The ‘ghost stations’ used by no-one
SIX RAILWAY stations saw no passengers at all while 14 had fewer than 20 passing through in the pandemic, new data reveals.
Abererch and Llanbedr, both in Gwynedd; Sugar Loaf in Powys; Beasdale in the Scottish Highland; Sampford Courtenay in Devon; and Stanlow &Thornton, Cheshire, all had no recorded entries or exits in April 2020 to March 2021.
Services were temporarily suspended at most of them, the Office for Rail and Road report explained. But there was good news for these “ghost stations”, as publicising low passenger numbers encourages people to visit them.
After Norfolk’s Berneyarms was revealed as the least-used station in 2019-2020, with just 42 entries and exits, passenger numbers soared to 348 the following year.
Passenger numbers plummeted 78 per cent in the pandemic – the lowest annual level since 1872.
And Londonwaterloo, the busiest for the previous 16 years, lost its crown to London Stratford.
The busiest stations outside London remained the same: Glasgow Central, Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester Piccadilly, Nottingham, Birmingham New Street, Cambridge and Bristol.
By the end of March 2,569 stations were served by mainline rail services in Great Britain.