Yahoo News Two Northumberland East Coast Main Line stations least used in North East
Two Northumberland stations on the East Coast Mainline being the least used in the North East is "disappointing", a local councillor has said.
Figures from the Office of Road and Rail show that Acklington is the least used station in the North East, with just 550 passengers in the year between April 2023 and March 2024. It is followed by Chathill, which has just 1,264 passengers in that time.
Both stations are served by the same service twice a day, operated by Northern. Named the Chathill flyer, the train does anything but, with the morning train at 7.08am taking 74 minutes to complete its journey.
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The evening train is slightly quicker, with Newcastle to Chathill at 5.57pm taking 58 minutes, before the return leg reaches Central Station at 8.14pm. No trains which stop at Chathill station run north towards Berwick and Edinburgh.
Conservative councillor Guy Renner-Thompson says that the figures for Acklington and Chathill are very disappointing, and believes that there is demand for more services to the area.
Coun Renner-Thompson told ChronicleLive: "The train companies often use these figures as an excuse not to run service to these little stations, but it's catch-22 because if the trains aren't there, then of course you're going to end up with small numbers using the station. Chathill in particular could be a gateway to the North Northumberland Coast."
Chathill is the closest railway station to Seahouses, Beadnell and Bamburgh, three villages which receive a hefty proportion of the county's tourism draw, especially during the summer months. Coun-Renner Thompson added: "The Government want to get people off the roads and we want to get people out of these villages because they get congested, we believe there's a demand for a proper rail service."
In September, Northumberland County Council introduced the 918 bus to link Chathill Station with Belford, Bamburgh, North Sunderland, Seahouses and Beadnell. Coun Renner-Thompson says it has proven to be popular, and added: "There is a pent-up demand here, it's just getting the rail companies to go with it.
"They prioritise fast trains between Newcastle and Edinburgh and London. We're saying give us some capacity for local trains for local people."
A Northern spokesperson said: "Tens of millions of passengers travel on our services every year, to more than 500 stations in communities across the North of England. We always look to match service with demand by reviewing the latest data, but also realise the importance of providing transport links to people in rural areas."
The construction of a station at nearby Belford is one of 327 schemes included in an £8.66 billion blueprint vision for the future of the North East's transport system, which was unveiled by Mayor Kim McGuinness earlier this year. The North of Tyne Combined Authority's Local Transport Plan proposes the station would serve the village of Belford and the surrounding catchment area of north Northumberland at a cost of £14,070,000, with an estimated delivery date of 2036.
At the other end of the scale, Newcastle has 9.1m passengers coming in and out of the station annually, followed by Durham with 2.6m and Darlington with 2.3m. Berwick-upon-Tweed is the most used station in Northumberland, with approximately 600,000 passengers per year, followed by Morpeth with around 500,000 annually.
London Liverpool Street Station remains the UK's busiest station, with 94.5 million entries and exits, 27.6 million more than second-placed London Paddington. The UK's least-used station was Denton in Greater Manchester, with just 54 entries and exits between April 2023 and March 2024.
Feras Alshaker, of the Office of Road and Rail, 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."
Top 10 least used stations in the North East
Acklington, 550
Chathill, 1,264
Pegswood, 1,500
Widdrington, 2,270
Bardon Mill, 10,736
Riding Mill, 29,734
Marton, 30,386
Heighington, 34,084
Manors, 35,892
South Bank, 38,302
Top 10 most used stations in the North East
Newcastle, 9.1m
Durham, 2.6m
Darlington, 2.3m
Middlesbrough, 1.5m
Berwick-upon-Tweed, 0.6m
Hartlepool, 0.6m
Sunderland, 0.6m
Thornaby, 0.6m
Morpeth, 0.5m
MetroCentre 0.5m
