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All across the Great Western territory => Across the West => Topic started by: swlines on June 16, 2008, 11:49:47



Title: Station usage figures
Post by: swlines on June 16, 2008, 11:49:47
I've had rough figures for a while but now the official ones are out, here are the bottom 20 stations in terms of entry/exit usage in 2006-2007.

(from bottom to top)

Tyndrum Lower
Buckenham
Coombe Halt
Golf Street
Barry Links
Denton
Sugar Loaf
Breich
Dorking West
Thorne South
Tees-side Airport
Lakenheath
Chapelton
Reddish South
Scotscalder
Elton & Orston
Falls of Cruachan
Pilning
Kirton Lindsey
Dorchester West

and now top 20 (from 20th to 1st):

Glasgow Queen Street
Reading
Manchester Piccadilly
Birmingham New Street
London Fenchurch Street
Edinburgh Waverley
Wimbledon
Leeds
Clapham Junction
East Croydon
Glasgow Central
London Cannon Street
London Kings Cross
London Euston
London Paddington
London Charing Cross
London Bridge
London Liverpool Street
London Victoria
London Waterloo

Melksham comes ... 2024th in terms of usage.


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: devon_metro on June 16, 2008, 12:07:50
Of note, Pilning saw a rise in passenger usage!


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: swlines on June 16, 2008, 12:23:38
As did Gainsborough Central which now sits at 1913rd!

Oh, and I'm proud to say half those entries at Barry Links are me!!!  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

The new joke station I think is going to have to be Buckenham...


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: Lee on June 16, 2008, 12:25:05
Melksham comes ... 2024th in terms of usage.

Only a small drop in usage at Melksham, from 24,426 to 22,201. However, the figures are from April 2006-April 2007, so the full effect of the December 2006 timetable slashing wont be apparent.

Take Doleham, Three Oaks and Winchelsea for example. They had their service slashed in December 2005 as part of the creation of the Ashford-Brighton service. Only small changes in usage were registered in the April 2005-April 2006 figures, but they have taken an absolute hammering in the April 2006-April 2007 figures.......


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: grahame on June 16, 2008, 12:31:26
Melksham comes ... 2024th in terms of usage.

Yes - the figures are down, and in line with a Swindon to Southampton service that grew rapidly for the first 8 months and was then executed.


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: Karl on June 16, 2008, 14:17:09
Afternoon

Its a shame that Doleham and Three Oaks station's
arn't used more.  They are both very qauint and on
a good day its nice to sit out in these two country
stations to wait for the train.

In 2005 when a friend and I went chasing after a
non-exsisting Hastings DEMU (1001), which fills
in for "Southern" when there short, I think if my
memory serves me correct, the residents of Doleham
had a large poster campaign to stop it from closing
altogether.  Again if memory serves me correct the
service was due to be down to about two stops per
day each way and that was under threat.  Not sure
how there campaign has devoleped since, as I haven't
been back there since?

Regards

Karl.   


Take Doleham, Three Oaks and Winchelsea for example.
They had their service slashed in December 2005 as
part of the creation of the Ashford-Brighton service.
Only small changes in usage were registered in the
April 2005-April 2006 figures, but they have taken
an absolute hammering in the April 2006-April 2007
figures.......


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: Andy on June 16, 2008, 14:20:09
Can I ask what the deal is with the St Ives branch? The figures shouw a huge drop but the "fail" suggests that there was some change in counting methods. Can anyone shed any light on what happened?

Thanks
 


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: RichardB on June 16, 2008, 14:42:29
You're looking at this, I take it, http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1529

The issue on the St Ives Bay Line is that anyone just making a journey on the line buys a St Ives Bay Line Ranger, which doesn't show up as a point to point ticket, so doesn't count in the station totals.  If you look at the Lelant Saltings' figures, you will see what I mean. 



Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: Andy on June 16, 2008, 15:00:38
Thanks, Richard, for clearing that up. Your answer begs another question - are there stats on line patronage/usage which do take into account all the other forms of "ticket"?

 



Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: swlines on June 16, 2008, 15:21:11
No.

Well there is, but I don't believe it's available to the general public...


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: Andy on June 16, 2008, 15:31:15
Thanks SW lines. I'm now left wondering what the point/use of these stats is.


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: John R on June 16, 2008, 19:59:08
Melksham comes ... 2024th in terms of usage.

Only a small drop in usage at Melksham, from 24,426 to 22,201. However, the figures are from April 2006-April 2007, so the full effect of the December 2006 timetable slashing wont be apparent.

Take Doleham, Three Oaks and Winchelsea for example. They had their service slashed in December 2005 as part of the creation of the Ashford-Brighton service. Only small changes in usage were registered in the April 2005-April 2006 figures, but they have taken an absolute hammering in the April 2006-April 2007 figures.......

But I think the position at Melksham is complicated by those that buy tickets from Melksham but may use alternative stations? Suppose this accounts for half of the 05/06 figures, that leaves 12,000 (in round numbers) "genuine" passengers. ie 1,000 a month. In the 06/07 year, the 9 months to Dec would see 9,000 passengers, leaving 1,000 for the remaining 3 months. ie a fall from 1000 to 300 with the timetable change. If you assume that the 06/07 would have seen a modest 5% rise until the change, that would amount to around 9500 passengers until December, with only 500 a month thereafter.

Unfortunately the true position will probably never be known due to the first point.   
 


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: Lee on June 16, 2008, 20:52:46
Got some figures from an FOSBR member for Severn Beach Line stations with percentage rise/falls. Selected other Bristol suburban stations are also included :

Quote from: FOSBR member
Lawrence Hill 55865 --> 68371 = +22.4%
Stapleton Road 86997 --> 98446 = +13.2%
Montpelier 73573 --> 76969 = +4.6%
Redland 55529 --> 66852 = +20.4%
Clifton Down 153027 --> 180656 = +18.1%
Sea Mills 36411 --> 40786 = +12.0%
Shirehampton 31539 --> 38493 = +22.0%
Avonmouth 43365 --> 47834 = +10.3%
St Andrews Road 8008 --> 5518 = -31.1%
Severn Beach 37088 --> 38202 = +3.0%

Bedminster 40917 --> 43379 = +6.0%
Parson Street 14293 --> 19172 = +34.1%
Patchway 33957 --> 42463 = +25.0%
Filton Abbey Wood 401325 --> 410630 = +2.3%

Personally, I am rather sceptical on St Andrews Road. For a number of years, the figure was stable between 3000-5000. Then in the April 2005-April 2006 figures it leapt up to 8008. The 2006-2007 figures show this falling back to 5518, closer to the historical figure, with due allowance for realistic growth.

A further complication, obviously, is that a combined rail/bus service was in place throughout.


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: Shazz on June 16, 2008, 21:52:30
Nice to see my local station (cam) went up another 20k this year!


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: Lee on June 16, 2008, 21:55:59
You're looking at this, I take it, http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1529

The issue on the St Ives Bay Line is that anyone just making a journey on the line buys a St Ives Bay Line Ranger, which doesn't show up as a point to point ticket, so doesn't count in the station totals.  If you look at the Lelant Saltings' figures, you will see what I mean.

I assume that the Partnership conducts regular passenger counts. Could you possibly give us an idea of what they indicate regarding station footfall?


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: Lee on June 16, 2008, 22:35:20
Got some figures from an FOSBR member for Severn Beach Line stations with percentage rise/falls. Selected other Bristol suburban stations are also included :

Quote from: FOSBR member
Lawrence Hill 55865 --> 68371 = +22.4%
Stapleton Road 86997 --> 98446 = +13.2%
Montpelier 73573 --> 76969 = +4.6%
Redland 55529 --> 66852 = +20.4%
Clifton Down 153027 --> 180656 = +18.1%
Sea Mills 36411 --> 40786 = +12.0%
Shirehampton 31539 --> 38493 = +22.0%
Avonmouth 43365 --> 47834 = +10.3%
St Andrews Road 8008 --> 5518 = -31.1%
Severn Beach 37088 --> 38202 = +3.0%

Bedminster 40917 --> 43379 = +6.0%
Parson Street 14293 --> 19172 = +34.1%
Patchway 33957 --> 42463 = +25.0%
Filton Abbey Wood 401325 --> 410630 = +2.3%

Personally, I am rather sceptical on St Andrews Road. For a number of years, the figure was stable between 3000-5000. Then in the April 2005-April 2006 figures it leapt up to 8008. The 2006-2007 figures show this falling back to 5518, closer to the historical figure, with due allowance for realistic growth.

A further complication, obviously, is that a combined rail/bus service was in place throughout.

Courtesy of John R, here is a 2 year summary for the above area (link below.)
http://www.raildocuments.org.uk/gwfuture/stationtotalsummary.xls


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: John R on June 16, 2008, 22:42:04
One other interesting point  - I've only checked Nailsea, but whilst overall traffic is up 24% in 2 years, season ticket sales are up 33%, which might be a better indication of rush hour growth. Or then again it might just mean that a higher proportion of commuters are buying seasons.


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: John R on June 16, 2008, 23:01:22
Another comment (then I'm done for the night) is that combined traffic on the Severn Beach line (including the two on the main line) is up 30% in two years. Let's hope that the newly enhanced service will provide a further boost, though we'll have to wait two years to get the stats that will show any impact.   


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: Tim on June 19, 2008, 09:16:45
I've had rough figures for a while but now the official ones are out, here are the bottom 20 stations in terms of entry/exit usage in 2006-2007.

(from bottom to top)

Tyndrum Lower
Buckenham
Coombe Halt
Golf Street
Barry Links
Denton
Sugar Loaf
Breich
Dorking West
Thorne South
Tees-side Airport
Lakenheath
Chapelton
Reddish South
Scotscalder
Elton & Orston
Falls of Cruachan
Pilning
Kirton Lindsey
Dorchester West

and now top 20 (from 20th to 1st):

Glasgow Queen Street
Reading
Manchester Piccadilly
Birmingham New Street
London Fenchurch Street
Edinburgh Waverley
Wimbledon
Leeds
Clapham Junction
East Croydon
Glasgow Central
London Cannon Street
London Kings Cross
London Euston
London Paddington
London Charing Cross
London Bridge
London Liverpool Street
London Victoria
London Waterloo

Melksham comes ... 2024th in terms of usage.

I've used Tyndrum's two stations a couple of times each.  Amazing to see theLower station on this list but not Tyndrum Upper.  Both have simialr numbers of trains and Lower is much closer to the village and does not involve climbing a steep path to get to it.  Either there is a reason here I have overlooked (perhaps the timetable favours trips to Upper?) or the useage figures should be taken with a pinch of salt.


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: TerminalJunkie on June 19, 2008, 10:36:29
Quote from: Tim
I've used Tyndrum's two stations a couple of times each.  Amazing to see theLower station on this list but not Tyndrum Upper.  Both have simialr numbers of trains and Lower is much closer to the village and does not involve climbing a steep path to get to it.  Either there is a reason here I have overlooked (perhaps the timetable favours trips to Upper?) or the useage figures should be taken with a pinch of salt.

It's probably covered by the 'Notes on Station Usage...':
Quote
For towns and cities with more than one station ^ e.g. Maidstone it is possible to buy a ticket to ^Maidstone Stations^ known as a Group Station. For such tickets, journeys are allocated to the main station of those in the group.

Since the usage of Upper Tyndrum went up last year from 128 to 7,529, while Tyndrum Lower went from 7,481 to 17 they've almost certainly reclassified Upper Tyndrum as the main station.



Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: Graz on June 19, 2008, 10:41:13
How do they measure this usage? For example buying a ticket to Dorchester gives you a ticket that says 'Dorchester Stations' and not Dorchester West / South. I assume the same can be said for Tyndrum.


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: eightf48544 on June 19, 2008, 12:26:01
What surprises me is tha Denton and Reddish South actually appear and are not bottom considering they have one train a week in one direction only. It must be rail enthusiasts making the TOC run the trian. I thought it was usually a taxi.


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: swlines on June 19, 2008, 12:32:27
How do they measure this usage? For example buying a ticket to Dorchester gives you a ticket that says 'Dorchester Stations' and not Dorchester West / South. I assume the same can be said for Tyndrum.

Assumed routeing, for instance if you had a Castle Cary - Dorchester (which isn't route Not London), you're unlikely to exit at South!

For the Tyndrums, again assumed routeing but also in line with the national passenger survey which is carried out over 2 or so weeks, and then the passengers are proportioned between the two stations.


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: Lee on June 19, 2008, 12:51:19
What surprises me is tha Denton and Reddish South actually appear and are not bottom considering they have one train a week in one direction only. It must be rail enthusiasts making the TOC run the trian. I thought it was usually a taxi.

Related link.
http://www.andrewgwynne.labour.co.uk/b46abd47-6168-4094-21b4-913b02fc50c6


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: Tim on June 19, 2008, 13:29:39
Quote from: Tim
I've used Tyndrum's two stations a couple of times each.  Amazing to see theLower station on this list but not Tyndrum Upper.  Both have simialr numbers of trains and Lower is much closer to the village and does not involve climbing a steep path to get to it.  Either there is a reason here I have overlooked (perhaps the timetable favours trips to Upper?) or the useage figures should be taken with a pinch of salt.

It's probably covered by the 'Notes on Station Usage...':
Quote
For towns and cities with more than one station ^ e.g. Maidstone it is possible to buy a ticket to ^Maidstone Stations^ known as a Group Station. For such tickets, journeys are allocated to the main station of those in the group.

Since the usage of Upper Tyndrum went up last year from 128 to 7,529, while Tyndrum Lower went from 7,481 to 17 they've almost certainly reclassified Upper Tyndrum as the main station.



That makes sense.  Thanks for the information.  Am I right in thinking that the 17 tickets to Lower Tyndrum were incorrectly issued to "Lower Tyndrum" when they should have been issued to "Tyndrum Stations"?


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: swlines on June 19, 2008, 15:18:08
More likely they were from stations such as Oban.


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: Graz on June 19, 2008, 21:28:21
How do they measure this usage? For example buying a ticket to Dorchester gives you a ticket that says 'Dorchester Stations' and not Dorchester West / South. I assume the same can be said for Tyndrum.

Assumed routeing, for instance if you had a Castle Cary - Dorchester (which isn't route Not London), you're unlikely to exit at South!

For the Tyndrums, again assumed routeing but also in line with the national passenger survey which is carried out over 2 or so weeks, and then the passengers are proportioned between the two stations.

Though from Weymouth/Upwey for instance, it could be either ;) Same goes for places like Warminster. I seriously don't believe there were that few people using Dorchester West...

On another note, nice to see Avoncliff usage up ;)


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: swlines on June 19, 2008, 21:55:09
How do they measure this usage? For example buying a ticket to Dorchester gives you a ticket that says 'Dorchester Stations' and not Dorchester West / South. I assume the same can be said for Tyndrum.

Assumed routeing, for instance if you had a Castle Cary - Dorchester (which isn't route Not London), you're unlikely to exit at South!

For the Tyndrums, again assumed routeing but also in line with the national passenger survey which is carried out over 2 or so weeks, and then the passengers are proportioned between the two stations.

Though from Weymouth/Upwey for instance, it could be either ;) Same goes for places like Warminster. I seriously don't believe there were that few people using Dorchester West...

On another note, nice to see Avoncliff usage up ;)

Weymouth and Upwey it's proportional based on number of trains - obviously Dorchester South would get all the passengers on that one due to there being 2 trains per hour as opposed to about a train every 2 and a half hours it figures out to for FGW (and therefore SWT get all that traffic allocated to them...).


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: Mookiemoo on June 19, 2008, 22:17:37
So mine....

WOS - fails as part of a group - foregate street scores higher but WOS has better connections - interesting

LUD is 3635th - lower than melksham!

Kidderminster - 4581 - LOWER than ludow? 

ER - think I am reading the table wrongly!


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: cheesywotsit on June 20, 2008, 01:23:57
Thanks SW lines. I'm now left wondering what the point/use of these stats is.


If anyone is making decisions based on these figures then they are missing something.
Personally speaking, as my local service aint exactly great I would most likely drive to
the next station yet if the local service was there I would definitely use it more.

The figures never show a "potential" or "what if"...


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: tramway on June 20, 2008, 10:24:46
On another note, nice to see Avoncliff usage up ;)

Probably down to the increasing use of that section of canal having narrowboats permanently occupied. It'll not be too long before you can walk to Bath without setting foot on dry land.

It also means that pretty much every early morning train now stops as there are now a couple of passengers, they'll be removing the X soon from the timetable.  >:(


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: eightf48544 on June 20, 2008, 10:54:23
What surprises me is tha Denton and Reddish South actually appear and are not bottom considering they have one train a week in one direction only. It must be rail enthusiasts making the TOC run the trian. I thought it was usually a taxi.

Related link.
http://www.andrewgwynne.labour.co.uk/b46abd47-6168-4094-21b4-913b02fc50c6

Good to see such a good campaign what about getting some West Country MPs riding on FGW trains? There must be places to go with pubs as good as Staylybridge station.

In the 60s it was often quicker to get to Sheffield from London on the electric to Stockport DMU to Guide Bridge and electric to Victoria via Woodhead.


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: John R on June 20, 2008, 17:37:13
Thanks SW lines. I'm now left wondering what the point/use of these stats is.


If anyone is making decisions based on these figures then they are missing something.
Personally speaking, as my local service aint exactly great I would most likely drive to
the next station yet if the local service was there I would definitely use it more.

The figures never show a "potential" or "what if"...

The report (which it says should be read before interpreting the figures) makes it clear the limitations of the count, and explains why situations such as the Tyndrum figures occur. (It highlights Tyndrum as an example.) So I'm sure that anyone actually using the figures to assist in planning decisions will appreciate the limitations.

And no, the figures don't show a potential or what if. Again, they're not meant to. They are stats of actual usage.   


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: Lee on June 21, 2008, 08:34:02
On another note, nice to see Avoncliff usage up ;)

Probably down to the increasing use of that section of canal having narrowboats permanently occupied. It'll not be too long before you can walk to Bath without setting foot on dry land.

It also means that pretty much every early morning train now stops as there are now a couple of passengers, they'll be removing the X soon from the timetable.  >:(

That said, the Avoncliff stop in the 0600 Portsmouth-Cardiff service was removed in the May 2008 timetable, but with no impact on journey times.


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: r james on June 21, 2008, 09:25:29
How is it that a train station can have just one service per week?  Surely from a timetable and oprational point of view it would be begter to have at lest one train per day?

And Im sure that if good deals were used, passengers would actually use those stations@


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: Lee on June 21, 2008, 09:31:25
How is it that a train station can have just one service per week?  Surely from a timetable and oprational point of view it would be begter to have at lest one train per day?

Relevant link....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilning_railway_station


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: eightf48544 on June 21, 2008, 10:12:36
How is it that a train station can have just one service per week?  Surely from a timetable and oprational point of view it would be begter to have at lest one train per day?

And Im sure that if good deals were used, passengers would actually use those stations@

Basically it's a way of not closing these stations and having to go through the statutory process and be accussed in the press of running down the railways.

Politics the DfT can we've not closed any stations for X years. What they don't say is that there are number where we've drastically reduced services such as Melksham.

On the latter point if services were provided they would be used as was proved by Wessex at Melksham where as the service improved the figures went up.

I can't remeber which but either Denton or Reddish South is right by a hugh supermarket, I think Sainsbury's.


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: John R on June 21, 2008, 20:26:47
I travelled that route in January on a XC train diverted to Manchester Victoria (by accident - just happened to be going to Manchester that day.) It struck me that the Stockport - Stalybridge line passes through some reasonably populated areas, as well as the journey opportunities afforded for passengers from Stockport accessing the TransPennine route without going into Manchester.

It's a lost opportunity, but I suspect this will be recognised and addressed in the next few years, as it's so obvious. 


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: Lee on June 21, 2008, 20:56:49
I travelled that route in January on a XC train diverted to Manchester Victoria (by accident - just happened to be going to Manchester that day.) It struck me that the Stockport - Stalybridge line passes through some reasonably populated areas, as well as the journey opportunities afforded for passengers from Stockport accessing the TransPennine route without going into Manchester.

It's a lost opportunity, but I suspect this will be recognised and addressed in the next few years, as it's so obvious. 

Related issues have been recognised and addressed by GMPTE, but unfortunately things are rather stalled at present (link below.)
http://www.gmpta.gov.uk/uploads/agendas/2/92/Reports/Item%2006.%20Dec%202008%20Rail%20Timetable.pdf

Quote from: GMPTE
GMPTA Aspirations. 2tph service to Victoria (Stockport MBC, Tameside MBC, GMPTA).

Outcome of Initial Discussions ^ Given the present operational constraints over the route, and the need for capital investment to achieve the above aspiration, no changes are proposed.


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: r james on June 21, 2008, 21:13:34
I just dont see how it cant be worth running at least two services a day, ie one in each direction?

Even Pear tree station where I come from in Derby sees a basic usable service!! 

Why did it come about that the service was reduced to such a level and when?


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: Lee on June 21, 2008, 22:38:37
I just dont see how it cant be worth running at least two services a day, ie one in each direction?

Even Pear tree station where I come from in Derby sees a basic usable service!! 

Why did it come about that the service was reduced to such a level and when?

Archive quote from the Save The Train forum :

A bit of history may be of interest:
Manchester has two main stations - Victoria in the north of the city and Piccadilly in the south. Until 1989 (give or take a year) trains from north of Manchester (eg Preston, Bolton) used Victoria and trains from the south (eg Birmingham, London) used Piccadilly. The Transpennine trains from Newcastle/Scarborough/Hull/York/Leeds to Manchester and Liverpool also used Victoria station, passing through Stalybridge en-route. If you were making a journey from the North into Victoria and required a connection to the south from Piccadilly you had to get across Manchester city centre either by walking, taxi or using a bus that existed specifically to link the two stations (this was a few years before the tram system opened). All in all a bit of a hassle.

To try make things easier for any Transpennine passengers travelling to and from the south BR ran a shuttle service from Stalybridge to Stockport via Denton and Reddish South. Stockport is on the line from Piccadilly to the south so by using the Stalybridge-Stockport train you could pick up a train to the south at Stockport rather than having to go into Manchester and make your way from Victoria to Piccadilly. So the shuttle was there basically for the convenience of passengers making a North-South journey across Manchester.

However in 1989 (give or take a year) the Transpennine trains were rerouted from Victoria to Piccadilly so now there was no need to make the awkward journey across Manchester from Victoria to Piccadilly. This re-routing made the Stalybridge-Stockport shuttle somewhat redundant and it was reduced to the one train per week service needed to avoid having to go through with the closure procedures.

I don't know how much traffic Reddish and Denton attracted when there was a regular service but I suspect it was just a bonus to BR, the end-to-end traffic from Stockport to Stalybridge would have been the reason for the service.

It's worth pointing out that even if Reddish and Denton were to close the line itself would remain open.

For the future it would be interesting to see if a Stockport-Manchester Victoria service via Reddish and Denton would be viable. In recent years there has been a lot of office development in the north of Manchester near Victoria so there's potentially a demand from commuters living south of Manchester who want easy access to the northern part of the city. In addition, looking at a map, Denton station is adjacent to the M60/M67 interchange so there might even be Park and Ride potential assuming it was possible to get from the motorway to the station.


Title: Re: Station usage figures
Post by: Lee on June 22, 2008, 16:46:26
The new joke station I think is going to have to be Buckenham...

Indeed, the Buckenham service (not to mention its "promotion") is rather a joke.

Buckenham was served by one train on Monday-Fridays, but the service now consists of no services on Monday-Fridays, one service in each direction on Saturdays and four services in each direction on Sundays (reduced to three from 14 September.)

However, promoting usage of the Buckenham service (or indeed bothering to make sure they know when the trains actually call at Buckenham) doesnt appear to be high on the Wherry Lines Community Rail Partnership's list of priorities. Their website actually says to use Brundall instead, as Buckenham is served on Sundays only (link below.)
http://www.wherrylines.org.uk/route.htm

Their area map also states that Buckenham Station is served on Sundays only (link below.)
http://www.wherrylines.org.uk/images/Lingwood%20&%20Buckenham%20Sign.paths.s.pdf

There is a caveat that the information is correct at the time of uploading to the internet (April 2007), but its still a pretty poor show, considering we are now in June 2008.....



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