Trivia: Towns of similar size to Exeter with huge number of stations

[William3000]

Is there a city in the UK of comparable size with such a huge number of railway stations as Exeter! Given much larger cities like Leicester or Sheffield only have about 3 or 4 respectively, and others like Norwich, Peterborough, York, etc only have 1, Exeter is doing phenomenally well for station coverage.
At the latest count it will soon have 9!

Exeter St David’s
Exeter Central
Exeter St Thomas’
St James’ Park
Pinhoe
Polsoe Bridge
Digby & Sowton
Newcourt
And soon to be opening Marsh Barton.

 

[Class172]

Topsham is also technically within the bounds of Exeter City district, and another station between Polsloe Bridge and Digby & Sowton is currently being planned.

 

[TheEdge]

I suppose its rather helpful that the Exmouth line saunters through the centre of suburbs from St Davids which conversely is right on the edge of the city.

Lowestoft is quite impressive to manage to have three stations in a town of less than 80,000.

 

[William3000]

I suppose its rather helpful that the Exmouth line saunters through the centre of suburbs from St Davids which conversely is right on the edge of the city.

Lowestoft is quite impressive to manage to have three stations in a town of less than 80,000.

Pontefract has 3 and can’t be more than 25,000.

 

[Twingo37175]

I would add Tyndrum into the mix, population of 167 and 2 stations

 

[Railsigns]

Greenock currently has nine (including the mothballed IBM station), and has a much smaller population than Exeter.

 

[Andy Pacer]

Where do you draw the line where Manchester is concerned?

 

[BeijingDave]

Is there a city in the UK of comparable size with such a huge number of railway stations as Exeter! Given much larger cities like Leicester or Sheffield only have about 3 or 4 respectively, and others like Norwich, Peterborough, York, etc only have 1, Exeter is doing phenomenally well for station coverage.
At the latest count it will soon have 9!

Exeter St David’s
Exeter Central
Exeter St Thomas’
St James’ Park
Pinhoe
Polsoe Bridge
Digby & Sowton
Newcourt
And soon to be opening Marsh Barton.

I imagine Sheffield's comparative lack of stations is explained by 2 things though:
1. It's a very hilly city and heavy rail has never really made sense as a way to travel from the centre to the outer suburbs.
2. The rail routes around the city will have had much heavier goods usage than Exeter, so it wouldn't have been desirable to clog them up with slow-moving, stopping suburban trains.

 

[Parallel]

Although double the size, Cardiff must be a good comparison - I’m not sure where the boundaries end but stations included would be:

Cardiff Central
Cardiff Queen Street
Cardiff Bay
Grangetown
Cogan
Dingle Road(?)
Penarth (?)
Llandaf
Cathays
Radyr
Ninian Park
Waun-Gron Park
Fairwater
Danescourt
Heath High Level
Heath Low Level
Ty Glas
Birchgrove
Rhiwbina
Whitchurch
Coryton
Llanishen

And possibly a couple more I’ve missed? And more are planned for the city…

 

[BeijingDave]

Pontefract, Tyndrum and Greenock are not cities.

I imagine Ely (only 20,000 people) would be the city that may be 'over-served' in terms of head of population, but still only one station.

Where do you draw the line where Manchester is concerned?

And do you consider Salford its own city? (many do, as they should)

 

[Andy Pacer]

And do you consider Salford its own city? (many do, as they should

Exactly!

Is there a city in the UK of comparable size with such a huge number of railway stations as Exeter! Given much larger cities like Leicester or Sheffield only have about 3 or 4 respectively, and others like Norwich, Peterborough, York, etc only have 1, Exeter is doing phenomenally well for station coverage.
At the latest count it will soon have 9!

Exeter St David’s
Exeter Central
Exeter St Thomas’
St James’ Park
Pinhoe
Polsoe Bridge
Digby & Sowton
Newcourt
And soon to be opening Marsh Barton.

It could be argued that Leicester only has 1 as well.

 

[pompeyfan]

Southampton has as many as 12, depending on where you draw the boundaries, but does have a high population count

 

[swt_passenger]

Where do you draw the line where Manchester is concerned?

Probably by disregarding it because as per the OP it isn’t a city of “comparable size to Exeter”?

Southampton has as many as 12, depending on where you draw the boundaries, but does have a high population count

There’s only 8 if you use the unitary authority boundary though:
Redbridge, Millbrook, Southampton, St Denys, Swaythling, Bitterne, Woolston, Sholing.

 

[fgwrich]

Probably by disregarding it because as per the OP it isn’t a city of “comparable size to Exeter”?


There’s only 8 if you use the unitary authority boundary though:
Redbridge, Millbrook, Southampton, St Denys, Swaythling, Bitterne, Woolston, Sholing.

Indeed, you have the slightly unusual situation of Southampton Airport Parkway technically located in the Borough of Eastleigh.

 

[swt_passenger]

Indeed, you have the slightly unusual situation of Southampton Airport Parkway technically located in the Borough of Eastleigh.

Definitely. Totton, Netley and Hamble must have been the other cross boundary stations.

 

[BeijingDave]

Probably by disregarding it because as per the OP it isn’t a city of “comparable size to Exeter”?

However, OP mentions Sheffield, which is actually a more populous city than Manchester by 50,000 people.

 

[Starmill]

However, OP mentions Sheffield, which is actually a more populous city than Manchester by 50,000 people.

I think that you mean that the Sheffield district is more populous than the Manchester district. Which tells us effectively nothing useful because that measure excludes about half of the inner suburbs of Manchester.

Is there a city in the UK of comparable size with such a huge number of railway stations as Exeter! Given much larger cities like Leicester or Sheffield only have about 3 or 4 respectively, and others like Norwich, Peterborough, York, etc only have 1, Exeter is doing phenomenally well for station coverage.
At the latest count it will soon have 9!

Exeter St David’s
Exeter Central
Exeter St Thomas’
St James’ Park
Pinhoe
Polsoe Bridge
Digby & Sowton
Newcourt
And soon to be opening Marsh Barton.

As you've probably realised by now, you have committed the cardinal sin of not carefully explaining your boundaries!

English local authority boundaries, certainly the ones outside of Greater London, really don't mean very much to ordinary people in the way that they may do elsewhere. They're very arbitrary.

 

[daodao]

Although double the size, Cardiff must be a good comparison - I’m not sure where the boundaries end but stations included would be:

Cardiff Central
Cardiff Queen Street
Cardiff Bay
Grangetown
Cogan
Dingle Road(?)
Penarth (?)
Llandaf
Cathays
Radyr
Ninian Park
Waun-Gron Park
Fairwater
Danescourt
Heath High Level
Heath Low Level
Ty Glas
Birchgrove
Rhiwbina
Coryton

And possibly a couple more I’ve missed? And more are planned for the city…

3 of the above aren't in Cardiff itself, but you have omitted:
Llanishen
Lisvane & Thornhill
Whitchurch (my local station for over 20 years - I could see the platform from my flat)

That's a total of 19.

 

[route101]

Probably by disregarding it because as per the OP it isn’t a city of “comparable size to Exeter”?


There’s only 8 if you use the unitary authority boundary though:
Redbridge, Millbrook, Southampton, St Denys, Swaythling, Bitterne, Woolston, Sholing.

Are they well used apart from Southampton?

 

[Andy Pacer]

Probably by disregarding it because as per the OP it isn’t a city of “comparable size to Exeter”?

Haha... where would we be without a typical forum style retort. At least it made me chuckle. As was pointed out earlier, Sheffield had been mentioned.

I think the helpful answer was upthread, where the point of cities within cities was introduced. Birmingham could be a similar, as a larger city also including Wolverhampton.

 

[geoffk]

Where do you draw the line where Manchester is concerned?

Around the city boundary? I make it 14 stations. West of Victoria there are no stations in Manchester and east only Moston. West of Piccadilly only Oxford Road and Deansgate,to the east there's Ardwick, Ashburys, Gorton, Belle Vue and Ryder Brow and to the south Levenshulme, Mauldeth Road, Burnage and East Didsbury. Of course there were more before some lines were converted to Metrolink.

 

[Andy Pacer]

Around the city boundary? I make it 14 stations. West of Victoria there are no stations in Manchester and east only Moston. West of Piccadilly only Oxford Road and Deansgate,to the east there's Ardwick, Ashburys, Gorton, Belle Vue and Ryder Brow and to the south Levenshulme, Mauldeth Road, Burnage and East Didsbury. Of course there were more before some lines were converted to Metrolink.

That's more what I was thinking. Its easy to try and include more outer areas but 14 is good going.

 

[YorksLad12]

Where do you draw the line where Manchester is concerned?

City of Manchester (the Metropolitan district).

And do you consider Salford its own city? (many do, as they should)

Well it's called the City of Salford, so... yes. I was chided by their former leader when checking him in at an event once for calling it a borough.

I think City of Leeds district has 14: Burley, Headingley, Horsforth; Cross Gates, Garforth, East Garforth, Micklefield; Kirkstall Forge, Guiseley; Bramley, New Pudsey; Cottingley, Morley; Woodlesford. Traditionalists in Morley, Horsforth, Pudsey and other outlying villages would say they're not in Leeds, which they weren't before 1974.

Kirklees is neither a town nor a city but has 15 stations, as does Wakefield district and Bradford district. But those are much more multi-centric districts than Leeds is.

 

[swt_passenger]

Haha... where would we be without a typical forum style retort. At least it made me chuckle. As was pointed out earlier, Sheffield had been mentioned.

I think the helpful answer was upthread, where the point of cities within cities was introduced. Birmingham could be a similar, as a larger city also including Wolverhampton.

Ah yes, we are hardly ever comparing like with like. I suppose it’s why we sometimes get suggestions that Sunderland is a bigger “place” than Newcastle…

 

[ChrisC]

If only stations within the city boundary are counted Nottingham only has two. That is Nottingham and Bulwell. Netherfield and Carlton are outside of the city in the Borough of Gedling and Beeston is in the Borough of Broxtowe. Interesting that both Gedling and Broxtowe have borough status and are not just council districts.

 

[Starmill]

City of Manchester (the Metropolitan district).

What's that a useful area for measuring? Unless it's council tax receipts or local elections, nothing I imagine? Why would you want to measure an area that includes Wythenshawe and Northenden but excludes Ordsall, Droylsden and Failsworth?

 

[Irascible]

And yet you wouldn't think of taking the train around Exeter in & out, sure. Considering some of the wreckage of the 60s, it's impressive how much we've held onto down here sometimes.

 

[southern442]

Are they well used apart from Southampton?

About as well-used as to be expected when they only get an hourly service. The infrastructure is very limited around there but I would predict if each got a 4tph metro style service they'd be much better used. Many of said stations also don't really serve the centre of anywhere particularly well, which in itself isn't a bad thing, but again means they'd probably be far better suited to a 'little and often' type service.

 

[ashkeba]

And yet you wouldn't think of taking the train around Exeter in & out, sure. Considering some of the wreckage of the 60s, it's impressive how much we've held onto down here sometimes.

It is also impressive how many train stations a city can have without a coherent network for travelling around in it. Exeter is one of those that foreigners look st maps and wonder why it seems to have deliberately avoided forming a S-bahn-type operation.

 

[swt_passenger]

About as well-used as to be expected when they only get an hourly service. The infrastructure is very limited around there but I would predict if each got a 4tph metro style service they'd be much better used. Many of said stations also don't really serve the centre of anywhere particularly well, which in itself isn't a bad thing, but again means they'd probably be far better suited to a 'little and often' type service.

I always wonder about Redbridge. It’s not really near anywhere and the local population centres all have decent bus services. Would it be asked for if it didn’t already exist?