Lowest number of passengers per train service

[northwichcat]

I've just found out that Coombe Junction Halt railway station in Cornwall has annual passenger usage of just over 50 making on a total of about 0.17 people boarding or alighting each service. Does any station have less than 0.17 passengers per train service serving it?

 

[googolplex]

I know Kempston Hardwick on the Bedford-Bletchley line used to average one person per day, which I think works out at less than 0.17 person per service.

 

[Ivo]

It doesn't any more...

What about Doleham (between Hastings and Rye)? It had only 56 passengers in 07/08, which must be pretty low - surely below even 0.1...

 

[krus_aragon]

Sugar Loaf Halt, on the Heart of Wales line, had 111 passengers in 07/08. With 48 trains calling every week, and ~2.14 passengers a week, that's 0.044 passengers per train getting on or off.

Btw, that 111 is up from 67 the previous year!

 

[northwichcat]

Sugar Loaf Halt, on the Heart of Wales line, had 111 passengers in 07/08. With 48 trains calling every week, and ~2.14 passengers a week, that's 0.044 passengers per train getting on or off.

Btw, that 111 is up from 67 the previous year!

Mmm, technically any train that doesn't pick up or set down passengers at Sugar Loaf doesn't stop there as it's a request stop meaning there should be at least one passenger for every stopping train.

 

[krus_aragon]

Mmm, technically any train that doesn't pick up or set down passengers at Sugar Loaf doesn't stop there as it's a request stop meaning there should be at least one passenger for every stopping train.

Blasted technicalities!

 

[Oliver]

I've just found out that Coombe Junction Halt railway station in Cornwall has annual passenger usage of just over 50 making on a total of about 0.17 people boarding or alighting each service. Does any station have less than 0.17 passengers per train service serving it?

In the current timetable Coombe Junction has two up and two down services per day, six days per week. That's 1,248 services per year, so 50 passengers is 0.04 per service, isn't it? I got off one Saturday in 2008 and the conductor told me I was the only person he remembered ever getting off from a service from Looe.

 

[mindfeeder]

I've cheated and used Wikipedia here to search out some of the lowest figures-

In 07/08 -

Barry Links had 98 passengers
Buckenham had 97 passengers
Denton had 53 Passengers
Helensburgh Upper had 47 passengers
Reddish South also had 47 passengers
Teeside Airport had 52 passengers

 

[northwichcat]

In the current timetable Coombe Junction has two up and two down services per day, six days per week. That's 1,248 services per year, so 50 passengers is 0.04 per service, isn't it? I got off one Saturday in 2008 and the conductor told me I was the only person he remembered ever getting off from a service from Looe.

I worked it out at 3 return per day which is what came up when in Google, but it must have been out-of-date information.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

I've cheated and used Wikipedia here to search out some of the lowest figures-

I don't know all the stations you listed but we're looking for the station with the least number of passengers boarding and alighting services that stop at the station. Reddish South, having one train per week is almost on one passenger per service and I don't think will be close to coming top.

 

[jopsuk]

Helensburgh Upper is an odd one as well, as tickets to/from stations to the east of it (especially Glasgow Season tickets) are "Helensburgh stations" tickets, which are counted with Helensburgh Central instead. The figure is basically only for tickets to/from stations to the North along the West Highland Line.

 

[TheWalrus]

Coombe Jn Halt has the lowest APU in the UK.

 

[scrapy]

Mmm, technically any train that doesn't pick up or set down passengers at Sugar Loaf doesn't stop there as it's a request stop meaning there should be at least one passenger for every stopping train.

if a train arrves early at a request stop it technically should stop passengers or not

 

[northwichcat]

if a train arrves early at a request stop it technically should stop passengers or not

That isn't usually the case with Northern Rail services doing Chester-Manchester, they frequently go through Ashley early and even depart Hale before their scheduled departure time and then sit at Altrincham for a few minutes where there's a LED display screen at the station that displays the departure time of the next train and the current time.

 

[merlodlliw]

In the current timetable Coombe Junction has two up and two down services per day, six days per week. That's 1,248 services per year, so 50 passengers is 0.04 per service, isn't it? I got off one Saturday in 2008 and the conductor told me I was the only person he remembered ever getting off from a service from Looe.

reminds me of the film "Bad Day At Black Rock" the Station agent remarked
"first time in 20 years the streamliner as stopped here with a passenger"

as one armed Spencer Tracey got off in 1955.

 

[Capybara]

I'm surprised that Teesside Airport (note the spelling) had so few passengers as, as I have said on here before, on the only time I have travelled on the train that stops there in recent years as many as six passengers got on. This was earlier than 2007 so perhaps the mistake was realised and they subsequently retimed the train so that it wouldn't connect with an incoming flight.

 

[tbtc]

Darnall station in Sheffield gets under one passenger per service, from the last SYPTE figures I saw (given that it has an hourly service on the Lincoln line).

Also, I suspect that a number of tickets to/ from Darnall are only bought for "fare dodgers" as it is one of the cheapest destinations from Sheffield (along with Dore and Meadowhall). The cynic in me would suggest that when ticket checks block the platforms at Sheffield Midland, a lot of people (travelling further afield) buy a ticket to Darnall, or claim they have only travelled from there (I recall a similar thing happening with Burley Park tickets at Leeds)

 

[142094]

(I recall a similar thing happening with Burley Park tickets at Leeds)

Happens all the time, although if there is a block on at Burley Park they are a bit screwed.

 

[Inverness_App]

i dont know numbers of passengers but i would imagine georgemas junction would have a pretty low ratio of passengers per service.

just looked on wikipedia and in 07/08 there were 893 passengers, with 16 stops daily mon - sat and 4 on a sunday. this equals 100 stops a week. i will let someone else do the maths as its not my strong point.

 

[Ivo]

893 in 07/08 (down from 989 in 06/07) apparently. Call it six journeys a day (it's eight now I believe), as in three each way, and you get a ratio of about 0.4 - low, but not the lowest.

On that subject, does anyone know when the 08/09 data should be released?

EDIT: Actually, make that 0.2, because of it being called at twice by each journey.

 

[Inverness_App]

double the amount as each service stops at georgemas twice.

 

[Ivo]

Yes... I realised that. Just a bit late. 0.2 it is (see my EDIT). Lower still... but not the worst. Any others on the Highland Line you can think of, being from that area yourself?

 

[Inverness_App]

ive justy been checking on wiki and all the rest have a couple of thousand per year. its weird checking wiki as all the rest seem to be getting busier but georgemas is getting lower

 

[EltonRoad]

There was an article about these figures a few months ago in RAIL. Basically it was Barry Doe saying that they were inaccurate, I can't remember why exactly. Something like they were based on ticket sales to and from that station and didn't take into account Rovers, people travelling short etc.

 

[Ivo]

That is a fair point, EltonRoad. Similarly, interchange figures are only estimates; for instance, you would have thought more than about 12% of rail users at Bristol TM would use it to change train...

(Not to mention Fare Dodgers.)

 

[Dolive22]

142094, what does happen if someone claims to have travelled from Burkley Park when there ws a block on? How often do they do it? I did look in to this before, but only from a legal perspective, I didn't know they actually did anything about it.

Don't worry, I'm not one of the fare evaders. I'm the other end of the country in a world full of barriered stations.

 

[Lampshade]

If someone travels to Leeds without a ticket claiming they got on at Burley Park when there was a block on, it's fare evasion with intent and you'll most likely have a visit from Mr Plod or even be prosecuted.

 

[yorkie]

... and be found not guilty and NT told off for wasting thousands pounds of cash that isn't theirs over 10p!

 

[Lampshade]

Quite.

 

[Dolive22]

What charge do they use? I seem to recall another thread ending in a disagreement, and a certain degree of dissatisfaction the state of the law. I would be very interested to know what the pros charge.

Incidentally 10p is the difference between Burley park - Leeds and Headingley - Leeds. The evaded fare could easily be over £4. Times 5 days a week, most weeks of the year you get near £1000 that the honest commuters pay, is not spent on the line or more subsidy/less premium that the government could put to better use (yes, or less profit for the operator, but Serco who own half of Northern is owned mainly by pension funds, and the other half is owned by the Dutch (?) government).

ADDED
Just occured to me, you say 'block'. I assume you are just using the standard term and the block consists of a man with a ticket machine? How many people does it take to do a block on Burley Park?

 

[142094]

Not sure how many people it would take to do the block, but a savvy person who was travelling from further afield would use a different station (such as Headingley as mentioned) as I doubt it that Northern would do two blocks on two nearby stations on the same day.

Maybe this brings the case for barriers at these stations? Then again that would mean that a large amount of stations on the whole network should get barriers.