Here are the 10 least used train stations in Suffolk
New figures released by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) have revealed Suffolk’s[1] 10 least used train stations.
The latest data compiles entry and exit figures from season tickets, singles and returns – as well the main destination rail users at certain stations have – from April 2022 to March 2023.
SuffolkNews has used the compiled ‘all tickets’ entries and exits statistic to list the least used stations in your county.
10: Derby Road, Ipswich – 73,198 entries and exits
Derby Road, Ipswich[2] is six miles down the line from the main town centre station and is on the Felixstowe[3] branch line.
Just over 73,000 passengers passed through the station in the last period, more than 36 times fewer than Ipswich station itself.
Derby Road station is between Westerfield and Trimley stations on the Felistowe line.
It experienced a passenger rise in the last period, with an increase of more than 16,000.
9: Melton – 67,594 entries and exits
Melton station is on the East Suffolk Line, between Ipswich and Lowestoft[4].
Nearly 68,000 passengers used the station, around 5,000 fewer than Derby Road.
However, usage of Melton also increased year-on-year, with nearly 13,000 passengers more.
Trains going out of Melton call on to Wickham Market and Woodbridge[5] respectively, with the station building occupied by a butcher.
8: Wickham Market – 57,724 entries and exits
One station down the line from Melton is Wickham Market, the next least used stop in Suffolk.
It had nearly 58,000 entries and exits in the last period.
It was formerly a junction for the Framlingham[6] branch line, which closed to passenger services in November 1952.
The station saw an increase of nearly 10,000 year-on-year from the previous period.
7: Darsham – 55,964 entries and exits
Two stops down from Wickham Market comes the next station on the list – Darsham.
Also on the East Suffolk Line, nearly 56,000 rail users went in and out of the station in the latest period.
It had a smaller year-on-year increase than its fellow East Suffolk Line stops, with around 8,000 more passengers.
The station formerly encompassed direct services to London Liverpool Street, however these were withdrawn in 2010.
6: Oulton Broad South – 51,120 entries and exits
Oulton Broad South is next on the list.
The stop had just under half the passengers of its sister station Oulton Broad North, with around 51,000 entries and exits.
Coastal terminus Lowestoft follows the station on the line.
Oulton Broad South saw a year-on-year usage increase of just under 6,000 passengers.
5: Trimley – 41,164 entries and exits
With just over 40,000 users, Trimley is next on the list.
The station, which has one platform, is the second-to-last stop on the Felixstowe branch line.
It was first opened in 1891 by Great Eastern Railway.
Year-on-year, the passenger increase was just under 6,000.
4: Westerfield – 13,970 entries and exits
One stop towards Ipswich and a sharp drop of over 27,000 passengers brings the fourth least used station in Suffolk with Westerfield.
Located just three miles away from the county town, nearly 14,000 rail users passed through the stop in the last period.
Despite being towards the lower end of the spectrum, it is the only station on the list to operate on more than one line, encompassing the East Suffolk and Felixstowe branch lines.
Westerfied had a small increase of passengers year-on-year, of 982.
3: Brampton – 9,390 entries and exits
Situated between Halesworth and Beccles is Brampton, Suffolk’s third quietest station.
Operating on the East Suffolk Line, the latest data showed the station as having just over 9,000 entries and exits.
Brampton had a 22 per cent increase in passengers year-on-year.
2: Somerleyton – 9,010 entries and exits
The second least used station is Somerleyton.
Operating on the Wherry Lines, trains from Lowestoft to Norwich use the stop.
Just over 9,000 passengers called through Somerleyton in the last period, an increase of 314.
1: Lakenheath – 562 entries and exits
In the number one spot is Lakenheath[7] – the least used station in Suffolk.
Between April 2022 and March 2023 just 562 passengers entered and exited the station.
No trains call at Lakenheath during the week, while on weekends there are trains to Stansted Airport and Norwich.
Stops at Lakenheath are on request only.
The station recorded an increase of nearly 100 passengers year-on-year.
References
- ^ Suffolk’s (www.suffolknews.co.uk)
- ^ Ipswich (www.suffolknews.co.uk)
- ^ Felixstowe (www.suffolknews.co.uk)
- ^ Lowestoft (www.suffolknews.co.uk)
- ^ Woodbridge (www.suffolknews.co.uk)
- ^ Framlingham (www.suffolknews.co.uk)
- ^ Lakenheath (www.suffolknews.co.uk)