A ranking of the loneliest train stations in Britain is topped by a stop that sees just 34 passengers a year.
The list is compiled by the website everylaststation.co.ukwhich analyzed 2023 data from the Bureau for Rail and Road to reveal which stations in England, Wales and Scotland are least visited.
Denton Station, a few miles east of Manchester city center on the Stockport-Stalybridge line, is the least used station overall. The twin-platform station is maintained by Northern Rail, has no staff and sees just one train service per week – leaving for Stalybridge on Friday mornings at 9.32am, reveals thetrainline.com.
The service, nicknamed the ‘Denton Flyer’, reaches Stalybridge in 11 minutes and must be met by passengers in Denton.
Elton and Orston station, in Nottinghamshire, is the second least used train station in Britain with 56 users annually.
Denton Station (above), on the Stockport-Stalybridge line, is the least used station in Britain. Photo courtesy of Creative Commons licensing
Elton and Orston station, pictured above, in Nottinghamshire, is the second least used train station in Britain, with just 56 visitors a year
Kirton Lindsey, in Lincolnshire, has 94 visitors a year. It is the third least used station in Britain
Coombe Junction Halt in Cornwall is Britain’s fourth least used station, with just 120 passengers per year
The East Midlands Railway station sees one train per day in each direction, with one traveling to Nottingham in 48 minutes and another taking just under two hours to reach Skegness.
Rounding out the top three least visited stations is Kirton Lindsey, in Lincolnshire, with 94 visitors annually.
The Northern Rail station has two trains running daily, Monday to Friday, to Sheffield in one direction and to Cleethorpes in the other.
Train stations in England fill most of the top 10 least visited junctions, with Reddish South Railway Station on the Stockport-Stalybridge line coming in fourth with 100 passengers annually.
Coombe Junction Halt in Cornwall completes the top five (120 visitors).
Scotscalder – on the Scotrail Inverness-Wick line – is Scotland’s least used station (124 visitors) and ranks sixth overall.
The rest of the top 10 consists of Ince and Elton, Cheshire (seventh, 130 passengers); Shippea Hill, Cambridgeshire (eighth, 142); Kildonan, Highlands, Scotland (ninth, 148); and Beasdale, Highlands, Scotland (10th, 170).
The least visited station in Wales is Sugar Loaf in Powys, with 398 visitors per year, putting it at number 13 in the rankings.
Ince and Elton in Cheshire is the sixth least used station in Britain
Shippea Hill in Cambridgeshire: This is the seventh least used train station in Britain
Polesworth, Warwickshire, is Britain’s eighth loneliest train station
See Chapelton in Devon on the Exeter to Barnstaple line – Britain’s ninth least used station
Pilning in Gloucestershire is the tenth least used station in Britain. Only 338 passengers use it every year
Above is the most remote and least used train station in Wales: Sugar Loaf in Powys. Last year it was used by only 398 people. Photo courtesy of Creative Commons licensing
Above is Scotscalder station on the Inverness-Wick line. With only 124 passengers per year, it is the least used train station in Scotland and the fifth least used in Great Britain. Photo courtesy of Creative Commons licensing