Acklington station sees fewer than 600 passengers while Newcastle Central tops region's league table

Northern Rail manages the least used station in the Tyne Tees region. Credit: PA

A North East station saw fewer than 600 passengers on its platforms between April 2023 and March 2024, according to figures.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) published the stats, based on the number of passenger entries and exits, on Thursday (21 November).

They show that Acklington station, in Northumberland, saw just 550 passengers during the period, up from the previous year's statistic of 434, while Newcastle Central topped the region's charts with more than nine million.

Acklington station serves a village of 544 people. Credit: Google Maps

While millions of passengers hurtle through the station every year, owing to its position on the East Coast Mainline, Acklington station consistently sits towards the bottom of the region's passenger number league tables because currently only six trains a day stop there in the week.

During the pandemic the station saw only 66 passengers in 2020-21.

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 like Acklington.”

Least used railway 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

On the opposite end of the table sits Newcastle Station, which saw more than nine million passengers in the same period.

Newcastle Central Station saw 9.1 million passengers. Credit: PA

Most used railway 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

Opened in July 1847, Acklington station's buildings received Grade-II listed status in 1973, with the main building now used as private residence.

It had faced threats of closure in the late 1960s under the 'Beeching Axe'.

The previous least used station in Britain, Teesside Airport, was replaced by Denton, in Greater Manchester, with a mere 34 passengers using the station.

In 2022-23, Teesside Airport was closed, meaning it saw only two passengers in the measured period.

A total of 1.61 billion passenger journeys were made on Britain's railways in the year 2023-24, up 16% from 1.38 billion in the previous year, the ORR said.

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