Least Used Stations Of Great Britain on:
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This article will show a list of the top five least used stations of Great Britain in the year stated. A least used station is a station that received the fewest entries/exits (described as a passenger) as defined by Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in a given timeframe. These statistics are released by the ORR every November, December or January.
The publicity around these stations is fuelled by the nature of how unusual they are. Railway enthusiasts are known to visit them for either being able to say they have been there, or in order to boost the station's statistics up to make it more used. Geoff Marshall, a YouTuber known for his railway-related content, has a series dedicated to visiting these stations. His project with his then-partner Vicki Pipe, All the Stations, was also a primary reason for increasing the number of passengers at Shippea Hill between the 2015/16 period and 2016/17 period.
There has also been news coverage on a few of the least used stations, for example
The only station to receive zero passengers in this period was Heathrow Terminal 4, which was due to its closure between 9 May 2020 and 14 June 2022, when it reopened, due to of the
The least used station in this statistic period was Elton & Orston, which is in that position for the first time. Interestingly, Kirton Lindsey maintained its position at number 5 for the second year running. Stanlow & Thornton had its services suspended in February 2022 (before the end of the year) due to safety concerns about the footbridge. Teesside Airport's services were suspended after the end of the year, and - whilst this did not affect these statistics - this may affect its passenger numbers for next year. Other than Heathrow, the statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
There were six stations which were used by zero people in this period, those being: 
Due to the stats for this period finishing recording in March, this release was not completely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The least used station in the whole country for this period was
The least used station in this period was a tie, the title being taken by both
The least used station in this period was Redcar British Steel. It suffered a massive drop in passengers in this period, going from above 1000 passengers in 2014/15 dropping to just 40 in this period. This is due to the steel works which this station served being closed, and the station having no access other than from the train. The station itself had all of its services suspended in December 2019. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
The least used station in this period was Barry Links. Originally opened by the Dundee and Arbroath Railway, Barry Links is located on the Dundee–Aberdeen line just east of the town of
The least used station in this period was Shippea Hill. Originally opened as 'Mildenhall Road' in 1845, it has since been through two name changes; one in 1885 which saw it named as 'Burnt Fen', and again in 1904 where it was renamed to its current name, Shippea Hill. Its located on the
The least used station in this period was Shippea Hill (It had this honour three times in a row). See above for background information on this station. The second least used was Coombe Junction Halt, a station which always seems to find itself in the top five or ten. This is due to its location (on a small industrial estate near Liskeard) and its sparse service. The statistics for this period show the top five least used stations to be:
The least used station in this period was
The least used station in this period was
The least used station in this period was
The least used station in this period was Coombe Junction Halt, a small halt on the Looe Valley Line. Owing to its sparse service of four trains a day, and its location on an industrial estate near Liskeard, this station is always very under used. More background information on this station is available in the section for the period between 2012 and 2013. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
The least used station in this period was
The least used station in this period was
The least used station in this period was Tyndrum Lower. One of two stations in the small village of
The least used station in this period was Gainsborough Central. It had this honour twice in a row. The station earned this title due to its sparse Saturday-only service which were introduced in
The least used station in this period was Gainsborough Central. It had this honour twice in a row. See above for background information on this station. The second least used station in this period was Watford West. Despite the station being closed by this time, 25 people still purchased a ticket to this station, causing the statistics to count it. The station closed in 2002, the line itself being closed a year later. See Watford West for more information. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
The least used station in this period was Barry Links and Gainsborough Central. For background information on these stations, see period 2004 and 2005 for Gainsborough Central and period 2016 and 2017 for Barry Links. The third least used station for this period was Golf Street. Located on the Dundee–Aberdeen line, the station only gets three trains a day, and to this day it remains in the top five least used stations in Scotland. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:The spreadsheet provided for this period does not provided the added together entries and exits, so this has been done manually.
The least used station in this period was Beauly. It only gained this title as the station was opened during this period, so it did not have enough time to gain a significant number of passengers. Its located on the Far North Line between
The least used station in this period was
The least used station for this period was Ditton, despite having no services since 1994. The reason it still ranks in this period despite it having no services is because someone purchased a ticket to and from this station. Unusually, this period, a station was created in the data under the name of " King's Cross St Pancras" which recorded only 41 passengers despite the usage for both stations individually being many thousands of times greater. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
{, class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
, +1999/2000 Period
!Position
!Station Name
!Station Location
!Usage Figure
, -
, 1
, Ditton
,
Estimates of station usage
released by the Office of Rail and Road.
Archived Estimates
on National Archives (for periods from 1997 to 2017)
Overview
This table shows the top least used stations of every period covered in this page.Publicity
The publicity around these stations is fuelled by the nature of how unusual they are. Railway enthusiasts are known to visit them for either being able to say they have been there, or in order to boost the station's statistics up to make it more used. Geoff Marshall, a YouTuber known for his railway-related content, has a series dedicated to visiting these stations. His project with his then-partner Vicki Pipe, All the Stations, was also a primary reason for increasing the number of passengers at Shippea Hill between the 2015/16 period and 2016/17 period.
There has also been news coverage on a few of the least used stations, for example Berney Arms
Berney Arms is a settlement on the north bank of the River Yare, close to Breydon Water in the English county of Norfolk. It is part of the civil parish of Reedham, in the district of Broadland, and lies within The Broads. It comprises a rail ...
had an ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
reporter sent to cover it when it was announced in the 2019/20 period.
Statistics
Period between 2021 and 2022
Zero stations
The only station to receive zero passengers in this period was Heathrow Terminal 4, which was due to its closure between 9 May 2020 and 14 June 2022, when it reopened, due to of the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
Stations above zero
The least used station in this statistic period was Elton & Orston, which is in that position for the first time. Interestingly, Kirton Lindsey maintained its position at number 5 for the second year running. Stanlow & Thornton had its services suspended in February 2022 (before the end of the year) due to safety concerns about the footbridge. Teesside Airport's services were suspended after the end of the year, and - whilst this did not affect these statistics - this may affect its passenger numbers for next year. Other than Heathrow, the statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
Period between 2020 and 2021
COVID-19
TheCOVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
has had a great effect on the railway network in Great Britain. Usage fell approximately 78% in the period between April 2020 and March 2021. Some stations were even closed for long periods of time due to inability to social distance, caused by short platforms.
Zero stations
There were six stations which were used by zero people in this period, those being: Abererch
Aber-erch (Welsh language, Welsh for "Mouth of the Afon Erch, Erch") is a small village and former civil parish on the Llŷn Peninsula in the Wales, Welsh county of Gwynedd. The village lies approximately east of Pwllheli. A river, the Afon Erc ...
, Beasdale, Llanbedr, Sampford Courtenay
Sampford Courtenay is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Devon in England, most famous for being the place where the Western Rebellion, otherwise known as the Prayerbook rebellion, first started, and where the rebels m ...
, Stanlow and Thornton
Stanlow and Thornton railway station is located within the Stanlow Refinery in Cheshire, England. It lies on the Hooton–Helsby line with services operated by Northern Trains. The station is surrounded by the refinery site, so as a result mos ...
, and Sugar Loaf
A sugarloaf was the usual form in which refined sugar was produced and sold until the late 19th century, when granulated and cube sugars were introduced. A tall cone with a rounded top was the end product of a process in which dark molasses, a r ...
. Abererch, Llanbedr, and Sugar Loaf were some of a few stations closed during the pandemic due to social distancing measures. Sampford Courtenay was last served by Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
in summer 2019, and had all of its services withdrawn in December 2019 not long before the Dartmoor Heritage Railway went into administration, and no trains have served it since. Beasdale and Stanlow & Thornton had low passenger usage pre-pandemic, so the restrictions impacted this even further. These stations will not be shown in the table for this period, but will be shown in the overview table.
Stations above zero
The least used station in this period (other than zero stations) was Teesside Airport, see period 2013 and 2014 for further information on this station. The second least used was Tygwyn in Gwynedd. Pre-pandemic, this station got around 2000 passengers annually. However, it was closed during the pandemic due to social distancing measures, and when it was re-opened it never gained back its previous form. This is the same for most stations which fell dramatically in this period. Other than zero stations, the statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:Period between 2019 and 2020
Due to the stats for this period finishing recording in March, this release was not completely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The least used station in the whole country for this period was Berney Arms
Berney Arms is a settlement on the north bank of the River Yare, close to Breydon Water in the English county of Norfolk. It is part of the civil parish of Reedham, in the district of Broadland, and lies within The Broads. It comprises a rail ...
, a small request stop on a lesser-used line between Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
and Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...
. It dropped by approximately 90% from its statistics last year, due to it being closed for 15 months for signalling work. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
Period between 2018 and 2019
The least used station in this period was a tie, the title being taken by both Stanlow and Thornton
Stanlow and Thornton railway station is located within the Stanlow Refinery in Cheshire, England. It lies on the Hooton–Helsby line with services operated by Northern Trains. The station is surrounded by the refinery site, so as a result mos ...
and Denton. Denton has always been very underused, being on a line that only gets one 2-way journey on a Saturday only. Stanlow and Thornton used to get an hourly service in the 1980s, but it has now been reduced to two trains in each direction a day. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
Period between 2017 and 2018
The least used station in this period was Redcar British Steel. It suffered a massive drop in passengers in this period, going from above 1000 passengers in 2014/15 dropping to just 40 in this period. This is due to the steel works which this station served being closed, and the station having no access other than from the train. The station itself had all of its services suspended in December 2019. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
Period between 2016 and 2017
The least used station in this period was Barry Links. Originally opened by the Dundee and Arbroath Railway, Barry Links is located on the Dundee–Aberdeen line just east of the town of Barry Barry may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name
* Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...
. Its always been fairly unused due to a very sparse train service (one train a day in each direction). The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
Period between 2015 and 2016
The least used station in this period was Shippea Hill. Originally opened as 'Mildenhall Road' in 1845, it has since been through two name changes; one in 1885 which saw it named as 'Burnt Fen', and again in 1904 where it was renamed to its current name, Shippea Hill. Its located on the Breckland line
The Breckland line is a secondary railway line in the east of England that links in the west to in the east. The line runs through three counties: Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk. It takes its name from the Breckland region of Norfolk, a ...
, approximately six miles west of Ely Ely or ELY may refer to:
Places Ireland
* Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely
* Ely Place, Dublin, a street
United Kingdom
* Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England
** Ely Cathedral
Ely Cathedral, formal ...
. Its location is the reason of it being so least used. The statistics for this period show the top five least used stations to be:
Period between 2014 and 2015
The least used station in this period was Shippea Hill (It had this honour three times in a row). See above for background information on this station. The second least used was Coombe Junction Halt, a station which always seems to find itself in the top five or ten. This is due to its location (on a small industrial estate near Liskeard) and its sparse service. The statistics for this period show the top five least used stations to be:
Period between 2013 and 2014
The least used station in this period was Teesside Airport
Teesside International Airport , previously Durham Tees Valley Airport, is an international airport located between Darlington and Stockton-on-Tees, Northern England. It is about south-west of Middlesbrough. The airport serves the North East ...
(It had this honour four times in a row). It is a very sparsely served station on the Tees Valley line. It only receives one train a week as of the December 2020 timetable coming into effect. It has two platforms but only one is used due to there being only one service a week. It serves Teesside International Airport
Teesside International Airport , previously Durham Tees Valley Airport, is an international airport located between Darlington and Stockton-on-Tees, Northern England. It is about south-west of Middlesbrough. The airport serves the North East ...
, which by airport-standards is also fairly under-used. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
Period between 2012 and 2013
The least used station in this period was Teesside Airport
Teesside International Airport , previously Durham Tees Valley Airport, is an international airport located between Darlington and Stockton-on-Tees, Northern England. It is about south-west of Middlesbrough. The airport serves the North East ...
. It had this honour four times in a row. See above for background information on the station. The second least used was Coombe Junction Halt, a small halt on the Looe Valley Line. It only gets four trains a day (two in each direction) as most trains reverse at the level crossing around 50 ft down the track. See '' Looe Valley Line'' for more information. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
Period between 2011 and 2012
The least used station in this period was Teesside Airport
Teesside International Airport , previously Durham Tees Valley Airport, is an international airport located between Darlington and Stockton-on-Tees, Northern England. It is about south-west of Middlesbrough. The airport serves the North East ...
. It had this honour four times in a row. See above for background information on the station. The second least used station was Dorking West. The only reason it gets this title is due to a supposed anomalous result caused by a 'computer predicting system'. This station would usually see around 50,000 passengers each year. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
Period between 2010 and 2011
The least used station in this period wasTeesside Airport
Teesside International Airport , previously Durham Tees Valley Airport, is an international airport located between Darlington and Stockton-on-Tees, Northern England. It is about south-west of Middlesbrough. The airport serves the North East ...
. It had this honour four times in a row. See above for background information on this station. The second least used station was Dorking West. This station got second place twice in a row (see above) due to a supposed anomalous results caused by a 'computer predicting system'. See above for background information on this station. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
Period between 2009 and 2010
The least used station in this period was Coombe Junction Halt, a small halt on the Looe Valley Line. Owing to its sparse service of four trains a day, and its location on an industrial estate near Liskeard, this station is always very under used. More background information on this station is available in the section for the period between 2012 and 2013. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
Period between 2008 and 2009
The least used station in this period was Teesside Airport
Teesside International Airport , previously Durham Tees Valley Airport, is an international airport located between Darlington and Stockton-on-Tees, Northern England. It is about south-west of Middlesbrough. The airport serves the North East ...
. Background information for this station is available in the section for the 2013 and 2014 period. The second least used station in this period was Denton. Located on the Stockport–Stalybridge line
The Stockport–Stalybridge line is a railway line in Greater Manchester, England, running from northeast to , via Guide Bridge. The line is today used mainly by freight and empty stock workings, although it once had a frequent passenger servi ...
, it only receives two services (one to Stalybridge and one to Stockport) on a Saturday. Owing to this, this station is always hovering around the top five, but very rarely actually going top. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
Period between 2007 and 2008
The least used station in this period was Crosskeys
Crosskeys ( cy, Pont-y-cymer) is a village, community and an electoral ward in Caerphilly county borough in Wales.
Etymology
The village was originally named Pont-y-cymer and this remains the official Welsh name for the village. The name mea ...
. The only reason it earnt this title was due to the station only being reopened during this period, and there was not enough time for the station to get a proper usage. It is located on the Ebbw Valley Railway in Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
and is served with one train an hour in each direction on Monday to Saturday, and approximately one train every two hours on a Sunday. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
Period between 2006 and 2007
The least used station in this period was Tyndrum Lower. One of two stations in the small village of Tyndrum
Tyndrum (; gd, Taigh an Droma) is a small village in Scotland. Its Gaelic name translates as "the house on the ridge". It lies in Strathfillan, at the southern edge of Rannoch Moor.
Location and facilities
Tyndrum is a popular tourist village, ...
, this one is located on the West Highland Line. With only six trains calling at this station on Monday-Saturday, and the local village only having a population of 167, this station is always rather unused, now getting around 5,000 passengers modern-day. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
Period between 2005 and 2006
The least used station in this period was Gainsborough Central. It had this honour twice in a row. The station earned this title due to its sparse Saturday-only service which were introduced in British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
in 1993. Located on the Sheffield–Lincoln line
The Sheffield–Lincoln line is a railway line in England. It runs from Sheffield to Lincoln via Worksop, Retford and Gainsborough Lea Road. The route comprises the main line of the former Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&L ...
it only three of these Saturday only trains. It has since gained a better service after a long campaign for better service on the line finally succeeded. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
Period between 2004 and 2005
The least used station in this period was Gainsborough Central. It had this honour twice in a row. See above for background information on this station. The second least used station in this period was Watford West. Despite the station being closed by this time, 25 people still purchased a ticket to this station, causing the statistics to count it. The station closed in 2002, the line itself being closed a year later. See Watford West for more information. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
Period between 2003 and 2004
Statistics for this period were not produced due to a change in the methodology used.Period between 2002 and 2003
The least used station in this period was Barry Links and Gainsborough Central. For background information on these stations, see period 2004 and 2005 for Gainsborough Central and period 2016 and 2017 for Barry Links. The third least used station for this period was Golf Street. Located on the Dundee–Aberdeen line, the station only gets three trains a day, and to this day it remains in the top five least used stations in Scotland. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:The spreadsheet provided for this period does not provided the added together entries and exits, so this has been done manually.
Period between 2001 and 2002
The least used station in this period was Beauly. It only gained this title as the station was opened during this period, so it did not have enough time to gain a significant number of passengers. Its located on the Far North Line between Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
and Muir of Ord. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
Period between 2000 and 2001
The least used station in this period was Buckenham
Buckenham is a small village in the English county of Norfolk situated on the northern bank of the River Yare around south-east of Norwich.
History
Buckenham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for Bucca's homestea ...
. This station is rather unique in the way that it only receives services on weekend. This is not unheard of but also not common. It has this irregular service pattern due to its popularity with walkers and bird-spotters as it is located next to the RSPB Buckenham Marshes
Buckenham Marshes RSPB reserve is a nature reserve located on the northern bank of the River Yare in the English county of Norfolk. The reserve is located around south-east of Norwich near the village of Buckenham. The site, which is in The Br ...
and RSPB Strumpshaw Fen
Strumpshaw Fen is a nature reserve managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). It is situated at Strumpshaw on the River Yare in the English county of Norfolk around east of Norwich. The Buckenham Marshes RSPB reserve border ...
. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
Period between 1999 and 2000
The least used station for this period was Ditton, despite having no services since 1994. The reason it still ranks in this period despite it having no services is because someone purchased a ticket to and from this station. Unusually, this period, a station was created in the data under the name of " King's Cross St Pancras" which recorded only 41 passengers despite the usage for both stations individually being many thousands of times greater. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:
{, class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
, +1999/2000 Period
!Position
!Station Name
!Station Location
!Usage Figure
, -
, 1
, Ditton
, Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
, 1
, -
, 2
, Coombe Junction Halt
, Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
, 14
, -
, 3
, Buckenham
Buckenham is a small village in the English county of Norfolk situated on the northern bank of the River Yare around south-east of Norwich.
History
Buckenham's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for Bucca's homestea ...
, Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, 18
, -
, 4
, Gainsborough Central
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
, 19
, -
, 5
, Pilning
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean.
The county town is the city of Gl ...
, 23
See also
* Parliamentary train *Closure by stealth Closure by stealth is a term most frequently used in the UK and Ireland to refer to the deliberate downgrading of a service by the management or owners with the intention of driving away users or customers. The aim is to make the service uneconomic ...
* Stations still open but with no services
References
External links
Estimates of station usage
released by the Office of Rail and Road.
Archived Estimates
on National Archives (for periods from 1997 to 2017)
Notes