Secluded station in North Wales valley named the country's quietest

A railway station in a stunning North Wales valley has been named the country's quietest. The Office for Rail and Road has today revealed the most and least used railway stations in Wales.

This is based on the number of entries and exits between April 2023 and March 2024. The nation's least used was Roman Bridge/Pont Rufenig in the Lledr Valley, which sits on the Conwy Valley line.

The station dates back to 1879 when the London and North Western Railway opened an extension of the Conwy Valley line from Betws-y-Coed to Blaenau Ffestiniog. The station house has since become a home but it remains a request stop on services along the route.

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Despite its beautiful location not many passengers arrived at or departed from the station over the period. The total number according to the Office of Rail and Road was 680. This was 100 less than Llangynllo in Powys and fewer than the 814 that stopped at nearby Pont y Pant.

It is though well up on figure between 2016 and 2017 when just 228 passengers stopped there, which saw it at the bottom of the train league table across the whole of the UK.

The potentially good news is that after the publicity in 2017 the station saw bumper figures the following year with 1,824 passengers as train enthusiasts descended. The station has 11 daily stops(request) during the week.

The busiest stations in Wales were Cardiff Central (11.5m), Newport (2.7m), and Swansea (2.2m). In North Wales, Bangor had the most passengers with 700,000, followed by Wrexham General at 600,000.

Across the UK London Liverpool Street station retained its title as Great Britain's most used railway station in 2023-24, while Denton in Greater Manchester was Great Britain's least used station at 54 entries and exits. The busiest stations in England outside of London were Birmingham New Street (33.3m), Manchester Piccadilly (25.8m) and Leeds (24.9m).

The busiest stations in Scotland were Glasgow Central (25.0m), Edinburgh Waverley (21.3m) and Glasgow Queen Street (14.5m).

Feras Alshaker, Director, Planning and Performance at the Office of Rail and Road, said: "These statistics provide crucial insights for passengers, the rail industry and its stakeholders and demonstrate clearly how travel patterns are changing across the country. Alongside our rail usage statistics they show that since the pandemic rail usage continues to increase and that the investment put into the Elizabeth line is fundamentally reshaping passenger journeys into and around London."

Top 10 Most Used Stations in Wales

Top 10 Least Used Stations