprinterMan]

Dullingham is relatively well used and am told more trains would call if it weren't for the tight timings over the singled stretches.

Kennett should be closed before Dullingham IMO.

 

[HSTEd]

The gradients and curves involved mean that reversing is unavoidable, agree about closing Coombe Junction though, there is very little point in the station itself.

How much does maintaining the station itself cost?
Its basically a lump of concrete and a sign.

 

[Eagle]

Doesn't even have any lights, IIRC, so no overheads.

(Having no lights means trains are banned from stopping there after 17.00—regardless of when sunset actually is.)

 

[ANorthernGuard]

When I first started about 10 years ago no one ever left the train at Ardwick in the morning now there are about 10 each time, does not sound much but considering only 3 or 4 trains a day stop there a day compared to places like Strines its not a bad percentage.