ORR unveils station usage data between April 2022 and March 2023

[railfan99]

Compare that with the Bittern Line from Norwich to Sheringham where almost all stations are above pre-pandemic usage with many achieving that last year. Just shows what a reliable service can do.

I travelled in September 2022 and was (pleasantly) astounded by the numbers using. It wasn't just from Norwich, or Sheringham. On a weekday inbound arrival in the latter stage of the morning peak, to Norwich, more than 100 alighted at Norwich. All trains were on time.

 

[70014IronDuke]

I think that what's needed is a period of stability, so that passengers get used to trains running properly. On the tertiary lines, if a train is cancelled, you can be stuck for an hour or more. To be fair to Northern, on normal days, the S&C and Little North Western tend to be quite reliable. However, this may have been counteracted by them getting the chop every time there's industrial action.

Good points. Yes, I agree, although the LNW has seen regular cancellations of late, plus flooding issues.

Rather than alternative transport (the local roads are awful, especially from South Cumbria), I think this is the effect of working from home/hybrid working in place at Sellafield now. I have a couple of friends in office based roles there who used to travel every day, and now make only a once a week visit to site.

Interesting observation. Thanks.

Compare that with the Bittern Line from Norwich to Sheringham where almost all stations are above pre-pandemic usage with many achieving that last year. Just shows what a reliable service can do.

Also interesting. It's reliable (when not strike days) is it?

I assume it serves quite a wealthy population area? So a mixture of commuters into Norwich at peak times, shoppers+leisure all year round during the day and then out-of-area tourists in the summer?

 

[dk1]

I travelled in September 2022 and was (pleasantly) astounded by the numbers using. It wasn't just from Norwich, or Sheringham. On a weekday inbound arrival in the latter stage of the morning peak, to Norwich, more than 100 alighted at Norwich. All trains were on time.

It is a very well used branch line and can often pick up as many passengers at Wroxham & North Walsham heading north as alight from Norwich. It has a very good mix of flows and a significant number of long distance passengers too connecting at Norwich.

Also interesting. It's reliable (when not strike days) is it?

I assume it serves quite a wealthy population area? So a mixture of commuters into Norwich at peak times, shoppers+leisure all year round during the day and then out-of-area tourists in the summer?

Performance on regional routes in Norfolk & Suffolk are between 97-99% The most recent annual average for the Bittern Line is 97.8%. Strike days are unfortunate. Gone are the days of single car 153s and 2-car 156s with everything operated by level boarding class 755s which operate as 3 or 4 cars. Amazes me how we ever coped with the loadings seen in the last couple of summers.

Add to that the line also has excellent user groups who keep stations looking very floral and tidy.

You’ve also got friendly conductors who spend most of the time in the train chasing revenue and assisting passengers without the need to worry about open/closing doors.

 

[Goldfish62]

You’ve also got friendly conductors who spend most of the time in the train chasing revenue and assisting passengers without the need to worry about open/closing doors.

The conductors/guards on GA are just so good! Ticket checks on almost every journey and they genuinely give the impression they enjoy their jobs.

 

[dk1]

The conductors/guards on GA are just so good! Ticket checks on almost every journey and they genuinely give the impression they enjoy their jobs.

On the whole they are superb and have always continued in the Anglia Railways style.

 

[Killingworth]

The conductors/guards on GA are just so good! Ticket checks on almost every journey and they genuinely give the impression they enjoy their jobs.

And they're operating smart modern trains that add to the feeling of pride in the railway. As a visitor that makes them a joy to use.

 

[gerryuk]

Can somebody explain Sheffield and Bristol Temple Meads to me? According to the figures (if i have understood them correctly) Sheffield had 7.2 million customers up to March 2022. Bristol Temple Meads had 6.6 million in the same period.
The latest figures show Sheffield on 8.6 million with Bristol Temple Meads on 9.3 million. Can somebody explain how Bristol has added 2.7 million customers over the last 12 months? Not sure i am reading the figures correctly, but Bristol adding nearly 3 million in a year?, or am i being dumb here?
I seem to remember that London St Pancras was always the busiest route out of Sheffield, but according to the latest figures Manchester Picc was the busiest last year with 883.124 customers. Why would there be a significant drop on these figures to London when both Nottingham and Leicester on the same line have added customers to London?

 

[JW4]

Can somebody explain Sheffield and Bristol Temple Meads to me? According to the figures (if i have understood them correctly) Sheffield had 7.2 million customers up to March 2022. Bristol Temple Meads had 6.6 million in the same period.
The latest figures show Sheffield on 8.6 million with Bristol Temple Meads on 9.3 million. Can somebody explain how Bristol has added 2.7 million customers over the last 12 months? Not sure i am reading the figures correctly, but Bristol adding nearly 3 million in a year?, or am i being dumb here?

If you look at the pre-Covid numbers Bristol TM had around 1.5 million yearly passengers more than Sheffield, so it’s not unusual for Bristol TM to have recovered to return to having more than Sheffield.

 

[Stephen42]

Can somebody explain Sheffield and Bristol Temple Meads to me? According to the figures (if i have understood them correctly) Sheffield had 7.2 million customers up to March 2022. Bristol Temple Meads had 6.6 million in the same period.
The latest figures show Sheffield on 8.6 million with Bristol Temple Meads on 9.3 million. Can somebody explain how Bristol has added 2.7 million customers over the last 12 months? Not sure i am reading the figures correctly, but Bristol adding nearly 3 million in a year?, or am i being dumb here?
I seem to remember that London St Pancras was always the busiest route out of Sheffield, but according to the latest figures Manchester Picc was the busiest last year with 883.124 customers. Why would there be a significant drop on these figures to London when both Nottingham and Leicester on the same line have added customers to London?

Average usage has gone up 40% since the previous year, Bristol Temple Meads has gone up by about the average. Sheffield has gone up by less, growth rates vary hugely from station to station due to the types of traffic that are responsible for the growth.

Manchester Picc was the most common origin for Sheffield the previous year as well with 424,611 estimated journeys. As journeys may have poorly attributed between group stations, last year 427 thousand journeys were to Manchester and 234 thousand to London terminals. I'd be surprised if there wasn't considerable growth to London this year but it's plausible that within group attribution has resulted in Manchester having the single station edge even if more journeys are to London.

 

[Kite159]

If you look at the pre-Covid numbers Bristol TM had around 1.5 million yearly passengers more than Sheffield, so it’s not unusual for Bristol TM to have recovered to return to having more than Sheffield.

Also the Sheffield area hasn't returned to a pre covid timetable on some routes, ie Sheffield - Doncaster stoppers only hourly compared to half hourly.

How many passengers of Rotherham have given up using Northern when a 2 coach 150/158 rocks up being standing room only when they can board the tram direct into the city centre? Or how many others have given up using Northern and drive into a tram P&R site.

 

[Peterthegreat]

Also the Sheffield area hasn't returned to a pre covid timetable on some routes, ie Sheffield - Doncaster stoppers only hourly compared to half hourly.

How many passengers of Rotherham have given up using Northern when a 2 coach 150/158 rocks up being standing room only when they can board the tram direct into the city centre? Or how many others have given up using Northern and drive into a tram P&R site.

Not only has the Sheffield - Rotherham - Doncaster service been reduced those that are supposed to run and the Sheffield - Rotherham - Leeds services are prone to cancellations.
Yesterday, amongst others, both the 18.05 (Doncaster) and 18.15 (Leeds) services from Sheffield to Rotherham were cancelled leaving a gap from 17.15 to 19.05 - on a Saturday just before Christmas.
Today the 16.43, 17.43 and 19.43 trains from Rotherham to Leeds were all cancelled.
Enough said!

 

[Killingworth]

Not only has the Sheffield - Rotherham - Doncaster service been reduced those that are supposed to run and the Sheffield - Rotherham - Leeds services are prone to cancellations.
Yesterday, amongst others, both the 18.05 (Doncaster) and 18.15 (Leeds) services from Sheffield to Rotherham were cancelled leaving a gap from 17.15 to 19.05 - on a Saturday just before Christmas.
Today the 16.43, 17.43 and 19.43 trains from Rotherham to Leeds were all cancelled.
Enough said!

However the figures relate to 1st April 2022 to 31at March 2023 so we need to bear in mind what was happening then and not most recently.

I have to say I'm surprised to see Manchester as the most popular destination from Sheffield given TPE's awful performance but services to Leeds, Doncaster and Nottingham are all poor.

 

[Peterthegreat]

However the figures relate to 1st April 2022 to 31at March 2023 so we need to bear in mind what was happening then and not most recently.

I have to say I'm surprised to see Manchester as the most popular destination from Sheffield given TPE's awful performance but services to Leeds, Doncaster and Nottingham are all poor.

I am well aware that the figures refer to the period ending 31 March. However the service was equally bad then. This weekend was fairly typical of what has been happening since Covid.

 

[railfan99]

On the whole they are superb and have always continued in the Anglia Railways style.

Without repeating myself, in my post re my 2023 UK/Europe travels I mentioned how at one intermediate station the conductor quickly appeared and sold a ticket to a male who'd boarded, and who was only travelling one or two stations. Without exception, conductors were polite and very efficient. I experienced similar politeness and reasonable efficiency on almost all operators, except West Midlands Trains where I never saw a ticket being checked. All my travel at latter was during daylight hours.

Doubtless you locals observe lazy staff but in the main that wasn't my experience: my journeys were a cross section albeit not on smaller operators like c2c, Chiltern Railways or Hull Trains.

 

[Snow1964]

Just for interest copying this here, it follows a discussion on Portsmouth-Cardiff line and is extract of ORR station data, which shows how growth is uneven, this is in the Portsmouth-Cardiff thread

Picked 2000-01 as round number about 20 years ago
Picked 2018-19 as last full year before any covid effects

Rank (national, station name, 2023-23 entance & exits
2000-01, 2018-19, % latest vs 2000-01, % latest vs 2018-19

37 Cardiff Central, 10,185,022, 6,707,944, 12,934,304, 151.8%, 78.7%
40 Bristol Temple Meads, 9,291,680, 4,184,675, 11,367,652, 222.0%, 81.7%
72 Southampton Central, 5,495,672, 4,072,160, 6,664,714, 135.0%, 82.5%
73 Bath Spa, 5,468,466, 3,009,640, 6,538,056, 181.7%, 83.6%
203, Newport (South Wales), 2,339,566, 1,466,693, 2,745,064, 159.5%, 85.2%
273 Fratton, 1,775,756, 994,274, 1,735,300, 178.6%, 102.3%
278 Portsmouth Harbour, 1,746,574, 499,012, 2,100,528, 350.0%, 83.1%
281 Portsmouth and Southsea, 1,707,210, 2,542,049, 2,053,186, 67.2%, 83.1%
287 Salisbury, 1,621,562, 1,317,775, 1,979,880, 123.1%, 81.9%,
323 Fareham, 1,415,156 , 1,103,362, 1,701,386, 128.3%, 83.2%
568 Cosham, 765,158, 588,460, 925,066, 130.0%, 82.7%
586 Trowbridge, 734,768, 404,998, 933,894, 181.4%, 78.7%
752 Filton Abbey Wood, 521,474, 336,183, 901,872, 155.1%, 57.8%
757 Westbury, 518,996, 231,093, 548,720, 224.6%, 94.6%
842 Bradford-On-Avon, 426,700, 211,968, 534,086, 201.3%, 79.9%
848 Keynsham, 418,586, 118,047, 511,642, 354.6%, 81.8%
886 Romsey, 384,366, 286,468, 520,856, 134.2%, 73.8%
1020 Oldfield Park, 297,810, 127,783, 332,654, 233.1%, 89.5%
1026 Warminster, 295,452, 247,665, 348,658, 119.3%, 84.7%
1360 Severn Tunnel Junction, 165,992, 90,946, 229,362, 182.5%, 72.4%
1751 Patchway, 77,776, 11,035, 104,078, 704.8%, 74.7%
1990 Freshford, 44,094, 19,549, 53,368, 225.6%, 82.6%
2179 Avoncliff, 23,402, 8,866, 24,396, 264.0%, 95.9%
2300 Dilton Marsh, 12,076, 10,119, 17,004, 119.3%, 71.0%

Average 2018-19 was 160% of 2000-01
Average 2022-23 is 82% of 2018-19

So although at 82% of pre pandemic, still 60% above 22 years ago

 

[railfan99]

Just for interest copying this here, it follows a discussion on Portsmouth-Cardiff line and is extract of ORR station data, which shows how growth is uneven, this is in the Portsmouth-Cardiff thread

Average 2018-19 was 160% of 2000-01
Average 2022-23 is 82% of 2018-19

So although at 82% of pre pandemic, still 60% above 22 years ago

I've not looked at other threads, but how much of the "decline" from pre-pandemic is due to WFH and consequent loss of revenue from ordinary or season tickets?

 

[IrishDave]

Anyone know how Preston Park has had such a good recovery compared to its peers?

I have a theory: I don't think it's had a good recovery, I think the usage of Preston Park - and a few other similar stations - has been under-reported for some years prior to the pandemic, and that this year's (and last year's) figures much more closely reflect reality.

The key point is: a Preston Park to London season ticket is the same price as a Brighton to London season ticket. So, before the pandemic, when lots of people bought season tickets, a sensible ticket clerk at Preston Park station would have sold Brighton to London season tickets, for the same price but slightly more validity.

But if you're buying a day ticket, there's not much point buying from Brighton unless you know that you'll be going to Brighton in the evening. So therefore day tickets are much more likely to correctly show the breakdown between Preston Park and Brighton, compared to season tickets.

So given most people aren't buying season tickets any more, those people who live near Preston Park and used to buy Brighton-London season tickets are now buying Preston Park-London day tickets when they commute. And therefore Preston Park looks like it's being used much more now than it was - when actually it was just being significantly under-reported.

The effect can also be seen by comparing Prittlewell with Southend Victoria, and Edge Hill with Liverpool Lime Street. But I'm still going to call it "the Preston Park effect"

 

[Kite159]

I guess for some commuters in the morning they might catch a train from Preston Park into Brighton to catch a fast train northbound (getting the choice of seats). Same heading south with a season ticket for Brighton they can always double back if it's quicker.

But I still reckon a small percentage of the usage will be down to passengers buying tickets to/from Preston Park to bypass the barriers at Brighton & even Hove (where the lack of an entry/exit scan of an eTicket won't look as dodgy as the lack of an entry scan on a Hove - Brighton ticket)

 

[Southend Rider]

I have a theory: I don't think it's had a good recovery, I think the usage of Preston Park - and a few other similar stations - has been under-reported for some years prior to the pandemic, and that this year's (and last year's) figures much more closely reflect reality.

The key point is: a Preston Park to London season ticket is the same price as a Brighton to London season ticket. So, before the pandemic, when lots of people bought season tickets, a sensible ticket clerk at Preston Park station would have sold Brighton to London season tickets, for the same price but slightly more validity.

But if you're buying a day ticket, there's not much point buying from Brighton unless you know that you'll be going to Brighton in the evening. So therefore day tickets are much more likely to correctly show the breakdown between Preston Park and Brighton, compared to season tickets.

So given most people aren't buying season tickets any more, those people who live near Preston Park and used to buy Brighton-London season tickets are now buying Preston Park-London day tickets when they commute. And therefore Preston Park looks like it's being used much more now than it was - when actually it was just being significantly under-reported.

The effect can also be seen by comparing Prittlewell with Southend Victoria, and Edge Hill with Liverpool Lime Street. But I'm still going to call it "the Preston Park effect"

Agree totally the season tickets issued for all the stations from Prittlewell to Rayleigh, are “Southend all stations“ to Liverpool St etc. which for years made Southend Victoria figures look higher than they really were.

 

[lachlan]

I'm reading the latest newsletter from Bristol Rail Campaign and it contains some speculation on the figures for Portway Park and Ride. I went to have a look but I can't find it in the spreadsheet - have the figures been released?

 

[Bartsimho]

I'm reading the latest newsletter from Bristol Rail Campaign and it contains some speculation on the figures for Portway Park and Ride. I went to have a look but I can't find it in the spreadsheet - have the figures been released?

These figures are until March 23 while Portway P&R station opened in August 23 so it didn't exist in the time period this data is for

 

[Route115?]

Stansted-Liverpool Street winning the prize for busiest airport route, accounting for about 60% of journeys to stansted airport station. 7.9m train entries and exits at the station compared to about 23m flight passengers in 2022. I wonder which airport has the highest access by public transport?

I understand that London City is more than 50%, mostly DLR.

 

[WatcherZero]

The station pairings are fascinating.

Warrington Bank Quay 1.126m entries and exits, largest station pairing London Euston 225,362 meaning 20.17% of station users are doing a 200 odd mile trip
Wigan North Western 1.183m entries and exits, 215,838 for Euston, meaning 18.25%
Preston 4.2m entries and exits, 424k to Euston exactly 10%.
Manchester Piccadilly 23.566m entries and exits, 2.91m to Euston 12.4%
Liverpool Lime Street 11.1m entries and exits, 1.42m to Euston 12.8%

Almost like there was major passenger demand for high speed rail link to London...

 

[Krokodil]

The station pairings are fascinating.

Warrington Bank Quay 1.126m entries and exits, largest station pairing London Euston 225,362 meaning 20.17% of station users are doing a 200 odd mile trip

I wonder what the figures would be if barriers were installed so that those travelling from Runcorn East and Earlestown actually had to pay for their journeys.

 

[Grimsby town]

The station pairings are fascinating.

Warrington Bank Quay 1.126m entries and exits, largest station pairing London Euston 225,362 meaning 20.17% of station users are doing a 200 odd mile trip
Wigan North Western 1.183m entries and exits, 215,838 for Euston, meaning 18.25%
Preston 4.2m entries and exits, 424k to Euston exactly 10%.
Manchester Piccadilly 23.566m entries and exits, 2.91m to Euston 12.4%
Liverpool Lime Street 11.1m entries and exits, 1.42m to Euston 12.8%

Almost like there was major passenger demand for high speed rail link to London...

All the more amazing when you consider how bad Avanti were over the half (or so) of that year. I think pre-covid Manchester was closer to 5 million journeys per year to Euston.

 

[156421]

Rather than alternative transport (the local roads are awful, especially from South Cumbria), I think this is the effect of working from home/hybrid working in place at Sellafield now. I have a couple of friends in office based roles there who used to travel every day, and now make only a once a week visit to site.

In recent years, for reasons which seem to vary, the Sellafield executive has been hellbent on reducing car travel to the site. Sometimes they have said it's due to on on-site parking lots needing to be used as footprint for new waste stores, other times it's to do with the environment, other times it's out of some goodwill gesture to the local council to reduce congestion on the A595 north of the site, which is run by National Highways anyway.

The same executive group was in favor of virtually all workers "WFH" during the lockdowns (regardless of productivity) and has for a couple of years now shifted to a "3 out of 5 days in a office" mentality - the keyword being office (not necessarily the Sellafield site itself).

As a result of the significant difficulty of driving to site, it comes as no surprise that the satellite offices in Whitehaven are typically rammed to capacity (Tuesday through Thursday of course), which will reduce passenger figures for Sellafield.

Also, as far as I know, Sellafield is still funding the "free bus ride giveaway" whereby workers can park at Lillyhall (near Workington) or the old abandoned Kangol Factory (Cleator) and get a free Stagecoach bus ride to the site. The Lillyhall one is surely in direct competition with the railway. This will further reduce passenger figures for Sellafield. Also Stagecoach appears to be prioritizing their buses for the Sellafield service resulting in many cancellations to ordinary local (£2) buses which people rely on for work/school/medical appointments.

 

[Peter Sarf]

The station pairings are fascinating.

Warrington Bank Quay 1.126m entries and exits, largest station pairing London Euston 225,362 meaning 20.17% of station users are doing a 200 odd mile trip
Wigan North Western 1.183m entries and exits, 215,838 for Euston, meaning 18.25%
Preston 4.2m entries and exits, 424k to Euston exactly 10%.
Manchester Piccadilly 23.566m entries and exits, 2.91m to Euston 12.4%
Liverpool Lime Street 11.1m entries and exits, 1.42m to Euston 12.8%

Almost like there was major passenger demand for high speed rail link to London...

You took the words right out of my mouth .

In recent years, for reasons which seem to vary, the Sellafield executive has been hellbent on reducing car travel to the site. Sometimes they have said it's due to on on-site parking lots needing to be used as footprint for new waste stores, other times it's to do with the environment, other times it's out of some goodwill gesture to the local council to reduce congestion on the A595 north of the site, which is run by National Highways anyway.

The same executive group was in favor of virtually all workers "WFH" during the lockdowns (regardless of productivity) and has for a couple of years now shifted to a "3 out of 5 days in a office" mentality - the keyword being office (not necessarily the Sellafield site itself).

As a result of the significant difficulty of driving to site, it comes as no surprise that the satellite offices in Whitehaven are typically rammed to capacity (Tuesday through Thursday of course), which will reduce passenger figures for Sellafield.

Also, as far as I know, Sellafield is still funding the "free bus ride giveaway" whereby workers can park at Lillyhall (near Workington) or the old abandoned Kangol Factory (Cleator) and get a free Stagecoach bus ride to the site. The Lillyhall one is surely in direct competition with the railway. This will further reduce passenger figures for Sellafield. Also Stagecoach appears to be prioritizing their buses for the Sellafield service resulting in many cancellations to ordinary local (£2) buses which people rely on for work/school/medical appointments.

Your making me think - Why don't DRS go into the business of running trains !.
Or at least running/hiring-out busses and coaches to help the country (and temselves) .

 

[Whiggism]

Hi all, I was quite surprised to see Liverpool Street station see 80 million exit and entries in 2023 from 30 million the year before, which raised the question: how and why did passenger numbers increase so drastically at this station in comparison to other terminal stations such as Victoria or Waterloo in the past year?

Passenger Stats for Liverpool Street in 2021-22 and 2022-23

2021–22	32.165 million[4]
– interchange	3.016 million[4]
2022–23	80.448 million[4]
– interchange	5.663 million[4]

 

[JBuchananGB]

Elizabeth Line

 

[Wolfie]

Elizabeth Line

Exactly. It isn't just a terminus anymore.