Denton in Greater Manchester has been named the UK’s least-used train station, with a mere 54 entries and exits recorded between April 2023 and March 2024.
Despite its proximity to Manchester city centre and the scenic Peak District, Denton tops the list of the country’s most deserted stations.
The Office of Road and Rail (ORR) recently unveiled the ten busiest and five quietest train stations across the UK.
Denton’s inclusion on this list is hardly surprising, given that it only sees two trains on Saturday mornings, one heading to Stockport and the other to Stalybridge.
Reddish South, another station on the same line, also made the list of least-used stations, ranking fifth with just 128 entries and exits during the same period.
These stations are often frequented by train enthusiasts as this route is home to one of the few ‘ghost trains’, services that exist solely to keep the line open for commercial use.
In stark contrast, London Liverpool Street, the UK’s busiest station, saw 94.5 million entries and exits.
Meanwhile, Manchester Piccadilly, located just half an hour from Denton and Reddish South, recorded 25.8 million entries and exits, making it the second busiest station outside London, trailing behind Birmingham New Street with 33.3 million.
The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has unveiled the least used train stations in Wales and Scotland, with Roman Bridge recording 680 entries and exits, and Kildonan logging a mere 240.
Two UK stations, Stanlow and Thornton and Teesside Airport, were left out of the results due to service suspensions throughout the year, resulting in zero recorded entries and exits.
The UK’s least used train stations – with numbers of entries and exits
- Denton, 54
- Shippea Hill, Cambridgeshire, 70
- Ince and Elton, Cheshire, 80
- Polesworth, Warwickshire, 118
- Reddish South, Greater Manchester, 128