Britain’s least used train station only had 42 passengers in one year

Surrounded by marshland and three miles from the nearest public road, Berney Arms in Norfolk has been named as Britain’s least used railway station.

Surrounded by marshland and three miles from the nearest public road, Berney Arms in Norfolk has been named as Britain’s least used railway station.

Just 42 people used the isolated station between April 2019 and March this year – which is down 90% and was largely due to signalling work.

Lying close to the River Yare, the station is on a single-track line between Reedham and Great Yarmouth.

Two Greater Anglia trains serve the station in each direction between Mondays and Saturdays, rising to five on Sundays.

Passengers that want to get off at Berney Arms – which is named after a nearby pub that closed five years ago – must make a request to the train crew.

In stark contrast, London Waterloo was Britain’s busiest station for the 16th year – despite passenger numbers falling by 7.29 million to 86.9 million due to strike action and the pandemic.

A total of six stations had fewer than 100 passengers during the year.

In addition to Berney Arms, they were: Elton and Orston, Nottinghamshire (68); Stanlow and Thornton, Cheshire (82); Havenhouse, Lincolnshire (84); Denton, Greater Manchester (92); and Polesworth, Warwickshire (96).

Denton shared the title of Britain’s least used station during the previous 12 months with Stanlow and Thornton, after both recorded 46 passengers.

Their increase in passenger numbers in the past year is likely due to visits from railway enthusiasts following publicity of their ranking.

Several stations across Britain are kept open despite being rarely used because it is generally easier to arrange for a train to stop there infrequently than obtain permission for closure.

Statistician Jay Symonds, with the Office of Rail and Road, said: ‘The dramatic drop in passenger numbers towards the end of March due to Covid-19 explains much of the drop in usage compared to last year.

‘Despite this, Waterloo remains top but we saw a change in the least used station with Berney Arms taking the spot from Denton and Stanlow & Thornton.

‘With numbers staying at historically low levels during 2020, there is no doubt that next year’s figures will look a lot different.’

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