And finally… railing on
Figures for the most and least used railway stations in the UK have been made available, absolute manna from heaven for the nerds among us.
Leeds remains behind only Birmingham New Street outside London in total passenger volume, with Just shy of 24m entries and exits made in the year to March 2023, according to the Office of Road and Rail.
York, Sheffield, Doncaster and Huddersfield – in that order – round out Yorkshire’s top five. Hull is sixth.
Much more interesting, possibly, are those stations that receive barely any traffic. Sometimes there’s a reason for that – such as Teesside International Airport, which only got two visitors (two!) but only had a weekly service anyway, which was closed early in the reporting period (although there are big plans to revamp the station) – and sometimes there isn’t.
Right down there among the drowsiest in the country is East Yorkshire’s Rawcliffe, with an estimated 442 entries/exits made over the course of the year, or around eight a week, at the stop between Leeds and Goole. Even this represents a doubling of the 2022 volume.
There are, seemingly, only two trains a day to Leeds and one to Goole, and nothing on Sundays. But even so. What’s going on there that makes Rawcliffe so difficult to tear oneself away from? Further investigation is warranted.
