The most and least used train stations in the North East have been revealed through new data.

The Office for Rail and Road has revealed the most and least used railway stations in the region, based on the number of entries and exits between April 2023 and March 2024.

Nationally, the Office of Rail and Road confirmed today that London Liverpool Street station retained its title as Great Britain's most used railway station in 2023-24, while Denton in Greater Manchester was Great Britain's least used station at 54 entries and exits.

But it was the regional figures that made interesting reading, with Newcastle coming out on top for the most used train station in the North East, while Durham and Darlington came second and third. 

On the other end of the scale, the least used station was Acklington near Morpeth, which only had 550 passengers in a year.

The 10 most and 10 least used North East train stations:

Top 10 Most Used Stations (entries and exits)

  • 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

Top 10 Least Used Stations (entries and exits)

  • 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

The busiest stations in England outside of London were Birmingham New Street (33.3m), Manchester Piccadilly (25.8m) and Leeds (24.9m).

The busiest stations in Scotland were Glasgow Central (25.0m), Edinburgh Waverley (21.3m) and Glasgow Queen Street (14.5m).

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The busiest stations in Wales were Cardiff Central (11.5m), Newport (2.7m), and Swansea (2.2m).

Feras Alshaker, Director of planning and performance at the Office of Rail and Road, said: "These statistics provide crucial insights for passengers, the rail industry and its stakeholders and demonstrate clearly how travel patterns are changing across the country.

"Alongside our rail usage statistics, they show that since the pandemic rail usage continues to increase and that the investment put into the Elizabeth line is fundamentally reshaping passenger journeys into and around London."