A least used station is a station that received the fewest entries/exits (described as a passenger) as defined by Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in a given timeframe. These statistics are released by the ORR every November, December or January, for the previous financial year.

Overview This table shows the top least used stations of every period covered in this page. Data is only available from April 1997 onwards.

+Overview of the least used stations of Great BritainPeriodStation nameLocationPassengersNotes 2024/25Elton and OrstonNottinghamshire68 2023/24DentonGreater Manchester54Least used station to be open all year twice in a row 2022/23Teesside AirportCounty Durham2The service was suspended from May 2022 due to the platform being classified unsafe2021/22Heathrow Terminal 4Greater London0Station closed during this periodThe Covid-19 pandemic partially affected these statisticsElton & OrstonNottinghamshire40Least used station with more than 0 passengers2020/21Sugar LoafPowys0The six stations drew in this period

The Covid-19 pandemic severely affected these statisticsStanlow and ThorntonCheshireSampford CourtenayDevonLlanbedrGwyneddBeasdaleHighlandAbererchGwyneddTeesside AirportCounty Durham2Least used station with more than 0 passengers2019/20Berney ArmsNorfolk42Usage reduced due to line being closed for much of the period2018/19Stanlow and ThorntonCheshire46The two stations drew in this periodDentonGreater Manchester2017/18Redcar British SteelTeesside402016/17Barry LinksAngus242015/16Shippea Hill Cambridgeshire12Was the least used station twice in a row2014/15222013/14Teesside AirportCounty Durham8Was the least used station four times in a row2012/1382011/12142010/11182009/10Coombe Junction HaltCornwall422008/09Teesside AirportCounty Durham442007/08CrosskeysCaerphilly8Station opened during this period2006/07Tyndrum LowerStirling172005/06Gainsborough CentralLincolnshire21Was the least used station twice in a row2004/05212003/04Statistics were not released for this period. See the section for this period for more details.2002/03Barry LinksAngus8The two stations drew in this periodGainsborough CentralLincolnshire2001/02BeaulyHighland23Station opened during this period2000/01BuckenhamNorfolk221999/2000DittonCheshire1

Publicity

The publicity around these stations is fuelled by the nature of how unusual they are. Railway enthusiasts are known to visit them either to be able to say they have been there, or in order to boost the stations' usage statistics. Geoff Marshall, a YouTuber known for his railway-related content, has a series dedicated to visiting these stations.

There has also been news coverage on a few of the least used stations, for example Berney Arms had an ITV reporter sent to cover it when it was announced in the 2019/20 period.

The Office of Rail and Road acknowledge that by highlighting the least used stations, this impacts the statistics in future years.

Statistics

Period between 2024 and 2025 Elton and Orston railway station was announced as being the least used station for the second time having previously been least used in the 2021/22 period. The statistics for this year showed the top five least used stations to be:

+2024/2025 PeriodPositionStation nameStation locationUsage figure1Elton and OrstonNottinghamshire682Shippea HillCambridgeshire763Ince & EltonCheshire984DentonGreater Manchester1005Reddish SouthGreater Manchester102

Period between 2023 and 2024 Denton was announced as being the least used station that was open throughout the year for the second year in a row. The statistics for this year showed the top five least used stations were:

+2023/2024 PeriodPositionStation LocationUsage figure1DentonGreater Manchester542Shippea HillCambridgeshire703Ince & EltonCheshire864PolesworthWarwickshire1185Reddish SouthGreater Manchester128

Period between 2022 and 2023

The data between April 2022 and March 2023 was the first set of data with all stations having at least 1 passenger since the 2019/2020 period. The least used station in the whole country for this period was Teesside Airport, which had 2 passengers due to the platforms being closed over safety fears in May 2022. Ordinarily, the station would only have 1 train a week, on a Sunday. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be: +2022/2023 PeriodPositionStation NameStation LocationUsage Figure1Teesside AirportCounty Durham22DentonGreater Manchester343Elton & OrstonNottinghamshire564Kirton LindseyLincolnshire945Reddish SouthGreater Manchester100

Period between 2021 and 2022

Zero stations

The only station to receive zero passengers in this period was Heathrow Terminal 4, which was due to its closure between 9 May 2020 and 14 June 2022 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stations above zero

The least used station in this statistic period was Elton & Orston, which is in that position for the first time. Kirton Lindsey maintained its position at number 5 for the second year running. Stanlow & Thornton had its services suspended in February 2022 (before the end of the year) due to safety concerns about the footbridge. Teesside Airport's services were suspended after the end of the year, and - whilst this did not affect these statistics - this was thought it might affect its passenger numbers for next year. Other than Heathrow, the statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be: +2021/22 PeriodPositionStation NameStation LocationUsage Figure1Elton & OrstonNottinghamshire402Teesside Airport County Durham423Stanlow & ThorntonCheshire444Denton Greater Manchester505Kirton LindseyLincolnshire68

Period between 2020 and 2021

COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic has had a great effect on the railway network in Great Britain. Usage fell approximately 78% in the period between April 2020 and March 2021. Some stations were even closed for long periods of time due to inability to social distance, caused by short platforms.

Zero stations

There were six stations which were used by zero people in this period, those being: Abererch, Beasdale, Llanbedr, Sampford Courtenay, Stanlow and Thornton, and Sugar Loaf. Abererch, Llanbedr, and Sugar Loaf were some of a few stations closed during the pandemic due to social distancing measures. Sampford Courtenay was last served by Great Western Railway in summer 2019, and had all of its services withdrawn in December 2019 not long before the Dartmoor Heritage Railway went into administration, and no trains have served it since. Beasdale and Stanlow & Thornton had low passenger usage before the pandemic, so the restrictions impacted this even further. These stations will not be shown in the table for this period, but will be shown in the overview table.

Stations above zero The least used station in this period (other than zero stations) was Teesside Airport, see period 2013 and 2014 for further information on this station. The second least used was Tygwyn in Gwynedd. Before the pandemic, this station got around 2000 passengers annually. However, it was closed during the pandemic due to social distancing measures, and when it was re-opened it never gained back its previous form. This is the same for most stations which fell dramatically in this period. Other than zero stations, the statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be: +2020/21 PeriodPositionStation NameStation LocationUsage Figure1Teesside AirportCounty Durham22Tygwyn Gwynedd43OkehamptonDevon64Llandanwg Gwynedd85Kirton LindseyLincolnshire10

Period between 2019 and 2020

Due to the stats for this period finishing recording in March, this release was not completely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The least used station in the whole country for this period was Berney Arms, a small request stop on a lesser-used line between Norwich and Great Yarmouth. It dropped by approximately 90% from its statistics last year, due to it being closed for 15 months for signalling work. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be: +2019/2020 PeriodPositionStation NameStation LocationUsage Figure1Berney ArmsNorfolk422Elton & OrstonNottinghamshire683Stanlow & ThorntonCheshire824HavenhouseLincolnshire845DentonGreater Manchester92

Period between 2018 and 2019

The least used station in this period was a tie, the title being taken by both Stanlow and Thornton and Denton. Denton has always been very underused, being on a line that only gets one 2-way journey on a Saturday only. Stanlow and Thornton used to get an hourly service in the 1980s, but it has now been reduced to two trains in each direction a day. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:Estimates of Station Usage 2018-19 +2018/2019 PeriodPositionStation NameStation LocationUsage Figure1DentonGreater Manchester46Stanlow & ThorntonCheshire3Reddish SouthGreater Manchester604Barry LinksAngus1225HavenhouseLincolnshire158

Period between 2017 and 2018

The least used station in this period was Redcar British Steel. It suffered a massive drop in passengers in this period, going from above 1000 passengers in 2014/15 dropping to just 40 in this period. This is due to the steel works which this station served being closed, and the station having no access other than from the train. The station itself had all of its services suspended in December 2019. The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be:

+2017/2018 PeriodPositionStation NameStation LocationUsage Figure1Redcar British Steel Teesside402Barry LinksAngus523DentonGreater Manchester704Teesside Airport Teesside745Stanlow & ThorntonCheshire92

Period between 2016 and 2017

The least used station in this period was Barry Links. Originally opened by the Dundee and Arbroath Railway, Barry Links is located on the Dundee–Aberdeen line just east of the town of Barry. It's always been fairly unused due to a very sparse train service (one train a day in each direction). The statistics for this period showed the top five least used stations to be: +2016/2017 PeriodPositionStation NameStation LocationUsage Figure1Barry LinksAngus242Teesside AirportTeesside303Breich West Lothian484Redcar British SteelTeesside505Kildonan Highland76

Period between 2015 and 2016

The least used station in this period was Shippea Hill. Originally opened as 'Mildenhall Road' in 1845, it has since been through two name changes; one in 1885 which saw it named as 'Burnt Fen', and again in 1904 where it was renamed to its current name, Shippea Hill. It's located on the Breckland line, approximately six miles west of Ely. Its location is the reason of it being so least used. The statistics for this period show the top five least used stations to be: +2015/2016 PeriodPositionStation NameStation LocationUsage Figure1Shippea HillCambridgeshire122Reddish SouthGreater Manchester383Pilning Gloucestershire464Coombe Junction HaltCornwall485Barry LinksAngus68

Period between 2014 and 2015

The least used station in this period was Shippea Hill (It had this honour three times in a row). See above for background information on this station. The second least used was Coombe Junction Halt, a station which always seems to find itself in the top five or ten. This is due to its location (on a small industrial estate near Liskeard) and its sparse service. The statistics for this period show the top five least used stations to be: +2014/2015 PeriodPositionStation NameStation LocationUsage Figure1Shippea HillCambridgeshire222Coombe Junction HaltCornwall263Teesside AirportTeesside324Reddish SouthGreater Manchester545Barry LinksAngus60

Period between 2013 and 2014