The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Drop in passengers using Tayside’s main stations
Just 24 people in a year used one Angus station, figures show
An Angus railway station is the least used in Britain, according to new figures.
Only 24 passengers travelled to or from Barry Links station in 2016-17, according to data published by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
And the figures also show that the number of people using the rail stop-offs in Dundee, Perth and Inverkeithing has dropped.
Inverkeithing Railway Station experienced the seventh biggest decline in usage in Scotland across 2016-17 with 108,616 entries and exits as compared to the figures for 2015-16, although these figures were inflated following the sudden closure of the Forth Road Bridge for emergency repairs.
During 2016-17, some 1,272,228 passengers used Inverkeithing.
Dundee Station was Scotland’s 14th busiest with 1,815,342 entries and exits – however the number of people using the station dropped by 74,792. Perth also saw a drop in usage of 64,906.
Major redevelopment work is said to have caused the 3.96% decline in Dundee’s figures.
Barry Links is served by just one ScotRail train a day in each direction, Monday to Saturday.
The station does not have a ticket office, ticket machines, toilet or CCTV, and is unstaffed.
Independent Carnoustie councillor Brian Boyd disputed the figures for the station and said Barry Links is used much more than the figures suggest. He added: “I can assure you there’s at least a dozen passengers coming off each and every evening from the teatime train at Barry.
“Yes, there aren’t many trains that stop there but the figures are way out, in my opinion.
“With golf (the Open Championship) in 2018, it will be used considerably more because it’s right on the perimeter of the world-renowned course.”
A ScotRail Alliance spokesman said: “Millions of people pass through our stations every year, and we are doing everything we can to give customers the best service possible.
“The investment we are making in brand new electric trains, as well as the introduction of high-speed trains connecting Scotland’s seven cities, are just part of our plan to build the best railway Scotland has ever had.”