Stations with the sparsest Service

[Buttsy]

Not sure I know that.

How inaccurate and why?


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Doesn't take into account season ticket holders, rover/ranger tickets or those who have not bothered to obtain a ticket before travel. Also, a number of tickets are sold for 'collectors'. I purchased a ticket in 2012 from Coombe Junction Halt to St Keyne Wishing Well Halt in order to be counted in the stats at Coombe even though I had a valid rover.

 

[trubla]

This has been done loads of times!
anyway Polesworth only gets one train per day in one direction only, because it reduces the number of paths available on a line at full capacity and there's only a platform on one track.

1 train a day doesn't reduce the capacity. LM services still go through the station non stop. It would not take much to change the timetable so more trains could stop as was the case before before the 4 tracking north of Tamworth took place.
There are 2 platforms at Polesworth ,the connecting bridge was removed as it was said ' to be unsafe'. Talk at the time was the position of the bridge would interfer with the visibility of the new signals being installed at the end of the platform ,as compared to the previous position, down the track by several yards.
But things are looking up, new cabinets for posters have appeared with details of onward travel and a map of local attractions.

 

[mlambeuk]

Wressle and Eastrington on the York/ Leeds to Hull line.
Ulleskelf on the York- Leeds line
Salwick on the Preston to Blackpool line

 

[tsr]

And of course we mustn't forget the empties to Newhaven Marine, as and when Southern feel the need to send them there (officially a minimum of once a week, but paths exist a couple of times each weekday). The only other uses for the branch are for emergency reversals if the South end of the Seaford branch is closed, and for RHTTs.

 

[Parallel]

Pilning only has one train each way per week (on a Saturday IIRC)

Yup, and a service goes through once every half an hour each way (Cardiff Central - Portsmouth Harbour, Cardiff Central - Taunton) as well!

Surprisingly it has a footfall of 130 between 2012-13 though. Apparently it's a good location for train spotters. Although it's not actually near to the village of Pilning (which is between Severn Beach station and Pilning station), I believe a housing development near it was planned at some point however this stalled, but if it ever does go ahead I can see the station getting an increased service.

Ascott-Under-Wychwood is another station that doesn't get many services.

 

[PaulLothian]

Breich - one morning train to Edinburgh (arrives 08.48), with return departure at 17:56.

Ideal for somebody on flexi-time, or for really serious shoppers...

But not so useful for local people who hold a West Lothian Concession card, as you can't use them before 09:15 or on evening peak trains out of Edinburgh!

 

[infobleep]

Because to close a line/station it requires consultation etc... and it is deemed less hassle to run the bare minimum service. The train stopping at Teesside will probably cost Northern nothing at all, given it is already on an existing line with other stations.

If that is the case, why not stop more services there in both directions. Is their actuality an airport there which people use?

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[johnnychips]

If that is the case, why not stop more services there in both directions. Is their actuality an airport there which people use?

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It's quite a distance from the terminal, and services have declined to 3 a day to Amsterdam and odd ones to Aberdeen.

 

[infobleep]

Is their a legal definition of what constitutes a parliamentary service and what is just sparse running?

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[infobleep]

How were they able to close Tunbridge Wells West in the mid 1980s but can't close stations so easily now? Was there more money back then to close stations?

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[higthomas]

If that is the case, why not stop more services there in both directions. Is their actuality an airport there which people use?

According to Wikipedia it is a 15 m,inute walk away from the station, so with luggage I think that taht is more than most people are up for. I think there might once have been a bus once, but that doesn't run anymore.

 

[Beveridges]

Acton Bridge. A favourite for freight spotting by some enthusiasts.

It gets hundreds of trains passing through every day but only about two in each direction stop there.

 

[infobleep]

According to Wikipedia it is a 15 m,inute walk away from the station, so with luggage I think that taht is more than most people are up for. I think there might once have been a bus once, but that doesn't run anymore.

I guess if hardly any passenger flights go there any more, no point.

I take it no station will ever fully close in the current climate? Even if it means buses ran to replace the service.

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[sarahj]

down here on Southern, and excluding Newhaven Marine as thats a ghost train station, we have Pevensey Bay on the Eastbourne to Bexhill line. 3 trains per hour pass in each direction, but there is just the odd one or two per day that stop. In 7 years I've picked up one passenger, set down none and sold no tickets to/from. There is not much there either.

Other stations with a good service, but with no many passengers include Newhaven Harbour 2x hour. the odd one or two. Ferry passengers now use the Town. Southease is a odd one, not much there, with a bit of a walk to the village. But it gets one train an hour each way, plus a direct to London. And is used by more than you would think. Lots of walkers on sunny days (its on the south downs way). Sledgers when it snows. (good hill close by).

 

[Urban Gateline]

down here on Southern, and excluding Newhaven Marine as thats a ghost train station, we have Pevensey Bay on the Eastbourne to Bexhill line. 3 trains per hour pass in each direction, but there is just the odd one or two per day that stop. In 7 years I've picked up one passenger, set down none and sold no tickets to/from. There is not much there either.

Other stations with a good service, but with no many passengers include Newhaven Harbour 2x hour. the odd one or two. Ferry passengers now use the Town. Southease is a odd one, not much there, with a bit of a walk to the village. But it gets one train an hour each way, plus a direct to London. And is used by more than you would think. Lots of walkers on sunny days (its on the south downs way). Sledgers when it snows. (good hill close by).

Doleham is a good contender too! That's a lovely place for walking in the summer though!

 

[317666]

In this part of the world there's Shippea Hill, Harling Road, Eccles Road and Spooner Row which don't receive much of a service (only a few trains a day off the top of my head, can't remember what they are or how many). Manea used to receive a similarly poor service although since the December timetable change it's now improved to being roughly two-hourly.

Also, Lakenheath is slightly odd in not having any weekday service but one train per Saturday and three on a Sunday, each way.

 

[tsr]

Faygate is a bit of an odd one. Unlike others on the route between Three Bridges and Horsham, it only has a service on weekdays - peak times & lunchtimes only. I understand this timetable has been in place for a while and was originally devised to serve workers at a couple of local industrial units. And yet it would probably do the line no harm if a train stopped every hour during the day and evening off-peak periods - perhaps at the same sort of frequency as Salfords (which in itself has a fairly good peak service, but needs improvements at weekends, though it does not in any way count as a "sparsest service" station whatsoever).

For most of each day, Gomshall has a two-hourly service. Whilst by no means as spartan as some listed here, I get the feeling that footfall would usually easily support an hourly service, which would serve local villages and that area of the Surrey Hills quite well.

 

[sarahj]

I know what you mean about Faygate. There are plans to build more houses there as well. I think there is a plan for the Horsham stoppers to stop there more, but not 100% sure. As a Brighton guard I dont think I've worked a train to/from there for years. It was my second last station to sell a ticket to/from (still waiting for Pev bay), that I worked to/from. Sold a season, then the diagrams changed and not stopped since.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Acton Bridge. A favourite for freight spotting by some enthusiasts.

It gets hundreds of trains passing through every day but only about two in each direction stop there.

12 northbound and 10 southbound per day

 

[matchmaker]

Portlethen - first station south of Aberdeen. Only 8 direct services to Aberdeen on weekdays. The National Rail website suggests an alternative route - take a train south to Stonehaven, change there to a northbound service (which passes Porthlethen without stopping), and arrive in Aberdeen over an hour later - for a normally 13 minute journey!

 

[infobleep]

In this part of the world there's Shippea Hill, Harling Road, Eccles Road and Spooner Row which don't receive much of a service (only a few trains a day off the top of my head, can't remember what they are or how many). Manea used to receive a similarly poor service although since the December timetable change it's now improved to being roughly two-hourly.

Also, Lakenheath is slightly odd in not having any weekday service but one train per Saturday and three on a Sunday, each way.

It's interesting how in some parts of the country they feel the need to serve a station on Sunday, for whatever reason but other parts they don't. Worpolesden in Surrey gets a service every day except Sundays [excluding Saturday night services which go into Subday].

It's mainly used by commuters but the journey times I to Waterloo are not any less on a Sunday when they skip it.

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[infobleep]

For most of each day, Gomshall has a two-hourly service. Whilst by no means as spartan as some listed here, I get the feeling that footfall would usually easily support an hourly service, which would serve local villages and that area of the Surrey Hills quite well.

I'm sure it use to have an hourly service. Certainly in the early to mid 2000s there was one fast train an hour on Sundays between Reading and Gatwick and one slow service every 2 hours. However they reduced that to 1 services every hour, splitting up the slow portions of the journey. So that one hour it runs slow to Guildford and then fast and the next hour fast to Guildford and then slow.

It use to be that the fastest journey to Haywards Heath was to get a slow train and change at Redhill to a direct service but the timetable changes did away with that.

And two think they actually want to increase the number of trains to Redhill. I guess that's solely during the week.


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[DeeGee]

Has nobody mentioned Brigg, Kirton Lindsey and Gainsborough Central, yet?

3 trains a week in each direction. Gainsborough Central and Brigg are both in the middle of quite significant towns.

 

[infobleep]

Portlethen - first station south of Aberdeen. Only 8 direct services to Aberdeen on weekdays. The National Rail website suggests an alternative route - take a train south to Stonehaven, change there to a northbound service (which passes Porthlethen without stopping), and arrive in Aberdeen over an hour later - for a normally 13 minute journey!

National Rail love doing that. They suggest similar things when travelling to Gomshall from Guildford. You go to Dorking Deepdene and then double back. The fact you need multiple tickets is mentioned but not to any great detail.

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[PaxVobiscum]

After some thought, I think the right spelling is sparsest.
Not a word you use very often...
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sparsest?qsrc=2446

I wondered if the thread title had been edited as the word in question was no longer conjuring up a new word for an illegal act in a small supermarket (as it did when the spelling was sparcest).

 

[43074]

It's interesting how in some parts of the country they feel the need to serve a station on Sunday, for whatever reason but other parts they don't. Worpolesden in Surrey gets a service every day except Sundays [excluding Saturday night services which go into Sunday].

In this particular case, Lakenheath is served with a few trains per day at weekends to enable bird-watchers to visit the nearby Lakenheath Fen RSPB reserve, and similarly Buckenham on the Wherry Lines between Norwich and Lowestoft is served by 4 trains per day roughly every 2 hours on Sundays and 1 return train each way on Saturdays for the RSPB reserve at Strumpshaw Fen. Both stations are virtually in the middle of nowhere so arguably don't need a weekday service anyway.

Also in East Anglia, Berney Arms has 2tpd each way to Norwich and Great Yarmouth Mondays to Saturdays, but 5tpd on Sundays for walkers etc.

I think the extent of Sunday services is largely down to the DfT to decide in the TOC's passenger service requirement, although the Train Operating Company can make changes if desired, but most of the time Sunday services don't change very much. That Worpolesdon example is very odd though, I thought most places in South East England had Sunday services?

In the East Midlands, stations with sparse services include Spondon which has about 3/4tpd each way between Nottingham and Derby, and also Elton & Orston, Ancaster, Rauceby, Hubberts Bridge, Thorpe Culvert and Havenhouse on the Nottingham to Skegness route which all receive a couple of trains per day.

 

[30907]

How were they able to close Tunbridge Wells West in the mid 1980s but can't close stations so easily now? Was there more money back then to close stations?

That was a whole route (T Wells C-Eridge) and the savings at Grove Jn on the Hastings line would have covered the cost of the closure process.

Incidentally, was that the last significant line closure on BR/NR (don't count Sinfin as significant!) or have I forgotten one?

 

[transmanche]

Incidentally, was that the last significant line closure on BR/NR (don't count Sinfin as significant!) or have I forgotten one?

Stratford Low Level to North Woolwich on the North London Line, in 2006?

 

[tsr]

In this particular case, Lakenheath is served with a few trains per day at weekends to enable bird-watchers to visit the nearby Lakenheath Fen RSPB reserve, and similarly Buckenham on the Wherry Lines between Norwich and Lowestoft is served by 4 trains per day roughly every 2 hours on Sundays and 1 return train each way on Saturdays for the RSPB reserve at Strumpshaw Fen. Both stations are virtually in the middle of nowhere so arguably don't need a weekday service anyway.

Sadly, Buckenham Station is no longer useful to much of the area, as there is pretty much no cross-river road link to the local villages a relatively short distance away on the South side of the Yare, which used to be accessible by ferry a long time ago. Ideally, a new bridge or ferry crossing could be built, but it's really a case of proving demand, getting planning permission, and also funding something that ambitious. Oddly enough, I don't think sourcing small areas of land for the footprint of something like that would be a major challenge - there are lanes either side, one of which would need fencing and widening, and the other which would need a slight re-siting and widening. Villages to the North of the river such as Brundall, Acle, Lingwood, Cantley & Reedham already support their own stations, and Buckenham itself is very rural, with barely as much as a hamlet nearby.

However, with a crossing, the station could easily have a connecting bus to all sorts of little areas which are nowhere near well-served today, and negate the need for the current (though minimal) quantities of buses or - most importantly - fairly high numbers of cars to bother heading further towards Norwich. In other words, it could be a rail head for Loddon, Chedgrave, Thurton, Bramerton and Rockland, which are all grossly underserved by public transport just due to the position of said River Yare! And naturally this would not just apply to links to Norwich, but probably also elsewhere in the county and beyond.

I have posted on this matter previously & may speak to a few local residents about it in more detail at some point, but it's far-fetched to currently imagine it ever really getting off the ground (literally, in the case of a bridge ).

 

[infobleep]

.That Worpolesdon example is very odd though, I thought most places in South East England had Sunday services?

It is used by commuters Monday to Friday but most commuters don't generally travel to work on Saturdays and it isn't shut then. Even if very few people use it, it can't hurt to stop there. Plenty of padding in the timetable to allow it on a Sunday.

I think Earlswood might be one that's closed on Sundays, except in the summer when it is open.

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