Cornwall's ghost train station is only used by three passengers a week

Three railway stations in Cornwall are among the UK's least used, according to new figures. Coombe Junction Halt, Lelant Saltings and Luxulyan have all featured in the top 10 quietest train stations.

Ghost station Coombe Junction Halt had 140 passenger entries and exits at the station between April 2023 and March 2024 according to the latest statistics for the Office for Rail and Road. That is around three passengers a week, making it the least-used train station in the South West of England and the sixth least-used in all of Britain.

Lelant Saltings was next, with 630, while Luxulyan came 10th on the list for the South West, with 2,660 entries and exits over the time period. In wider Great Britain, Denton in Greater Manchester is the quietest train station.

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There were just 54 passenger entries and exits at the station between April 2023 and March 2024 according to the latest statistics for the Office for Rail and Road. That’s the equivalent of just one every 6.8 days, making it the least-used station in the country.

It is an improvement on the 34 times people either started or ended their journey at the station the previous year, when it was the second least used in the country after Teesside Airport, which had been shut for most of the year. Shippea Hill in Cambridgeshire was the next least-used station in the country with just 70 entries and exits. That’s the equivalent of one every 5.2 days.

Ince and Elton in Cheshire were next with 86 passenger entries and exits, followed by Polesworth in Warwickshire with 118, Reddish South in Greater Manchester with 128, and then Coombe Junction Halt with 140.

London Liverpool Street is Great Britain’s busiest train station for the second year in a row. A total of 94.5 million passenger entries and exits were made from the station between April 2023 and March 2024.

The station was named top in the country for the first time last year following a boom in numbers from Crossrail. London Paddington was the next busiest in the country with 66.9 million entries and exits, followed by Tottenham Court Road with 64.2 million, Waterloo with 62.5 million, and Stratford London with 56.6 million.

Birmingham New Street was the busiest station outside of the capital, with 33.3 million entries and exits. Manchester Piccadilly was next with 25.8 million, followed by Glasgow Central with 25.0 million and Leeds with 24.9 million.

You can see how many people passed through your local station by using our interactive table and the full lists of busiest and quietest beneath it.

The 20 least-used stations in Great Britain

Station: Passenger entries and exits
Denton: 54
Shippea Hill: 70
Ince and Elton (Cheshire): 86
Polesworth: 118
Reddish South: 128
Coombe Junction Halt: 140
Chapelton (Devon): 186
Clifton (Manchester): 202
Elton and Orston: 212
Kildonan: 240
Scotscalder: 242
Altnabreac: 250
Beasdale: 260
Kirton Lindsey: 294
Culrain: 300
Pilning: 330
Buckenham: 360
Thorpe Culvert: 364
Lochluichart: 374
Ardwick: 396

Top 20 busiest train stations in the country

Station: Passenger entries and exits
London Liverpool Street: 94,499,824
London Paddington: 66,859,098
Tottenham Court Road: 64,219,040
London Waterloo: 62,525,274
Stratford (London): 56,570,866
London Victoria: 50,829,676
London Bridge: 50,045,010
Farringdon: 46,049,862
Bond Street: 38,307,986
London Euston: 36,185,290
London St Pancras International: 35,959,980
Whitechapel: 35,246,924
Birmingham New Street: 33,335,376
Manchester Piccadilly: 25,776,162
Glasgow Central: 24,964,246
Leeds: 24,891,386
London Kings Cross: 24,483,826
Clapham Junction: 22,858,198
Highbury and Islington: 21,827,580
Edinburgh: 21,307,916

There were a total of 1.6 billion passenger journeys made on Britain’s rail networks between April 2023 and March 2024. That’s a 16 per cent jump compared to a year earlier when there were just under 1.4 billion.

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