DENTON is now officially top, or bottom, of the charts after its railway station was named the least used in the country.
Just 54 entries and exits were recorded at the facility between April 2023 and March 2024.
According to Office of Road and Rail statistics, Denton is 2,581st on the passenger usage list, no other is lower.
Just 30 full-priced entries and exit were entered over that period – equating to one every 12 days.
Add on 24 reduced-priced fares and the total makes it quieter than anywhere else.
In comparison, Tameside’s busiest at Stalybridge recorded a total of 673,428 – 12,467 for every one at Denton.
The next quietest, Fairfield in Audenshaw, was still 402 times busier at 21,738 and the second-ranked in the country – Shippey Hill in Cambridgeshire – saw almost a third more entries and exits.
London’s Liverpool Street retained its title as Great Britain’s most used railway station with 94.5 million, while Manchester Piccadilly is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the busiest in the north west with 25.8 million.
Denton’s place at the bottom comes as little surprise considering there is just one train a week, the parliamentary service between Stalybridge and Stockport, serving there.
It’s out of town location, on Manchester Road North close to the Sainsbury’s supermarket, makes it difficult to access and there is a distinct lack of facilities.
Speculation over its future, along with that of the next station on the line – fifth-bottom Reddish South, which still recorded more than double at 128 – has been raging for some time.
The town’s MP, Andrew Gwynne, has worked with Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, Transport for Greater Manchester, Stockport and Tameside Councils and both the Friends of Reddish South and Denton Stations to look maximising its potential.
He told The Correspondent: “It’s no surprise that with just one train a week to Stalybridge, Denton has been named the quietest railway station in the country.
“It’s mainly used by train enthusiasts, as it’s one of a small number of ‘ghost train’ services, which exist to keep the line open to passenger services.
“I’m working with the Friends of Denton and Reddish South stations to build up the case to TfGM and Network Rail for future rail services along this line, connecting Stockport and Manchester Victoria.
“The line has also been identified for possible Metrolink style ‘tram-train’ services in TfGM’s plans for Greater Manchester Rail, which I fully support.”
On these latest statistics, Feras Alshaker, Director, 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.”