Trivia. Stations which are busier at the weekends than in the week.

Cricketer8for9 · 2026-09-01T12:48:07+0100

Is it possible to find out whether there are stations which are busier at the weekends than in the week? Possible candidates would be Boxhill and Westhumble, Amberley and Southease which all cater for London based walkers. Might Edale be one in the Peak District?

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D6130 · 2026-09-01T12:51:10+0100

For similar reasons to the above, I would suggest possibly Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Ribblehead, Dent and Garsdale....but I don't have the statistics to prove it.

Peter0124 · 2026-09-01T13:00:00+0100

Could be going out on a limb, but somewhere touristy like Edinburgh Waverley surely is busier on Saturdays than any of Monday-Friday.

I also think other leisure stations like Windsor and Eton Riverside (for Legoland) would be busier on weekends.

Mcr Warrior · 2026-09-01T13:04:14+0100

Denton and Reddish South in Greater Manchester certainly. They normally only have (very limited) services calling there Saturdays only. And over in East Anglia, Berney Arms has several more trains calling on a Sunday than on any other day of the week.

cats_five · 2026-09-01T13:20:41+0100

Peter0124 said:
Could be going out on a limb, but somewhere touristy like Edinburgh Waverley surely is busier on Saturdays than any of Monday-Friday.

I also think other leisure stations like Windsor and Eton Riverside (for Legoland) would be busier on weekends.

Possibly during the Festival, but it's a very busy commuter station most of the year and of course the Festival is during the Summer Holidays when commuter traffic is lower as many people are on holiday.

Western Gaffer · 2026-09-01T14:58:49+0100

Peter0124 said:
Could be going out on a limb, but somewhere touristy like Edinburgh Waverley surely is busier on Saturdays than any of Monday-Friday.

I also think other leisure stations like Windsor and Eton Riverside (for Legoland) would be busier on weekends.

This piece in the Scotsman earlier this year, about Waverley's passenger numbers overtaking those of Glasgow Central, suggested that you're right:

A decline in commuting is seen as a major factor in the shift
Network Rail Scotland attributed the shift to the significant post-Covid decline in commuting and a boom in leisure travel which has made Saturdays the busiest day of the week.

[...]

Network Rail Scotland route director Ross Moran told the Unlocking Innovation rail industry conference in Glasgow: “There's a wafer thin margin between both stations. Waverley is on the cusp.

“Mark my words, it won't be too long before Waverley is the busiest station in Scotland.
“The traditions of the past are gone. In a post-Covid world, everything is in flux.
“Central was all about the commuter base, Monday to Friday 7-9am and 5-7pm - everything revolved around that sort of tradition.
“That's gone. The leisure market is growing and Saturdays are busy.”

https://www.scotsman.com/news/trans...w-central-for-first-time-in-150-years-5488118

Magdalia · 2026-09-01T17:29:13+0100

Lakenheath, Buckenham and Berney Arms.

Bletchleyite · 2026-09-01T17:34:23+0100

Cricketer8for9 said:
Is it possible to find out whether there are stations which are busier at the weekends than in the week? Possible candidates would be Boxhill and Westhumble, Amberley and Southease which all cater for London based walkers. Might Edale be one in the Peak District?

Not far from there I suspect Middlewood. Mostly used by walkers (to the extent it's used by anyone), it is served two hourly Mon-Fri but hourly Saturday and Sunday.

flitwickbeds · 2026-09-01T18:39:53+0100

Bordesley and Pilning!

(Also previously Teesside Airport)

Class15 · 2026-09-01T18:44:20+0100

Peter0124 said:
I also think other leisure stations like Windsor and Eton Riverside (for Legoland) would be busier on weekends.

I doubt it.

Iskra · 2026-09-01T18:48:49+0100

Meadowhall and MetroCentre

I also wouldn't be surprised if Leeds was busier on a Saturday than any other day now.

D1537 · 2026-09-01T18:48:56+0100

I'd consider stations like Whitby and Scarborough that surely can't have too much commuter traffic.

Whitby especially, given its NYMR trains.

Skiddaw · 2026-09-01T18:59:30+0100

I'd imagine some of the Cumbrian coast stations would also qualify.

southern442 · 2026-09-01T19:13:24+0100

Chafford Hundred Lakeside?

D1537 · 2026-09-01T19:20:33+0100

Skiddaw said:
I'd imagine some of the Cumbrian coast stations would also qualify.

There is some commuter traffic to Sellafield, but on the other hand that's obviously a 24/7 operation so it might make little difference at weekends. Ravenglass might be a good shout.

aliceh · 2026-09-01T19:21:52+0100

Beaulieu Road, possibly? The Sunday service is more regular, and I'd imagine it's a lovely place to have a walk on a summer weekend

The exile · 2026-09-01T19:37:50+0100

Mcr Warrior said:
Denton and Reddish South in Greater Manchester certainly. They normally only have (very limited) services calling there Saturdays only. And over in East Anglia, Berney Arms has several more trains calling on a Sunday than on any other day of the week.

Pilning likewise.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Yesterday at 19:39 ==

D1537 said:
I'd consider stations like Whitby and Scarborough that surely can't have too much commuter traffic.

Whitby especially, given its NYMR trains.

But they will have school traffic (IIRC it’s basically what saved the Whitby line)z.

Iskra · 2026-09-01T19:59:55+0100

Skiddaw said:
I'd imagine some of the Cumbrian coast stations would also qualify.

Probably Windermere too

A S Leib · 2026-09-01T20:05:12+0100

Are there any tube stations, especially in the West End, which have (comparatively!) few commuters and lots of leisure travel (though weekday leisure travel's something I'd expect to be higher in central London than, say, the hiking-route examples)?

Northerngirl · 2026-09-01T20:21:09+0100

A S Leib said:
Are there any tube stations, especially in the West End, which have (comparatively!) few commuters and lots of leisure travel (though weekday leisure travel's something I'd expect to be higher in central London than, say, the hiking-route examples)?

Doesn't Covent Gardens have signs saying its very busy on Friday nights and weekends or something like that

Bletchleyite · 2026-09-01T20:21:35+0100

Skiddaw said:
I'd imagine some of the Cumbrian coast stations would also qualify.

Not the coast but I'd be amazed if Oxenholme, Kendal and Windermere weren't. Burneside and Staveley however are more for locals.

JohnRegular · 2026-09-01T20:25:21+0100

Avoncliff must be a candidate, good spot to start/end a walk without much of a population nearby.

jackmacn · 2026-09-01T20:38:17+0100

aliceh said:
Beaulieu Road, possibly? The Sunday service is more regular, and I'd imagine it's a lovely place to have a walk on a summer weekend

I'd guess both Beaulieu Road and Ashurst New Forest probably are busier. Both quite nice walking around, infact its a nice summers walk between the two.

Severnia333 · 2026-09-01T21:14:25+0100

Portsmouth Arms and likely a few other remote stations on the Tarka line?

Much more of a punt, but possibly Bath?

Ianigsy · 2026-09-01T21:15:47+0100

Sandhills probably gets way more entrances and exits when Everton are playing than during the week.

Peter0124 · 2026-09-01T21:17:33+0100

A S Leib said:
Are there any tube stations, especially in the West End, which have (comparatively!) few commuters and lots of leisure travel (though weekday leisure travel's something I'd expect to be higher in central London than, say, the hiking-route examples)?

I was thinking something like Tottenham Court Rd Elizabeth line. Again this could be very far out considering it's London we are talking about with all its commuters, but that and Stratford (Elizabeth line) on Saturdays I can imagine are very busy.

Cricketer8for9 · 2026-09-01T21:26:00+0100

But also seriously busy Monday to Thursday. I suspect there are stats, at least internal stats, but would like to see ones in the public domain.

Rescars · 2026-09-01T21:27:04+0100

As the OP leaves the field open for all comers, presumably most stations on preserved lines are at their busiest on weekends during the season.

Sir Felix Pole · 2026-09-01T21:28:05+0100

Newquay with its summer Paddington services? In the past it would have been places like Torquay and Paignton but probably not true today.

scrapy · 2026-09-01T21:29:19+0100

Bletchleyite said:
Not far from there I suspect Middlewood. Mostly used by walkers (to the extent it's used by anyone), it is served two hourly Mon-Fri but hourly Saturday and Sunday.

Middlewood is condiderably busier on weekends but is 2 hourly, 7 days a week. Alternate services skip it on Saturdays as on weekdays, on Sundays the whole Buxton line only has a 2 hourly service.

Trivia. Stations which are busier at the weekends than in the week.

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