(TRIVIA) Smallest station with the best service?

[Mattydo]

Morden South gotta be in there ... 54700 entry and exits 4tph from 6am until 11pm ish.

 

[blelic]

Bishopstone gets 2tph in each direction to Seaford/Brighton but only has around 30k yearly passengers, although since it and many surrounding stations are ungated the actual passenger numbers may be higher.

 

[PGAT]

Morden South gotta be in there ... 54700 entry and exits 4tph from 6am until 11pm ish.

Morden South only has 2tph each direction

 

[Jan Mayen]

I remember being surprised at how many trains Ford got when I used it once some years ago.
As regards Pevensey Bay, I was told a story (when it had a regular service) about how the British Rail area manager wanted proof of how many people actually used it. So an RPI want there one afternoon to make sure everyone using it had a ticket. They were pleased to report back that both of them did.

 

[The exile]

Avoncliff has road access, it even has a small car park (shown on Google Sat view, no Street View available for the little lane https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.3394971,-2.2811454,244m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu)

OK - fair enough. I'd remembered it as access via the Canal towpath only (which it is from the other platform, of course)

 

[BingMan]

Is that entries *and* exits? If so presumably most people arrive and depart from there so only half as many unique visitors?

Not sure that is true.
Monroists might well bag Carn Dearg and continue along the ridge, descending to Rannoch Station.
|I have done that in reverse.

 

[Llandudno]

Chesterfield serves a huge amount of places for its size: London, Nottingham, Leeds, Norwich, Liverpool, Sheffield, Plymouth, Edinburgh etc.

Chesterfield is the railhead not just for Chesterfield (pop 100k+) itself but the district council’s of North East Derbyshire (100k) Bolsover (100k) and of course the affluent area of south west Sheffield and Derbyshire Dales.

Some people from Mansfield and Ashfield will drive the relatively short distance across the M1 to join long distance trains from Chesterfield.

So potentially a catchment area of close on half a million.

 

[Mattydo]

Morden South only has 2tph each direction

Well yes but it's the middle of a loop.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

As regards Pevensey Bay, I was told a story (when it had a regular service) about how the British Rail area manager wanted proof of how many people actually used it. So an RPI want there one afternoon to make sure everyone using it had a ticket. They were pleased to report back that both of them did.

What service level / patronage does Pevensey Bay get these days? Maybe nine/ten calls per weekday. Nothing at the weekend. 6,700 annual useage (if correct) is slightly over two passengers per train. Reckon a lot of stations on the network won't manage quite that many.

 

[Lloyds siding]

I've recently been boosting the numbers at Finstock in Oxfordshire. Two trains per day in each direction. Numbers for 2021/22: 364

 

[Joey Beauchamp]

What service level / patronage does Pevensey Bay get these days? Maybe nine/ten calls per weekday. Nothing at the weekend. 6,700 annual useage (if correct) is slightly over two passengers per train. Reckon a lot of stations on the network won't manage quite that many.

That's probably about right. I was a regular user until last Autumn and every 2nd or third train would have a couple of other people getting on and off. The trains are at relatively sensible times (although not early or late enough for most commuters). Holiday makers do occasionally use it too (I know this from running our Airbnb).

What's rubbish is that the buses stop at half 7, so there's no way to get back from anywhere after that other than walk back from Pevensey & Westham. It's nearly 2 miles although the castle is incredibly atmospheric in the darkest hours of the night.

I've recently been boosting the numbers at Finstock in Oxfordshire. Two trains per day in each direction. Numbers for 2021/22: 364

When I went to Finstock I was surprised to see a lost looking youngster with a backpack also alight from the train. It was the first day of Wilderness festival and he was clearly the only punter to notice that there was a more convenient alternative to the shuttle bus from Charlbury!

 

[SteelWeelApeal]

In terms of direct trains to the most large destinations, Berwick upon Tweed does very well for a not particularly large town. Newcastle, York, Leeds, Sheffield, Birmingham, Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Penzance, Manchester, Liverpool, London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, Perth, Inverness are just some of the larger places directly reached from there.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

In terms of direct trains to the most large destinations, Berwick upon Tweed does very well for a not particularly large town. Newcastle, York, Leeds, Sheffield, Birmingham, Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Penzance, Manchester, Liverpool, London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen, Perth, Inverness are just some of the larger places directly reached from there.

Not exactly the most frequent direct service from Berwick upon Tweed to Manchester Piccadilly. What is it, one token midweek evening service per day?

The West Wales rural metropolises that are Johnston and Clarbeston Road seem to do somewhat better!

 

[Bartsimho]

Chesterfield is the railhead not just for Chesterfield (pop 100k+) itself but the district council’s of North East Derbyshire (100k) Bolsover (100k) and of course the affluent area of south west Sheffield and Derbyshire Dales.

Some people from Mansfield and Ashfield will drive the relatively short distance across the M1 to join long distance trains from Chesterfield.

So potentially a catchment area of close on half a million.

Yeah and estimated usage last year of 1.2m only beaten in the East Midlands by Nottingham (5.2m), Leicester (3.5m), Derby (2.9m), Northampton (1.8m) and Lincoln (1.5m).

Accurate council area populations:
Chesterfield - 103,569
North East Derbyshire - 102,001
Bolsover - 80,273
Derbyshire Dales - 71,540
Ashfield - 126,300

It's a good service but not surprising with that population. It used to have 3 stations as well.

 

[Purple Train]

Some people from Mansfield and Ashfield will drive the relatively short distance across the M1 to join long distance trains from Chesterfield.

Indeed. Alfreton is also popular for this purpose, and used to be known as Alfreton & Mansfield Parkway before the Robin Hood Line re-opened.

 

[Craig1122]

Bishopstone gets 2tph in each direction to Seaford/Brighton but only has around 30k yearly passengers, although since it and many surrounding stations are ungated the actual passenger numbers may be higher.

I was going to suggest neighbouring Southease must be far lower but surprisingly it clocks in at around 23k with only an hourly service.

For those that aren't familiar it's basically 2 concrete platforms in a field with a scattering of neighbouring houses & farms. Guessing that the nearby youth hostel & South Downs way must boost numbers.

 

[ICWCShibuya]

Moss Side, in Lanky. 2112 annual pax. Hourly to - to Preston in one direction and Blackpool in the other (including Sundays). Trains actually go to/come from the large East Lancashire towns or Ormskirk (depending on direction and timetable year).

 

[Llandudno]

Yeah and estimated usage last year of 1.2m only beaten in the East Midlands by Nottingham (5.2m), Leicester (3.5m), Derby (2.9m), Northampton (1.8m) and Lincoln (1.5m).

Accurate council area populations:
Chesterfield - 103,569
North East Derbyshire - 102,001
Bolsover - 80,273
Derbyshire Dales - 71,540
Ashfield - 126,300

It's a good service but not surprising with that population. It used to have 3 stations as well.

Usage of Chesterfield station in 2018/19 was 1.95million, obviously recent figures impacted by:
Covid
Strikes
Significantly reduced service provided by Cross Country - fewer calls at Chesterfield
Fewer away football fans as Chesterfield in non league

 

[islandmonkey]

The people I told that Mottisfont and Dunbridge has an hourly service in each direction were quite shocked. They thought it would only be a couple of trains a day. 30k a year pre COVID.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The people I told that Mottisfont and Dunbridge has an hourly service in each direction were quite shocked. They thought it would only be a couple of trains a day. 30k a year pre COVID.

Now down to maybe 23,700 passengers a year. Maybe 35/36 services per weekday, 29 on a Sunday. Very roughly, two passengers per train, so, up there with Pevensey Bay.

Moss Side, in Lanky. 2112 annual pax. Hourly to Preston and Blackpool (including Sundays), trains go to/come from the large East Lancashire towns or Ormskirk (depending on direction and timetable year).

Think that works out at just one passenger for every five trains calling. Certainly no-one boarding/alighting there, the last time I was on a train calling at Moss Side.

 

[A S Leib]

Chorleywood (~12,000 people) and Chalfont & Latimer (~18,000 within 3 km, including parts of Chorleywood and Amersham) have 4 tube trains per hour and 1 to 2 Chiltern services per hour for a capacity of around 6,000 passengers per hour off-peak.

Moor Park (6,000 people) gets around 14 tph to / from Baker Street / Aldgate in the peak, so a capacity of 18,900 passengers per hour and 10,800 off-peak.

I'd suspect a few of the parkway stations do well if you only count their local population and not those within easy bus / driving distance; Tiverton Parkway has 5,000 people within 3 km but two or three trains per hour to Exeter and direct trains to Edinburgh, London, Cardiff and Penzance.

 

[Mat17]

Darnall?

 

[Bishopstone]

We do quite well in Bishopstone, with 2tph in each direction on the Seaford branch, so 4tph total, for 36.5k annual entries and exits.

 

[PGAT]

Well Seaford is the busiest station on the line, and having trains skip Bishopstone would ruin the clock-face schedule there

 

[James H]

What's rubbish is that the buses stop at half 7, so there's no way to get back from anywhere after that other than walk back from Pevensey & Westham. It's nearly 2 miles although the castle is incredibly atmospheric in the darkest hours of the night.

Not any more - the 8 now has a later evening service as part of the recent East Sussex bus improvements

 

[J-2739]

Cheddington seems to have a pretty good service of 2tph between London and Milton Keynes, considering it only managed to return 32,180 passengers in 2021/22. Must be land nearby ripe for mass housing and associated infrastructures.

Others have said Berwick and Chesterfield, which have the common denominator of being on the long span of the Cross Country route, meaning that on a single train trip, you could cover the country.

Other likewise stations include Burton-on-Trento and Tiverton Parkway.

Ely must be high the list. Despite only having 2.3 to 2.4 million passengers pre Covid, it has hourly or better services to London, Cambridge, Birmingham, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham and Norwich.

That is a station that really punches above its weight in relation to the (very) small city it serves. I'm guessing it must have a very wide catchment area.

 

[Bartsimho]

Others have said Berwick and Chesterfield, which have the common denominator of being on the long span of the Cross Country route, meaning that on a single train trip, you could cover the country.

I don't think a station with 1.2million yearly users fits into the small usage best service category.

Somehow Newark Castle and Newark Northgate are similar in usage despite Northgate having better service with 2tph between London and Edinburgh compared to Castles service which is restricted by the Flat Crossing much more.

 

[urpert]

Birkbeck has 22k entries and exits, 4tph and a tram in each direction roughly every 10 minutes.

 

[The exile]

With the improved Cambrian service, Dovey Junction must be up there / especially without the interchange figures (ie solely as origin /destination)

 

[NSE]

That is a station that really punches above its weight in relation to the (very) small city it serves. I'm guessing it must have a very wide catchment area.

Not really, I’d say its catchment is quite standard. It just happens to be located at quite a good point where a few long distance/regional services cross. Birmingham and Leicester are served by the same service and so are Nottingham, Sheffield, Stockport, Manchester and Liverpool. It’s a fortunate situation that it makes good use of. I wonder how many passengers actually use when traveling between two stations that serve Ely. I’m thinking journeys like, Manchester - Ipswich, Kings Lynn - Sheffield or Cambridge - Liverpool. I’d wager not too many as journey times and frequencies are frequently much better through London