Station Usage 13/14

[LNW-GW Joint]

Thanks for the info is there a link to North East Wales station useage? im interested in Wrexham General.
Bob

Bob, there's a link to the full data spreadsheet in post #1.
All North Wales major stations I have checked have decreased (exc Wrexham Central!).
Gobowen and Shrewsbury have also gone down.
Chester has gone up massively (39% to 4.2m) because of the remapping of Merseyrail PTE tickets.

 

[thealexweb]

3% increase to 3,695,050. 3% increase is fairly typical increase for a North West station. A considerable number of North West stations had over 10% growth, some of those are partly due to a change in recording of PTE tickets, others stations with > 10% growth aren't in a PTE area.

I see. Just for comparison how are the Wigan stations doing?

 

[northwichcat]

I see. Just for comparison how are the Wigan stations doing?

North Western's up almost 8% to 1,154,040

Wallgate's up almost 2.5% to 1,688,758

 

[WatcherZero]

I think in reality North Western would be up even more and Wallgate down slightly if the TPE Scotland impact was properly recorded by recalculating the station split.

 

[The Ham]

That looks a little concerning for Stagecoach, a negligible increase on EMT and SWT being the only TOC whose stations are showing negative growth. I recall FGW being worse affected than SWT by the poor weather which doesn't really explain the decline, nevertheless SWTs main station is still the top performer as expected!

South west trains had growth of 2.9% however the island line showed negative growth and is listed in the OP as Southwest Trains (island line) which caused me a bit of confusion and I had to read it carefully before I spotted that.

 

[bicbasher]

The massive increase at Clapham High Street has to be because it's now become a credible interchange between LO and the Northern line at Clapham North thanks to the increased frequency introduced when LO replaced Southern.

Surrey Quays has 1.1m interchanges proving that passengers are changing between the ELL and SLL.

 

[northwichcat]

I think in reality North Western would be up even more and Wallgate down slightly if the TPE Scotland impact was properly recorded by recalculating the station split.

Only some of the TPE Scottish services were re-routed via Wigan in December 2013 and that only gives 4 months of usage in the 13/14 year.

 

[kieron]

Bob, there's a link to the full data spreadsheet in post #1.
All North Wales major stations I have checked have decreased (exc Wrexham Central!).

The thing I like about the stats for Wrexham Central (in particular) is the "Explanation of large changes" column. Last year it was "Reason for increase unclear". This year, it's "Continues high growth from previous year". Still unclear, then?

The figure has more than doubled in the last 4 years, so I imagine someone at Arriva has a fairly good idea of what's happening.

Looking a bit more broadly, the totals recorded for every local authority in North Wales have fallen this year.

 

[GingerSte]

I have to admit to being surprised that Huddersfield has more than twice the entries+exits than Wakefield Westgate (4.82M Vs 2.36M). I've always thought of Wakefield as bigger than Huddersfield, but I suppose it depends on the boundaries.

I realise that Wakey also has Kirkgate, but even adding its 0.51M to Westgate's leaves them with less than Huddersfield.

 

[yorksrob]

I have to admit to being surprised that Huddersfield has more than twice the entries+exits than Wakefield Westgate (4.82M Vs 2.36M). I've always thought of Wakefield as bigger than Huddersfield, but I suppose it depends on the boundaries.

I realise that Wakey also has Kirkgate, but even adding its 0.51M to Westgate's leaves them with less than Huddersfield.

Wakefield has a very poor late evening service, with last trains back from Leeds being around half ten on a Saturday, whereas Huddersfield has trains running all night. This might account for some of the higher usage as the train is a less viable option for a night out for Wakefield.

 

[styles]

Nottingham's 5.4% decrease I expect is caused by ongoing station developments, station-side road closures due to tram works and bridge refurnishing.

That said, they've added a 7th platform and by this time next year should have finished tram works and have an additional concourse area, a new ticket office, a working cycle hub, a new tram link, and general refurbishments. Will be interesting to see if this makes an impact on passenger numbers (I certainly haven't noticed improved quality given that I don't use the tram and am not too fussed about railway coffee or tie shops).

 

[GingerSte]

Wakefield has a very poor late evening service, with last trains back from Leeds being around half ten on a Saturday, whereas Huddersfield has trains running all night. This might account for some of the higher usage as the train is a less viable option for a night out for Wakefield.

I can see what you mean, but I would imagine that nights out only account for a small proportion of usage for a railway station (but I might be wrong!).

Thinking about it, I would also imagine the location of Westgate and Kirkgate stations on the edges of the city also limits their usefulness (compared to the other transport modes). The main shopping area is much easier by bus, and the main business area... well, is there one?

 

[dk1]

Nottingham's 5.4% decrease I expect is caused by ongoing station developments, station-side road closures due to tram works and bridge refurnishing.

That said, they've added a 7th platform and by this time next year should have finished tram works and have an additional concourse area, a new ticket office, a working cycle hub, a new tram link, and general refurbishments. Will be interesting to see if this makes an impact on passenger numbers (I certainly haven't noticed improved quality given that I don't use the tram and am not too fussed about railway coffee or tie shops).

But wasn't Nottingham station closed for weeks during this period so justifying the fall?

 

[Starmill]

I have to admit to being surprised that Huddersfield has more than twice the entries+exits than Wakefield Westgate (4.82M Vs 2.36M). I've always thought of Wakefield as bigger than Huddersfield, but I suppose it depends on the boundaries.

I realise that Wakey also has Kirkgate, but even adding its 0.51M to Westgate's leaves them with less than Huddersfield.

If you're familiar with how busy TPE services are at Huddersfield, this isn't that surprising! Very large numbers of people travel both ways from Huddersfield, to Leeds and to Manchester, whereas Wakefield has a higher draw in only the Leeds direction.

There's also a chance that Kirkgate is depressed for usage at present due to bad rep and being a building site, and it is also a sieve for revenue protection.

Furthermore, is the economy growing faster in Huddersfield than it is in Wakefield? If I am honest, I am always surprised that Huddersfield is so busy, not that Wakefield is so quiet. Neither of their central shopping areas are what I would call on fire.

 

[Iskra]

If you're familiar with how busy TPE services are at Huddersfield, this isn't that surprising! Very large numbers of people travel both ways from Huddersfield, to Leeds and to Manchester, whereas Wakefield has a higher draw in only the Leeds direction.

There's also a chance that Kirkgate is depressed for usage at present due to bad rep and being a building site, and it is also a sieve for revenue protection.

Furthermore, is the economy growing faster in Huddersfield than it is in Wakefield? If I am honest, I am always surprised that Huddersfield is so busy, not that Wakefield is so quiet. Neither of their central shopping areas are what I would call on fire.

Most of the stores in the Kingsgate centre are trading well, with many having sales of +20% LFL on last year. This against a general decline in high-street shopping due to ecommerce is impressive.

Huddersfield is doing reasonably well in terms of the amount of businesses in the town centre, it also has a large and rapidly growing student population, it is also the administrative centre of Kirklees and it has a vastly superior rail service compared to Wakey. Also, it has a larger unencroached catchment area e.g Holmfirth, Halifax, Brighouse, whereas the towns local to Wakey have better links to Leeds.

 

[yorksrob]

I can see what you mean, but I would imagine that nights out only account for a small proportion of usage for a railway station (but I might be wrong!).

Thinking about it, I would also imagine the location of Westgate and Kirkgate stations on the edges of the city also limits their usefulness (compared to the other transport modes). The main shopping area is much easier by bus, and the main business area... well, is there one?

Oh, I agree. It wouldn't be anything like the whole story, but it might have an effect.

 

[Starmill]

Huddersfield is doing reasonably well in terms of the amount of businesses in the town centre, it also has a large and rapidly growing student population, it is also the administrative centre of Kirklees and it has a vastly superior rail service compared to Wakey. Also, it has a larger unencroached catchment area e.g Holmfirth, Halifax, Brighouse, whereas the towns local to Wakey have better links to Leeds.

I disagree on the description of Huddersfield as having a 'vastly superior' service to Wakefield. Wakefield has 2 mainline trains to London per hour and one to Birmigham and beyond and the North East. In total Wakefield has 5 trains an hour to Leeds, of which two stop at Outwood. Huddersfield has the same number of non-stop trains and trains that stop only once at Dewsbury. In addition it has one train an hour that calls at all stations and takes significantly longer, sometimes being overtaken. That sounds like a broadly very comparable service to me.

Huddersfield may have Halifax has an excellent service to Leeds all of its own too, although otherwise that point may be a contributor. One other thing I have just thought of is that Huddersfield has direct trains to Manchester Airport.

 

[Iskra]

I disagree on the description of Huddersfield as having a 'vastly superior' service to Wakefield. Wakefield has 2 mainline trains to London per hour and one to Birmigham and beyond and the North East. In total Wakefield has 5 trains an hour to Leeds, of which two stop at Outwood. Huddersfield has the same number of non-stop trains and trains that stop only once at Dewsbury. In addition it has one train an hour that calls at all stations and takes significantly longer, sometimes being overtaken. That sounds like a broadly very comparable service to me.

Huddersfield may have Halifax has an excellent service to Leeds all of its own too, although otherwise that point may be a contributor. One other thing I have just thought of is that Huddersfield has direct trains to Manchester Airport.

I did consider adding the word 'regional' in front of 'services'. From Wakefield you are unlikely to commute to beyond Birmingham or London several times a week, whereas from Huddersfield you could conceivably do Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool, Bradford, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Hull and the North East. If you remove long distance services from Wakey it doesn't leave all that much (especially across two stations), but that doesn't mean the service is a bad one. Also, could the fact that Huddersfield now has (unavoidable) barriers have an effect?

 

[cle]

Denmark Hill doing pretty well.

Only going to improve with Vic-Dartfords going into full evenings and Sundays, plus the hourly Vic-Dover call which will open up new demand from further out (interchange options and the hospitals) - both from Jan.

And 5 car Overgrounds will help too - I'd expect it to hit 6 million next year.

 

[Starmill]

Wakefield Westgate has barriers too now. Yes you're right, the types of services are different. But from Wakefield it isn't like good regional services aren't one change away. And some might say that a significant dearth of long-distance services at Huddersfield would be depressing it's demand, so it works both ways.

Additionally, my brief analysis there was relevant to Westgate only. As there are two non-stop and one stopping train an hour to Leeds from Wakefield Kirkgate, Wakefield could be said to have better services to the common economic and business centre of the two places.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Oh, I agree. It wouldn't be anything like the whole story, but it might have an effect.

I thoroughly agree that late night services are much better towards Huddersfield and the poor Wakefield service may act as a disincentive towards the use of the train. 2244 isn't really an acceptable last train for a Saturday night for somewhere as close to Leeds as this.

 

[styles]

But wasn't Nottingham station closed for weeks during this period so justifying the fall?

They had replacement bus/coach services so I suppose it depends whether this was taken into account in the methodology, and whether this put people off travelling to/from Nottingham - no mention of either in the notes.

I do also wonder more generally with the statistics how they factor in only part of the stations having barriers. You can leave Nottingham via one of two footbridges or car park side entrance and only sometimes be greeted by staff checking tickets (do they keep count?), or you can leave through the main concourse via a ticket barrier. The notes acknowledges fare evaders, but I reckon a fairly common cause of error will be people who buy tickets where say Nottingham is an interchange for a station <10 mins away and complete their journal in Nottingham.

 

[WatcherZero]

If they bought a ticket for the journey it will be included whether on a train or a rail replacement bus is irrelevant, if people stopped buying tickets for a station altogether during works that would be reflected in the numbers. They don't adjust route splits for engineering works e.g. if they thought 70% would go via station A and 30% by station B to reach their origin-destination pairing that wouldn't be altered just for one year.

 

[Taunton]

I do find it a bit unbelievable that little Kensington Olympia, stuck up a side street and with no real service until recent times, and which the Underground gave up most service to, is the 50th busiest station in Britain, with getting on for a million passengers a year more than the likes of Oxford.

 

[Geezertronic]

I can imagine that some of the anti-HS2 mob may have been upset that Euston usage went up.

I'm also surprised that Birmingham New Street went up especially during the refurb

 

[ChiefPlanner]

The likes of Mill Hill Broadway - up 400,000 is impressive - with adjacent Hendon over a million now.

Agreed - Peckham Rye and Denmark Hill outstanding - London is having structural changes in transport and usage.

 

[Rapidash]

I'm surprised at how comparatively small a dent was put in the numbers for the Riviera Line/Seawall by the Great Smoting. Only down by about 20,000 each. Guess the gawkers made up for it when the line was reopened

 

[cle]

The likes of Mill Hill Broadway - up 400,000 is impressive - with adjacent Hendon over a million now.

Agreed - Peckham Rye and Denmark Hill outstanding - London is having structural changes in transport and usage.

The Overground is definitely the biggest part in this, but both areas (Camberwell and Peckham) have gentrified a lot, which usually means more people who work in the City/West End (and higher employment levels overall I think it's fair to say) - so commuting will have increased too.

They're both railheads for East Dulwich and surroundings (whose own station is much more limited) too, and so serve a wide area.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I was just tinkering with Chester's amazing climb of 1.2m from 3.0m to 4.2m, supposedly down to the cleverer redistribution of Merseytravel PTE zonal tickets.
Previous stats had been using a model based on 2008 usage, and it has now been updated.
Since 2008 the service from Chester to Liverpool has doubled in frequency (2tph to 4tph) and the PTE Daysaver tickets are now a cheaper way of buying off-peak travel instead of railway Cheap Day Returns.
Then there's the various PTE season ticket combinations.

Analysing the 1.2m increase, if we assume 333 days in a year to simplify the arithmetic, that's 3600 extra entries/exits a day.
For an 18-hour service day that's 200 e/e per hour.
At 4tph (8 arrivals/departures), that's 25 passengers boarding or alighting per train.
I reckon that's about half a typical trainload, maybe more.
How can the system miscount half a train's passengers?
The only explanation I can think of is that incoming passengers on Daysaver tickets would not be counted at Chester, only at the origin.
So all those scousers heading for Chester Races would be miscounted.
Going the other way (Chester passengers heading to Aintree and the like) would be counted at Chester as the station of origin, but not at the destination.
Or have I missed something?

If this just a redistribution, you would expect decreases of about the same overall numbers at other stations, but there don't seem to be any.

 

[WatcherZero]

Issue with these kind of tickets is they can be used for more than one journey so discovery people were using Chester rather than local stations in Merseyside with Merseytravel tickets and consequent reduction in those local stations probably balanced out by a higher number of rail journeys made on one multimodal ticket assumption. There were big rises at Kirkby and Southport too I seem to remember suggesting that the gateways to Merseyrail like Chester are playing a bigger part. Another indeterminate that was recalculated and could have led to big rises at gateways and tourist locations was how many pensioners were using free travel, i.e they were travelling free as far as they could then buying a rail ticket or transferring to bus for the rest of the journey.

 

[SF-02]

The likes of Mill Hill Broadway - up 400,000 is impressive - with adjacent Hendon over a million now.

Agreed - Peckham Rye and Denmark Hill outstanding - London is having structural changes in transport and usage.

If TfL took over southeastern metro I've no doubt many stations would also see spectacular growth like those. With better late night services, and crucially manned ticket barriers at all times (yes I know not all LO have this but many do) then stations like Bexleyheath would go from 3 to 4 million, Abbey Wood rising to 4+ million, Greenwich to 5 million, Catford Bridge to 2.5 million to give just a few examples.

At the moment it's very easy to not pay with no guards and open stations 99% of the time and thus many do not, plus the rubbish evening frequencies put some off. In addition Greenwich is not marketed well enough to tourists so many take the long route via DLR. So much scope for growth & more revenue that SE just aren't capitalising on that TfL would.