DENTON has been dethroned from owning a national title.
For its railway station is no longer the quietest in the country.
In fact, it is not even in the top three – but those responsible for the figures believe the fact it was named the quietest may have brought an end to its reign.
New data from the Office of Rail and Road over the usage of stations between April 2024 and March 2025 has seen Denton drop off the top – or rise from the bottom.
Last year, it ranked 2,581st on the passenger usage list for the 12 months prior, no other was 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.
New figures, though, saw 100 entries and exits were recorded, placing it fourth on the quiet list.
Elton and Orston in Nottinghamshire now rules supreme with 68 and it is no longer the least used in the North West as 98 were logged at Cheshire’s Ince and Elton.
However, the Office of Rail and Road believes curiosity may have sparked an upturn.
It states: “In previous years, usage at some of the least used stations presented as part of these statistics has increased the following year.
“We understand that highlighting the least used stations within these statistics can encourage people to visit them.”
The future of the line that runs through Denton is in the spotlight after plan to use it for tram-train services were announced.
And even though usage has risen, it is still miniscule compared to Tameside’s other railway stations.
Audenshaw’s Fairfield ranked second in the borough, with 25,986 entries and exits – a rise of some 4,000 from the last figures.
Hover, that is still less than 10 per cent of the usage at the other end of the town in Guide Bridge.
Hyde fares poorly in usage terms, with the next three quietest stations being in the town, followed by Hattersley.
The title of Tameside’s busiest station goes, perhaps unsurprisingly, to Stalybridge, where 840,136 entries and exit were logged.
TAMESIDE RAILWAY STATIONS’ UAGE FROM APRIL 2024 TO MARCH 2025
Denton – 100
Fairfield – 25,986
Hyde North – 43,946
Hyde Central – 68,992
Godley – 74,244
Hattersley – 87.516
Broadbottom – 130,298
Newton for Hyde – 139,956
Ashton – 180,238
Flowery Field – 183,740
Mossley – 260,288
Guide Bridge – 268,220
Stalybridge – 840,136