Stations that ought to be closed down.

[Gathursty]

When I've been out and about to stations, I've been to some stations that I've thought can't be justified for their existence. I'm a fan of the railways but I think there are some stations that really need to be closed and sited in better more deserving places (debate for another thread).

In addition to my selections, what stations do you think should be closed and why?

Redcar British Steel - only accessible for workers and persistent station-baggers!
South Bank - woefully underserved station with a very rough looking approach.
Elton and Orston - Both Aslockton and Bottesford are also close by with more frequent services.
Dovey Junction - This may be an interchange and interesting for twitchers, but I'd argue the traffic for Aber, Borth and Dovey to use the Pwllheli stretch and vice versa to not be too great at all.
Tonfanau - Apparently there is a motorcycle circuit here, therefore the majority of users of the circuit would have their own mode of transport already.
Tygwyn (near Harlech, not Tywyn!) - Only really serves a level crossing and some farmhouses.
Nethertown - Egremont has a straighter road connecting to St Bees; Beckermet is close to Braystones, which leaves Nethertown with a handful of houses and a woeful service anyway.
Havenhouse - Too close to Wainfleet and Gibraltar Point can be reached quicker by bus from Skeggy.
Ardwick - Piccadilly is within walking distance but point taken for it's use as a stand-in for Piccadilly when required.
Hawarden Bridge - Shotton is on the other side of the bridge.
Ty Croes - Very, very small village. Most local caravan sites closer to Rhosneigr than Ty Croes.

 

[swcovas]

When I've been out and about to stations, I've been to some stations that I've thought can't be justified for their existence. I'm a fan of the railways but I think there are some stations that really need to be closed and sited in better more deserving places (debate for another thread).

In addition to my selections, what stations do you think should be closed and why?

Redcar British Steel
South Bank
Elton and Orston
Dovey Junction
Tonfanau
Tygwyn (near Harlech, not Tywyn!)
Nethertown
Havenhouse
Ardwick
Hawarden Bridge
Ty Croes

The old story.......what's the point in closing them? Where do you draw the line? Why not Sugar Loaf, Tonfanau, Llandecwyn, Tonfanau, Aberech, Dolau and .......etc etc etc!

 

[Ivo]

Coombe Junction Halt. Really, what is the point? Half the time trains reverse 100m away anyway!

Otherwise, how long before someone says the following? (This post and quotes thereof agreeing with me do not count.)

"No station should ever close."

 

[HowardGWR]

When I've been out and about to stations, I've been to some stations that I've thought can't be justified for their existence. I'm a fan of the railways but I think there are some stations that really need to be closed and sited in better more deserving places (debate for another thread).

In addition to my selections, what stations do you think should be closed and why?

Redcar British Steel
South Bank
Elton and Orston
Dovey Junction
Tonfanau
Tygwyn (near Harlech, not Tywyn!)
Nethertown
Havenhouse
Ardwick
Hawarden Bridge
Ty Croes

Well, you haven't given reasons why yours should be closed yet!

Here goes.
Chetnole does not seem to have a lot going for it, nor the other 'halts' such as Thornford.

But this has more to do with the fact they are not really close to their villages (no footways either ) and that the service they could use is to a Yeovil station still a mile from the shopping centre and offices. Ironically it is not far from the mini out of town shops (Matalan, Argos, etc) if pax could brave the racing traffic there.

Now if the line into the old central area of Yeovil was re-opened as a tram-train and went out to the other side.......

 

[Cherry_Picker]

I'm a fan of the railways but I think there are some stations that really need to be closed and sited in better more deserving places

I don't think it works like that my friend. If you want a new station somewhere, you don't need to get rid of an existing one first. It's not like swapping football stickers on the school playground.

I really can't see a strong argument for closing any station down. It wasn't that long ago that BR were seriously thinking about shutting Marylebone, it handles well over a million journeys a month these days. I'm not saying everywhere will experience a boom like that, but it just goes to show that we don't know what the future will bring.

 

[Busterfridge]

why should nethertown be closed ?

 

[Ivo]

Chetnole does not seem to have a lot going for it, nor the other 'halts' such as Thornford.

Thornford, Yetminster and Chetnole have a service because no viable alternative exists.

Not including school (etc) services, in terms of buses each of these has:

Thornford: Three journeys per day to and from Sherborne and Yeovil; two journeys per day to and from Blandford Forum and Yeovil
Yetminster: Three journeys per day to and from Sherborne and Yeovil; weekly Tesco service to and from Yeovil on Mondays
Chetnole: One journey to Yeovil on Saturdays

They are request stops, but still manage about 12,000 journeys per annum between them. It is right that they are served as Halt stations.

I really can't see a strong argument for closing any station down.

Obviously the answer to my remark was "not very".

Seriously though, you can't see a case for closing even backwater stations? So even somewhere like Teesside Airport (or whatever it's called these days) should still be kept open, in spite of being nothing more than an inconvenience?

----------------

Given I [had previously before deletion] accidentally double posted, I'll comment on the post below here instead.

I wouldn't object to Pilning station closing, it's completely pointless with two train a week. Severn Beach is nearby anyway.

I was going to use that as an example where I stated Teesside Airport (?) above. But Pilning's location is less well-known than that of Teesside Airport (?) so it would have made a weaker argument.

Not that I disagree of course - not to mention that it does also have an hourly bus service. (With railway connections at Severn Beach as well.)

 

[TEW]

I wouldn't object to Pilning station closing, it's completely pointless with two train a week. Severn Beach is nearby anyway.

 

[Bevan Price]

Dovey Junction serves as an interchange between the Aberystwyth & Pwllheli lines, with cross platform exchange, instead of going to Machynlleth and have to cross footbridge.

Ardwick may prove useful if a much needed redevelopment around the station area ever takes place.

 

[headshot119]

When I've been out and about to stations, I've been to some stations that I've thought can't be justified for their existence. I'm a fan of the railways but I think there are some stations that really need to be closed and sited in better more deserving places (debate for another thread).

In addition to my selections, what stations do you think should be closed and why?

Redcar British Steel - 822
South Bank - 2510 (10/11)
Elton and Orston - 72
Dovey Junction - 1296
Tonfanau - 2726 (10/11)
Tygwyn (near Harlech, not Tywyn!) - 2048 (10/11)
Nethertown - 450 (10/11)
Havenhouse - 100 (10/11)
Ardwick - 668 (10/11)
Hawarden Bridge - 4472
Ty Croes - 3716

Not sure why you want to close Ty croes, or hawarden bridge ?

 

[martinsh]

Manchester United FC Halt !

 

[Eagle]

Wedgwood anyone? :P

But this has more to do with the fact they are not really close to their villages (no footways either ) and that the service they could use is to a Yeovil station still a mile from the shopping centre and offices. Ironically it is not far from the mini out of town shops (Matalan, Argos, etc) if pax could brave the racing traffic there.

I believe the main flow from those stations is towards Dorchester and Weymouth, not Yeovil.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Manchester United FC Halt !

If the Port Salford Metrolink line gets built, I could see this being a possibility.

 

[Ivo]

Manchester United FC Halt !

Biased Not that I care.

Out of curiosity, has anywhere ever used said "station"? I've been on a train travelling from (and possibly to, I can't remember) MUF, but not west of Piccadilly - some distance from the bit that actually matters.

If the Port Salford Metrolink line gets built, I could see this being a possibility.

Wasn't there a plan floating around that would have seen the station closed and replaced with a permanent facility at the White City roundabout? If yes, what ever happened to it - and if no, then how did this suggestion end up on the Internet (oh of course - that says a lot )?

 

[Goatboy]

I wouldn't object to Pilning station closing, it's completely pointless with two train a week. Severn Beach is nearby anyway.

Curious you feel the answer to only 2 trains a week is closure rather than more trains. It would presumably not be the end of the world to stop every other Taunton stopper there.

 

[Ivo]

Curious you feel the answer to only 2 trains a week is closure rather than more trains. It would presumably not be the end of the world to stop every other Taunton stopper there.

There really isn't any point. It's a good kilometre from Pilning village, which is tiny - so small that it doesn't even appear on the ONS database of English and Welsh urban areas (with 1,500 inhabitants qualifying an urban area for a position in said database).

Severn Beach isn't that much further and already has a two-hourly service, with plans to increase it to as frequent as every 30 minutes under the Greater Bristol Metro scheme, and crucially is only a 10-minute bus ride away. Said bus also connects at Cribbs Causeway, giving outstanding bus connections into Bristol, and - omitted from my previous post () - Bristol Parkway as well.

Pilning is the archetypal parliamentary station on a main route - one train per week each way with several hundred HSTs and Sprinters running through at regular intervals. And for a good reason too. (Another being potential issues with slotting a stop in, should one ever be justified.)

 

[Bald Rick]

Maryland. But prevented by the Crossrail Act.

 

[Proud Salopian]

The only station in Shropshire I'd close is Broome.

I wouldn't mind station closures if Network Rail could be bothered to (re)open stations at the same time. eg Broome to close - Baschurch to reopen...

But for most lines there is no serious strategy regarding stations. Which is a bit odd, considering they're the basis of a (passenger) railway network!

 

[swcovas]

The only station in Shropshire I'd close is Broome.

I wouldn't mind station closures if Network Rail could be bothered to (re)open stations at the same time. eg Broome to close - Baschurch to reopen...

But for most lines there is no serious strategy regarding stations. Which is a bit odd, considering they're the basis of a (passenger) railway network!

Why Broome and not Hopton Heath? And why not Dolau, Llangunllo, Bynea, Llangennech etc etc. Where do you draw a line? Every station on the footfall list below 500? 1,000? 1,500? And as has already been said why not look at increasing services to increase footfall. hasn't it also been said for a long time that it is just so costly and time consuming to go through closure procedure that it's just as well to leave some stations open? Hence the existence of Denton, Brigg and a others.

 

[TEW]

Curious you feel the answer to only 2 trains a week is closure rather than more trains. It would presumably not be the end of the world to stop every other Taunton stopper there.

I think Ivo summed it up well, Severn Beach is the closer to Pilning than Pilning station itself.

Coombe Junction is fairly pointless as well, you could walk from Liskeard to Coombe Junction as quick as the train. Admittedly, it would take a bit longer in the other direction because it's uphill.

 

[RichmondCommu]

Peartree gets my vote. Far too close to the city centre to make it viable especially given the excellent the bus service. And the local residents don't have two pennies to rub together.

 

[Gathursty]

I don't think it works like that my friend.

'I'm a fan of the railways but I think there are some stations that really need to be closed and sited in better more deserving places.'

My sentence did come across as simplistic but there was more thought behind it I can assure you.

There are a number of stations which have a very small local population and who attract a similar amount of custom. These stations mainly are the ones I've thought about in relation to my thread.

The lack of use could be mainly down to lack of services at a good/any time of the day (if it's a once-weekly/thrice Saturday thing) but equally, the timetabler planners probably are aware of past footfall when they begin the upcoming timetable anyway.

My thought is not that for every 'pointless station' we remove, we replace it with a station somewhere else. My point is that stations should be where people are (in fairly large numbers except for where the villages have poor bus/road links ie: HOWL, FNL, Kyle Line, WHL) or where people want to visit (ie: Edale for Pennine Way, Denham Golf Club :P or Ribblehead). The stations I suggested don't have much going for them in terms of interest or population.

Sticking with stations serving the people, I note that the railway companies eventually follow on with Newstead, Bulwell, Buckshaw Parkway, Conon Bridge and Stratford Parkway being built to reflect the local population trend and needs.

I completely understand the 'if it isn't broke, don't fix it' argument of keeping such stations, but I also feel the awkwardness of law keeping such stations open only to be used in a parliamentary fashion to be akin to using a life support machine when it is too late.

 

[Simon11]

Rather than focused on the number of passengers using the station, it should also look at the cost of providing that station and stopping there. If revenue to that station is higher than the cost of looking after, it should stay. I dare say that halts cost much to operate?

 

[Waddon]

I think we should close Clapham Junction and replace it with a bus link to Victoria and Waterloo. One single decker every hour or so should be plenty

 

[asylumxl]

I think we should close Lincoln. Then nobody can come on here and complain about the poor Sunday service anymore... :P

 

[PaxVobiscum]

Tygwyn (near Harlech, not Tywyn!) - Only really serves a level crossing and some farmhouses...

Tread carefully with that one - it has been adopted and has a platoon of the WI guarding it.
http://www.iwwi.org.uk/2012/04/18/tygwyn-arriva-trains-wales-adoptee-scheme/
http://www.iwwi.org.uk/gallery/?album=all&gallery=14

Anyway, even I have used it a few times and I'm not exactly local.

 

[jopsuk]

Berney Arms perhaps?

 

[gordonthemoron]

Polesworth, only one northbound service on weekdays, no southbound service

 

[jopsuk]

Maryland. But prevented by the Crossrail Act.

half a million entries/exits per annum- perhaps increasing with Crossrail?

 

[cle]

I've never heard of half these rural places - surely it's more expensive to close them down than to leave them as request stops, unmanned, unlit etc.. ?

And no doubt people from that region can provide more rationale as to why they might be popular.

Bird-watchers, ramblers, pub-goers, whatever - there is no reason why country stations can't stay open for leisure-only purposes. Line speeds are usually so rubbish that the penalty will be minimal.

 

[jopsuk]

In the case of Berney Arms, it requires a couple of services each way each day to divert to serve the station- which means that Acle and Lingwood have gaps in their service pattern.