'Quietest' rail stations: Teesside Airport???

[Guy Profumo]

'Quietest' rail stations: Teesside Airport???

Back on topic though, do we know which are the quietest "non-parliamentary" stations in the UK?

[Capybara]

'Quietest' rail stations: Teesside Airport???

I guess it depends on how you define 'parliamentary' and that always causes an argument whenever I've seen the subject raised. But the fact that each weekday you can make a return journey to either end of the line it is on, with a decent stop over at each, from Coombe Junction on that list suggests that is not a 'parliamentary' service.

[Paul S]

'Quietest' rail stations: Teesside Airport???

Probably a station on the Cambrian line between Machynlleth and Pwhelli, or on the West Highland line between Fort William and Mallaig.

[Guy Profumo]

'Quietest' rail stations: Teesside Airport???

Paul S wrote: Probably a station on the Cambrian line between Machynlleth and Pwhelli, or on the West Highland line between Fort William and Mallaig.

Ooo!

I'd suggest Rannoch or Corrour would be quieter than the "Road to the Isles" section of the West Highland Line.

[Paul S]

'Quietest' rail stations: Teesside Airport???

Locheilside
Lochailoirt

[Big Boobs and FIRE!]

'Quietest' rail stations: Teesside Airport???

Capybara wrote: But the fact that each weekday you can make a return journey to either end of the line it is on, with a decent stop over at each, from Coombe Junction on that list suggests that is not a 'parliamentary' service.

Coombe Junction station existed as it was where the Looe services had to run the loco round after descending down from Liskeard. When the trains went over to unit operation, and the junction itself became a ground frame, there was no longer any need to carry on the additional 100 yards to the station.

It only has four trains a day because it is specified in the GW franchise commitment.

Last year the platform collapsed, so the station was shut for some time, hence the low passenger numbers. Not that they were much more when it is open.

[Fussbudget]

'Quietest' rail stations: Teesside Airport???

antoine polus wrote: What's the point of having two airports in the northeast? Surely Newcastle airport is enough? Has a link to the Metro as well.

Well it's very handy for us. We always fly from Teesside Airport which is a 15-20 mins cab journey from here (for less than a tenner), whereas Newcastle Airport would involve cab/bus + train + metro which would take close to 3 hours door to door and a lot of hassle with luggage.

Actually it's probably easier for us to fly from Manchester than Newcastle as there is a train station straight at the terminal, which saves a lot of faff with connections.

[Big Boobs and FIRE!]

'Quietest' rail stations: Teesside Airport???

Guy Potger wrote: Back on topic though, do we know which are the quietest "non-parliamentary" stations in the UK?

I'd say Kildonan with 96, Sugar Loaf 110 and Stanlow & Thornton 158.

All of these have eight trains a day and these are not franchise specified.

[sw2borshch]

'Quietest' rail stations: Teesside Airport???

My employer also doesn't seem to realise what a shite location Newcastle is in either. It's proper Norman bollocks.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

'Quietest' rail stations: Teesside Airport???

Paul S wrote: I think it's been established in past threads that I - very unreasonably, apparently - believe that it would be beneficial for Britain to attempt some regional (and, by extension, national) regeneration by overhauling regional airports and encouraging businessmen - seemingly the sole driver for the development of HS2 - to catch aircraft to locations nearer to their final destination instead.
Think about it, if you're always flying you're not working are you? If you're always flying then you can't get things at home done! So there is a natural limit to the number of flights we can take. This has led to the closure of a number of regional airports: Sheffield City (1998), Plymouth, Manston, Blackpool and Coventry. These airports go onto a long list of airports right across Europe which have closed down. Some of those airports were built as hub airports.

....

Expect more regional airports to close whilst the larger airports get bigger.

While the above is going on, there are plans to relaunch passenger flights from Carlisle Airport, or Carlisle Lake District or whatever they are re-launching it as. There's a lot more to this than meets the eye, it's largely a front / planning sop for (Eddie) Stobart Group to build a new haulage depot where they wouldn't normally be allowed to build one.

It's not stopping people getting excited about 'being able to fly to America from Carlisle' as the local paper keeps describing it (aka getting an Aer Lingus early morning feeder flight to Dublin and changing); or 'flying to London on business' (aka flying to Southend). We'll see how that flies, as it were. I think its madness personally, but someone believes it as they've secure some EU regional flights subsidy.

[Paul S]

'Quietest' rail stations: Teesside Airport???

The government has set up a fund to try and develop regional airports rather than just letting them wither and die. This Carlisle money has surprised me though and I can't see the flights lasting once the subsidy has gone. But a flight from Southend to the Lake District would be handy for me though.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

'Quietest' rail stations: Teesside Airport???

Ah I thought it was EU rather than government but agree that the flights aren't likely to outlast the subsidy. The flights looked like happening before the subsidy was secured, but as I say, my view at least is that it's just a sop for the bigger issue of getting their depot where they wanted it to be.

If the passenger traffic takes off (sorry it's hard not to pun here) and they get a viable passenger airport out of it then it will be a bonus for them, but I don't think they've got a lot riding on it, I expect they'd happily get to the point where they say, 'see, there was no demand for a passenger airport after all' and cut the flights.

Carlisle isn't that isolated that it's crying out for air connections - Newcastle Airport is an hour away and Glasgow, Edinburgh and Manchester within two hours. The angle of potential inward traffic for the Lakes seems a bit of a red herring cos the airport is to the east of the city and even with well organised onward transport is still a fair step to even the closest popular Lake District destination, and a long way from the furthest ones - people may put up with it if the price is right, though I suspect Stobart aren't going to be flying people in on Ryanair type prices.

[Whittaker]

'Quietest' rail stations: Teesside Airport???

I go past Ardwick station every day on my train, and never see anyone there at all.

[Geoffrey de Ste. Croix]

'Quietest' rail stations: Teesside Airport???

I think Manors railway station (not the metro stop) in Newcastle must be in with a shout for the quietest station which used to be a major station. It had about 9 or 10 platforms and was a major junction until the 1970's. It is now a desolate two platforms that has a basic service that no one uses.

[Disco Child Ballads]

'Quietest' rail stations: Teesside Airport???

These statistics don't cover Northern Ireland do they, so I'm wondering if there are any stations there that are even quieter. Bellarena station on the line to Derry?

[Fussbudget]

'Quietest' rail stations: Teesside Airport???

Walt Flanagans Dog wrote: The angle of potential inward traffic for the Lakes seems a bit of a red herring cos the airport is to the east of the city and even with well organised onward transport is still a fair step to even the closest popular Lake District destination, and a long way from the furthest ones

Yeah, if you're going to Kendal you might as well fly to Teesside Airport, sorry Durham Tees Valley South Lakeland Yorkshire Moors airport.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

Let me continue derailing this thread, as it were, with further news of Carlisle Lake District Airport.

The story so far:
The Stobart Group bought the loss making airport (including a large amount of land) on the cheap
They then applied for planning permission ostensibly to redevelop the airport
Said plans involved building a huge new road freight depot (contrary to planning guidelines for commercial developments at airports), with some token (and later) improvements to the airport runway and terminal
After a long running legal and planning battle Stobart were granted permission to build the depot on condition of making (and paying for) more extensive, and earlier improvements to the runway and terminal
Road depot built, including new roundabout being imposed on the A69, for the sole purpose of access to and from the depot (not the airport).

Now, the Cumbria LEP is paying for the improvements to the runway and terminal, and the local media is getting the local population all excited again about being able to fly to New York from their local airport.

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/bu...de7ee221a02-ds

[Paul S]

This is the aviation equivalent of "doing a Rushden and Diamonds" isn't it? Have these people never heard of Prestwick airport, the closed Manston airport, Blackpool airport and a load of others on the continent?

[Patrick Thistle]

When I flew from Cardiff to Valley on Anglesey for work, I was amazed to find that Valley used handwritten boarding cards ahead of the return flight. The chap asked me if all my details were correct and was pleased when I said yes "otherwise I'd have to write another one".

This was in 2015. They may have a printer by now.

The DC3 we flew on (yes, really) didn't have a door on the cockpit. You could sit on the aisle seat and see out of the front windows.

[Giggler]

When I flew from Cardiff to Valley on Anglesey for work, I was amazed to find that Valley used handwritten boarding cards ahead of the return flight. The chap asked me if all my details were correct and was pleased when I said yes "otherwise I'd have to write another one".

This was in 2015. They may have a printer by now.

The DC3 we flew on (yes, really) didn't have a door on the cockpit. You could sit on the aisle seat and see out of the front windows.

That reminds me of the first plane I ever went on, with Manx Airlines, from Manchester to Shannon.



Some of these stations make the one I used to use to get to my ex - Styal - sound like Piccadilly Circus.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

Let me continue derailing this thread, as it were, with further news of Carlisle Lake District Airport.

The story so far:
The Stobart Group bought the loss making airport (including a large amount of land) on the cheap
They then applied for planning permission ostensibly to redevelop the airport
Said plans involved building a huge new road freight depot (contrary to planning guidelines for commercial developments at airports), with some token (and later) improvements to the airport runway and terminal
After a long running legal and planning battle Stobart were granted permission to build the depot on condition of making (and paying for) more extensive, and earlier improvements to the runway and terminal
Road depot built, including new roundabout being imposed on the A69, for the sole purpose of access to and from the depot (not the airport).

Now, the Cumbria LEP is paying for the improvements to the runway and terminal, and the local media is getting the local population all excited again about being able to fly to New York from their local airport.

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/bu...de7ee221a02-ds

One year on - flights (Loganair to Dublin, Belfast and Southend) were due to start in June, but the launch was delayed to September 3 at fairly short notice, as the airport wasn't completed sufficiently to support commercial traffic. Yesterday they announced the launch wouldn't be happening due to issues in training air traffic controllers, and they now expect to start flights in the spring. The punters who were optimistic enough to book flights are fuming, and rightly so.

Have to admit it was quite exciting seeing "Carlisle (CAX)" come up on Skyscanner, but I wasn't entranced enough to book a flight for the one time it would have been useful (a trip to Belfast in the autumn).

[adams house cat]

Loved the story about Pilning BB&F.