The Cambs railway station that only sees 100 passengers each year

If you've ever been at a railway station in rush hour, you'll know that it can be hell on earth. Massive crowds, platform changes, people with enormous suitcases – all these and more could make anyone wish to become a hermit.

There's at least one station in Cambridgeshire[1] that never struggles with the problem of overcrowding. In fact, Shippea Hill welcomed just 102 passengers in 2021/22, according to the Office of Rail and Road.

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In the same period, Cambridge saw nearly seven million people using the station. Ely saw 1.6million passengers over that year.

The station is a few miles east of Ely[3] and the line runs between Cambridge and Norwich. It is on the Breckland Line, which serves the Burnt Fen area in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk[4].

Although 102 passengers sounds like a low figure, that's not even the quietest year the station has seen. In 2015/16, just 12 people used the station – one for each month.

The station is a request stop, meaning trains only stop there if passengers request it. It has had three different names since its opening in 1845: Mildenhall Road, Burnt Fen, and Shippea Hill.

It has not always been so quiet. The timetable for 1966/67 showed that 12 trains a day were called in each direction.

The station has previously been used to serve the airbases at Mildenhall and Lakenheath. Although nearby Lakenheath is only a few miles away, there are no direct trains between the two.

Of the station, Google reviewer Daniel Mckenzie said: "Pretty much this station is only good for trainspotting as the train service provided is a single morning train a day at best. Not even a shelter is provided on the Ely bound platform (mainly since no trains are scheduled to stop on that side)."

References

  1. ^ Cambridgeshire (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
  2. ^ 'I visited Cambs' newest car park – and there were just five other cars when I arrived' (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
  3. ^ Ely (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
  4. ^ Suffolk (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)