Railway station ins and outs went over a million...
MORE than a million passengers entered and exited Barnsley railway station last year, new figures have revealed.
The town centre station was understandably the most used across the borough last year, but at the other end of the spectrum Silkstone Common saw the least activity with just 28,164 visitors. The figures from the Office of Rail and Road show the number of visitors has increased on the previous year’s figures, but they have not yet rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.
The ORR’s estimates of station usage are taken from the rail industry’s ticketing and revenue system Lennon, with some local ticketing data.
Adjustments are made to make the estimates as accurate as possible, the regulator said.
ORR director of planning and performance Feras Alshaker said: “It is heartening to see passengers return to travelling by rail following what was a difficult period for the industry during the pandemic.
“There’s still some way to go in order for station usage figures to return to pre-pandemic levels.
“Once again it is important to thank all those in the rail industry, who continue to work hard to help people travel safely and with confidence.”
In Barnsley, 1.8 million passengers entered and exited train stations in 2021-22 – up from 552,954 the previous year, but below pre-pandemic levels of 2.3 million in 2019-20. Transport think tank, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, said it is positive to see numbers rebounding, but that there is still a long way to go.
Jacob Mason, research and impact director at the ITDP, said: “As we recover from the pandemic, the time for a major investment into public transport is now.”
The Department for Transport said it has provided more than £16 billion of funding for passenger services since the start of the pandemic.
A spokesperson added: “We now need to reform our railways to reflect changes in travel trends and restore financial stability on our railways.”