All that Aircraft noise from LHR makes it a rubbish place to live nowadays, Must be hell for the Royal Family at Windsor. The stupid question from some American tourists, "Why build Windsor Castle so close to the Airport?" Thankfully not all American's that thick.
I reckon the main reason Ince & Elton's "passengers per train" number is so low in the first place is thanks to the fact that, and I promise, I am not exaggerating.. approximately *90%* of its trains get cancelled. One of the first services to be axed for the day if there's remotely any staff unavailability.
okay! this means i've got to trawl through Real Time Trains and check EVERY TRAIN that called on the Stanlow branch to see how many actually ran in the last 12 month period ... ;-D ;-D ;-D
I suspect a service would work better operationally if Merseyrail was extended to Helsby, and the Northern service either terminated there or ran on to Chester
@@geofftech2- the point seems to be that a totally unreliable service will never be used. Does the data enable you to check what are the stations with the least reliable service. Obviously you probably only need to check stations with a very low service pattern.
@@geofftech2 The good news is that if you figure out an good way to automate it, you can then run those numbers for all the other stations fairly easily. The bad news is that I am going to attempt to give you more math; If the appropriate numbers are available, how does the least-used-station-in-question's ridership change throughout the year, does it get almost all of it in the summer and virtually none in the summer, or is it more consistent?
This used to be my local station, it didn't have departure boards back then. One snowy freezing January day about 20 of us were waiting for the morning train and a phone started ringing. Bemused looks all round, eventually one person went to the end of the platform, opened a grey box and picked up the phone, then told us all there were no trains that day. There was no public address system so we effectively had to do it ourselves. Quite a few celebrities used to live in Sunnymeads (Beryl Reed, Susan George, Jack Jones) but they obviously never used the train.
As a guard on this line I would say towards Windsor an average of 2/3 get off and 2 get on towards Waterloo an average of 1 may get off and 2 get on towards Waterloo
@geofftech2 hey Geoff I would say Datchet is the busier station of the three quite a few getting on whether towards London or Windsor I would say more people towards London at Wraysbury about 1 or 2 might head towards Windsor
@@mattjennings4750 I used to commute between Staines and Windsor about 20 years ago. I seem to remember the numbers boarding and leaving the train were similar back then as well.
Until recently there was an aqua park next to Sunnymeads which boosted passenger usage, but with it gone now only residents/dogwalkers use it - however lots of residents just go to either Wraysbury or Datchet because no one really lives near enough. I know a few people who only use that station to sit under the roof and ponder because it’s so quiet ahaha
@ That’s the wake part. The actual aqua activity (inflatable courses) shut two or so years ago due to a girl drowning. The inflatable courses were the main drawing point for the park and in turn boosted the station’s footfall
When I travelled on that line a few months ago, there were announcements reminding people that the machines were for SWR contactless, not Oyster. The Oyster coverage, if I remember rightly, only extends as far as Feltham.
My local station, around the corner from my village and I use it on occasion. However one of the reasons it may be suffering is because bus 5 was extended to Heathrow from Cippenham/Slough a couple of years ago and now I use that to get to Slough or Heathrow for the Elizabeth Line or Piccadilly Line if I'm going into London. (Also free as I'm a Tube employee). When I have used Sunnymeads in the past a lot of the time the one ticket machine is vandalised. As someone has said also, Liquid Leisure lost their Aqua park a couple of summers ago so that has impacted customer numbers and, for my wife who used to use the train every day to get to her job in London, she now works from home so Covid probably affected it a bit in that way.
What's going on in Geoff head at this moment in time: Everyone: Geoff divide the passenger stats by number of services instead of 365. Geoff: Thanks! I'm going to have to redo all of them aren't I because of it. Everyone: Yes Geoff: ah F**K! Thanks!
Happy New Year Geoff! The video editing on the stairs was cool. Every time I visit I pick out a couple of the stations from your videos that intrigue me to visit. It is going to be tough this time I have 2 years worth of videos to pick from. Looks like I am going to be spending alot of time on the trains! ❤🎉
A more general comment on your videos Geoff; with all the crazy stuff going on in this world, your videos are a welcome diversion from all the bad news that seems to proliferate. You bring us along for the ride (pun somewhat intended) on the rail-related (and other transportion methods) that seem to bring joy to your life. And, by extension, brings some additional levity to my life. Your videos are straight and to the point; no drama, no fighting, no comments on political discourse, just cool facts about trains! A genuine “Thank You” to you.
I once went for a walk, over the M4, down some old, secluded footpaths and was genuinely, I thought, in the middle of nowhere. Then I came to a small bridge, looked down and it was Sunnymeads station.
Good to see the Windsor Branch. I visited this station quite a few times when they ran a steam train to Windsor, as you saw its on a private estate and I couldn't find anywhere to leave the car, so I drove to Datchet and caught the train there and then walked back.
Especially the ones that make the station look haunted. Multiple ghostly figures of his walking up the footbridge. A train arriving and passengers getting on, on both sides as a mirror image.
As someone who lives nearby, it does rarely get used and is funny to see on here. The only times I have used it is when I have gone to Windsor by train, which isnt that much as it is normally easier and quicker to drive as it is a bit of a walk to the station. Wraysbury is used more to get into London as it skips out a stop or a quick drive to Staines to get a quick train as ones from Wraysbury tale more stops.
The big black thing is a rig used when diving and no longer used, ive been inside it. That area is Part of liquid leisure the water park where the child died last year
Hi Geoff, as you just mentioned island platforms. I HIGHLY recommend Dumpton Park (East Kent), it is always a very quiet station, however, it has an abnormally large island platform! I've seen trains with 12 carriages that just fit the station. It always seems so weird to me to have such a HUGE platform for a station serviced by so little Edit: I grew up there before moving to London and my parents are still there. It genuinely takes me 5+ mins to walk the entire platform!!
"Not real" Berkshire pays quite a sizeable chunk of my pension. 😄 Good reason to use Sunnymeads or Datchet is that it's cheaper than having to pay to park in Windsor!
I thought, it would be something like taht (although I did not think specifically of a Septic Tank). It also looked like a fallen over watertower or so.
I grew up there! Planes are a bit low, you can count the rivets on the planes as the fly over, be glad Concorde no longer passes over That thing in the field is a septic tank, we only got mains drainage about 20 years ago Across the road from the station is the gravel pit where they filmed the scene in View to a kill where Bond survives in the sunken Rolls Royce by breathing for a tyre! Wraysbury and Sunnymeads are not the original stations, these original was between but there’s virtually nothing left now
Interesting thing about Sunnymeads, about 18 months ago, it was part of a massive re-signalling scheme. Originally controlled from Feltham, it is now controlled from the ROC at Basingstoke. There are a lot of tell-tale signs at Sunnymeads of our handiwork, the new OFF indicator on the platform, the new AWS magnet, the new LED Signal and the new Location Case by the Road bridge. There might not have been many people there, but there is plenty there to look at 😀
Good stuff, Geoff. I noticed Shippea Hill on the list you showed of least used stations. My parents used to live on that line (in Brandon - they moved there from London when they retired). I would visit on the train - you change onto the Norwich line at Ely. I drove to Shippea Hill once to have a look around and it was bleak. A couple of houses and that's your lot. I should imagine that it would be grim there in winter, with the cold wind howling across the fens and not a soul to be seen.
Regarding the sorting by "Passengers by train": I recommend you ask Matt Parker about whether you could apply some corrections to the data, because due to the small numbers, the fractions are quickly skewed. To explain what I mean: Look at Pilning. It gets just 330 passengers, but because it also gets just 2 services per week, you end up with a whopping 3.17 passengers entering/exiting each train. For that same reason, Reddish South with just 128 people comes down to a ratio of 1.23. In my book, Denton with 54 annual passengers and 2 services per week still is an impressively low number, but because both the dividend and the divisor are tiny (102 / 54), you get a comparatively large number. So, it might make sense to do something here with harmonic numbers, or some kind of quadratic or logarithmic corrections. If only someone could stand up and do the maths... EDIT: Granted, it IS a very smart scheme to continue to avoid going to Denton, which you've successfully managed to do for a solid eight years now. I'll give you that! 😂🍻
Oh, nice. My former local area. I grew up in Eton (although I live in the US now). It's funny about the airplanes though. My mum says I can sleep through anything, since we essentially lived right under the flight plan for the Concorde (back in the 70s).
As part of the data on the RailwayData website, I've compiled 'passengers per service, (PPS) data every year since 2012. The lowest passenger to service ratios since 2012 are: 2023: Ince & Elton. 86 passengers / 24 trains Per Week / 0.07 Passengers per service 2022: Scotscalder - 124 / 44 / 0.05 2021: Stanlow & Thornton - 44 / 26 / 0.03 2020: lots of stations, due to Covid! 2019: Stanlow & Thornton - 82 / 36 / 0.04 2018: Stanlow & Thornton - 46 / 36 / 0.02 2017: Stanlow & Thornton - 92 / 48 / 0.04 2016: Kildonan - 76 / 44 / 0.03 2015: Shippea Hill - 12 / 7 / 0.03 2014*: Coombe Junction Halt - 26 / 24 / 0.02 2013: Shippea Hill - 70 / 7 / 0.03 2012: Kildonan - 62 / 50 / 0.09 * timetable data from December, not May, due to insufficient data held. Quite often, the stations with the lowest PPS aren't at the bottom of least used stations. Ynyswen frequently lands close to the bottom - 5,288 entries and exits in 2023/24, 456 scheduled services in the May 23 timetable, 0.22 passengers per service.
Midgham has finally been usurped! That old video was from 2017! Sunnymeasds is in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (as is Datchet and Wraysbury, the latterly is the most easterly station in Berkshire - Sandhurst being the most southerly, Cookham the Nmost Northerly and Hungerford the most westerly) - mol.rbwm.gov.uk/mol/map/ The distance between the east and west of Berkshire is approximately 68 miles!
1:36 station opened in 1927, butb the line opened in 1849. And Sunnymeads was in Bucks until 1975. 5:20 No 5-car Arterios in service yet. Only 10-car sets
I once spent half an hour stuck there after I switched carriage via the platform and the guard wouldn't let me back on. Great to see it getting acknowledged.
Nice, a least used station that I’m actually in the passenger numbers for! There’s a car garage up the road and whenever I’m having work done on my car, I’ll leave it there and catch the train from Sunnymeads up to my office and back. The first time I did it was so confused arriving at the station, it’s hidden away on a residential street, you’d have no idea it was there!
The issue with Sunnymeads is its located on a private estate where no parking is allowed, and there's no station car park. So the only way to get there is to walk or to live there. Or...get the train from another station. I visited it last year and had to get the train from Wraysbury like you did.
I live only a stop away in datchet, you do see some people to get off and on every now and then, but most of the time its empty, since its easier to get to wraysbury via car, this stop is quite inportant for those who live near liquid leisure. Its nice to see a local train station get recognised especially that its so close to where i live, also that weird looking thing in the field is what ive been told is a old septic tank
Old septic tank probably. You mentioned reservoirs in the area. It may be an old flood control tank. Notice the large out/in flow. 8:15 it's near Queen Mother reservoir. edit; it's part of the waterpark. cheesychad may be correct.
I live on this general line and I always used to get Runnymede and Sunnymeads mixed up. I have also recently developed a reason to go to W&ER semi-regularly so I might stop off at this station if time allows.
Interesting to see the difference between countries. In The Netherlands it’s not allowed to have trains in regular service that are longer than the platforms. The longest train must be able to stop at the shortest platform on a route, so that station determines the maximum length of the trains on that route. If longer trains are needed on the route, every platform that is too short must first be extended. It therefore happens that there are stations with platforms of 340 meters that do not serve trains of that length because there are stations along the route with platforms of 220 meters and this is therefore the maximum train length.
If you figure out construction and maintenance costs, how much, in terms of money, each passenger needs to contribute at each trip to pay the annual costs and depreciation? What would be the minimum number of passenger, per service, for the current contributions per trip cover those same annual costs?
The previous queen used to sometimes take this rail route to Windsor. I saw her get off the train in Windsor in July 1989. We then took the train she used back into London.
That ending with you repeating “Nothing here” reminded me of an interactive game my wife would use while teaching zoom school during the pandemic with a woman’s English accent that said slowly “Nothing he-ah” for misclicks.
I mean, nowhere to park a car, not even a spot to properly lock up a bicycle. Seems like the only way to ride a train at Sunnymeads is to be a local citizen and walk there.
1:15 im glad that Celia Drummond is still on the class 701 😊. I thought the 701 announcements were being replaced by Elinor Hamilton, anyway very interesting video Geoff i was very surprised when i saw the title of the video, well you learn something new every video. Thank you Geoff. PS 7:35 Nice edit 👍👍👍👍
Trees is my favourite rock band because i can hear Celia's beautiful voice. Probably my favourite song from Trees is "Black Widow" from "The Garden Of Jane Delawney" album, i love it, Trees has the best music it's so underrated in my opinion, it's sad that they were only active for 3 years but in that short time they made their mark in folk rock and created the best 1970s music. R.I.P Celia ❤️🕊️
@-MapEnthusiastjj4eu Yes, I love "Black Widow" too. As for "Lady Margaret" I still remember the first time I heard it at 12 years old. Sort of "WTF just happened?" 😯😵💫
I'm currently reading a book by Matthew Engel about English Counties. The Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, seeking to ascertain what the county he was responsible for, was told "YOU are it!" I was born and bred in Berkshire but, somewhat frustratingly, with Sunnymeads replacing Midgham as the Least Used Station in Berkshire it is one of the few at which I have yet to get on or off. The object in the field looks as if it could be a septic tank.
You can recognise it all you want but you are not the recognised authority on such things - there are no historic counties anymore, Yorkshire, Sussex etc. All the best :)
I mean if you happen to do Snowdown in Kent (the lowest kent one i believe), i'd suggest being careful if also visiting Aylesham (the near station - there are usually youths around the station when it's closed), the latter was my local station for a long time, so know this one well :) )
Historic gravel extraction lakes. Went I used to use this line into London for meetings the station was used by school children and commuters. That is morning and late afternoon. This line is also used for steam hauled excursions in the summer.
@ 4:23 - Not quite too sure, but that 'Submarine' could be used by a farmer for holding perhaps hay for animals or even dry food for Animals perhaps??? 🤔🚂🚂🚂
HAHA that’s hilarious!! Just earlier today I got around to watching your previous Q+A/update video and I wrote in a comment that I hope more classic Geoff short form videos will be coming soon because they are special to me for nostalgia and also theyre great… and now!!! :D
The card readers are provided by Cubic transportation systems who also operate the Oyster network which suggests it was Cubic that was attacked not TFL so not sure why the posters etc. say that the attack was on TFL.
Because your contract as a passenger is with TfL, they provide the service you're using, and whom they use as subcontractor doesn't need to concern you.
@@1258-Eckhart But in that case South West trains had a contract with Cubic not TFL in which case TFL had nothing to do with the SWT system not working yet that's who the poster blamed.
To add to the complexity of 'least used stations'. How about 'least used station with direct service to London'? I live in the most densely populated place outside London. If I want to get out to the countryside my favourite station is Rowlands Castle. It gets a service every hour. Sorry, I can't be arsed to look up the figures, but it must be well down on the list!
side question: does british rail ever use bus bridges? they connect three stations because the train can't stop at the middle of the three for some reason.
By now, the shadow authority heading the renationalisation must've mandated an asterisk to account for random UA-camrs distorting the passenger stats for these least used stations - wonder how many of Denton's riders were one and the same delightful blue-haired person \m/
Sunnymeads opened in 1926 the lswr simply slewed the tracks and has a 30mph speed towards Windsor and 45 to staines, the crossing at the country end is called fleet 😊
I AM SHOCKED TO SEE THIS! The fact that my local train line (SWR Metro Lines) you makes me want to visit this station now! Never expected Sunnymeads to be the least used station! I kinda think Berkshire’s 2nd least used has to be Betchworth but can Salfords (Surrey) make it into 3rd? Never also realised that Sunnymeads had an island platform! Good video Geoff!
I really like station statistics and am still studying all the ORR data. It does say though that the top destination for Sunnymeads for 23/24 is London Waterloo, albeit only for about a third of journeys.
Really!? Sadly passed a few years back - but wife of Radio 1 DJ Pete and lead singer of fab folk-rock band Trees (one of my very favourites - check 'em out).
Well, it _WAS_ the least used until me and my sixty eight mates turned up and started using it daily from today until 2026. Can you do the Lea Valley line next and cover their atrocious seats? Either as a journalist or just literally cover them in cushions, because they're abysmal.
I always imagined there'd be more going on at Sunnymeads. It's just such a pretty name.
at 4:25 what is that?
I love your videos
@@SamSitarlooks like some sort of above ground septic tank
There's a large water park not far the station, one would assume that the large object is either a supping float or a bouy.
All that Aircraft noise from LHR makes it a rubbish place to live nowadays, Must be hell for the Royal Family at Windsor. The stupid question from some American tourists, "Why build Windsor Castle so close to the Airport?" Thankfully not all American's that thick.
I reckon the main reason Ince & Elton's "passengers per train" number is so low in the first place is thanks to the fact that, and I promise, I am not exaggerating.. approximately *90%* of its trains get cancelled. One of the first services to be axed for the day if there's remotely any staff unavailability.
okay! this means i've got to trawl through Real Time Trains and check EVERY TRAIN that called on the Stanlow branch to see how many actually ran in the last 12 month period ... ;-D ;-D ;-D
I suspect a service would work better operationally if Merseyrail was extended to Helsby, and the Northern service either terminated there or ran on to Chester
@@geofftech2- the point seems to be that a totally unreliable service will never be used. Does the data enable you to check what are the stations with the least reliable service. Obviously you probably only need to check stations with a very low service pattern.
@@geofftech2 The good news is that if you figure out an good way to automate it, you can then run those numbers for all the other stations fairly easily.
The bad news is that I am going to attempt to give you more math; If the appropriate numbers are available, how does the least-used-station-in-question's ridership change throughout the year, does it get almost all of it in the summer and virtually none in the summer, or is it more consistent?
Thanks Nick.
I think you train experts need to document this stuff and call out the train operating companies and the ORR for misleading people.
This used to be my local station, it didn't have departure boards back then. One snowy freezing January day about 20 of us were waiting for the morning train and a phone started ringing. Bemused looks all round, eventually one person went to the end of the platform, opened a grey box and picked up the phone, then told us all there were no trains that day. There was no public address system so we effectively had to do it ourselves. Quite a few celebrities used to live in Sunnymeads (Beryl Reed, Susan George, Jack Jones) but they obviously never used the train.
As a guard on this line I would say towards Windsor an average of 2/3 get off and 2 get on towards Waterloo an average of 1 may get off and 2 get on towards Waterloo
hey Matt! good info - thanks! it hadn't occured to me that people would use it to get to Windsor. same applied to Wraysbury and Datchet too?
@geofftech2 hey Geoff I would say Datchet is the busier station of the three quite a few getting on whether towards London or Windsor I would say more people towards London at Wraysbury about 1 or 2 might head towards Windsor
@@mattjennings4750 I used to commute between Staines and Windsor about 20 years ago. I seem to remember the numbers boarding and leaving the train were similar back then as well.
The access path to Sunnymeads is prone to flooding and whenever it has rained particularly heavily, the station closes.
Until recently there was an aqua park next to Sunnymeads which boosted passenger usage, but with it gone now only residents/dogwalkers use it - however lots of residents just go to either Wraysbury or Datchet because no one really lives near enough. I know a few people who only use that station to sit under the roof and ponder because it’s so quiet ahaha
The aqua park's website says it will be reopening on 1/3/2025.
@ That’s the wake part. The actual aqua activity (inflatable courses) shut two or so years ago due to a girl drowning. The inflatable courses were the main drawing point for the park and in turn boosted the station’s footfall
When I travelled on that line a few months ago, there were announcements reminding people that the machines were for SWR contactless, not Oyster. The Oyster coverage, if I remember rightly, only extends as far as Feltham.
Yes, Oyster only in until Feltham.
My local station, around the corner from my village and I use it on occasion. However one of the reasons it may be suffering is because bus 5 was extended to Heathrow from Cippenham/Slough a couple of years ago and now I use that to get to Slough or Heathrow for the Elizabeth Line or Piccadilly Line if I'm going into London. (Also free as I'm a Tube employee).
When I have used Sunnymeads in the past a lot of the time the one ticket machine is vandalised.
As someone has said also, Liquid Leisure lost their Aqua park a couple of summers ago so that has impacted customer numbers and, for my wife who used to use the train every day to get to her job in London, she now works from home so Covid probably affected it a bit in that way.
What's going on in Geoff head at this moment in time:
Everyone: Geoff divide the passenger stats by number of services instead of 365.
Geoff: Thanks! I'm going to have to redo all of them aren't I because of it.
Everyone: Yes
Geoff: ah F**K! Thanks!
Shouldn't it be 366? 2024 was a leap year.
Stick to stations rather than Stats ! Great way of confusing Rachel Reeves , Diane Abbott etc.
That big black thing looked like a septic tank.
Erm, might want to look again at what you typed, ha ha ha 😆, but I think everybody knows what you're talking about.
🤨
might be a concrete root cellar
Exactly my thought. Hopefully not a used one.
@@andrewnorth170
Violet typed "septic tank". So I think she's talking about a septic tank. What do you think she's talking about?
Happy New Year Geoff! The video editing on the stairs was cool. Every time I visit I pick out a couple of the stations from your videos that intrigue me to visit. It is going to be tough this time I have 2 years worth of videos to pick from. Looks like I am going to be spending alot of time on the trains! ❤🎉
A more general comment on your videos Geoff; with all the crazy stuff going on in this world, your videos are a welcome diversion from all the bad news that seems to proliferate. You bring us along for the ride (pun somewhat intended) on the rail-related (and other transportion methods) that seem to bring joy to your life. And, by extension, brings some additional levity to my life. Your videos are straight and to the point; no drama, no fighting, no comments on political discourse, just cool facts about trains! A genuine “Thank You” to you.
I once went for a walk, over the M4, down some old, secluded footpaths and was genuinely, I thought, in the middle of nowhere. Then I came to a small bridge, looked down and it was Sunnymeads station.
Good to see the Windsor Branch. I visited this station quite a few times when they ran a steam train to Windsor, as you saw its on a private estate and I couldn't find anywhere to leave the car, so I drove to Datchet and caught the train there and then walked back.
Love the editing skills on this one Geoff.
Especially the ones that make the station look haunted. Multiple ghostly figures of his walking up the footbridge. A train arriving and passengers getting on, on both sides as a mirror image.
As someone who lives nearby, it does rarely get used and is funny to see on here. The only times I have used it is when I have gone to Windsor by train, which isnt that much as it is normally easier and quicker to drive as it is a bit of a walk to the station.
Wraysbury is used more to get into London as it skips out a stop or a quick drive to Staines to get a quick train as ones from Wraysbury tale more stops.
The big black thing is a rig used when diving and no longer used, ive been inside it.
That area is Part of liquid leisure the water park where the child died last year
A decompression chamber then or to keep divers in a manageable pressure until needed in the water.
2:05 - The precise moment Geoff's aviation arc begins.
I came for a type 701 and saw a type 747
4:30 My guess its that a septic tank.
Hi Geoff, I live near the area and yes, Sunnymeads is really quiet. Also your video managed to get onto Wraysbury News!
Hi Geoff, as you just mentioned island platforms. I HIGHLY recommend Dumpton Park (East Kent), it is always a very quiet station, however, it has an abnormally large island platform! I've seen trains with 12 carriages that just fit the station. It always seems so weird to me to have such a HUGE platform for a station serviced by so little
Edit: I grew up there before moving to London and my parents are still there. It genuinely takes me 5+ mins to walk the entire platform!!
Great video as per usual Geoff! Happy New Year! 🎉
Good new camera games: multiple Geoffs going up the stairs, and that cool mirror image scene of the train entering the station.
Geoff managed to actually find a 701 in service - wow!
Great vehicle
There are 3 sets of 701s diagrammed each day on Windsor service. Today, I saw 031, 039 and 043.
I saw one at wimbledon the other day, operating a service to shepperton. Idk how many have entered service since then.
"Not real" Berkshire pays quite a sizeable chunk of my pension. 😄 Good reason to use Sunnymeads or Datchet is that it's cheaper than having to pay to park in Windsor!
Geoff that I believe is a septic tank
No, It's a Submarine !!! ( ha ha, thx )
@@geofftech2 You don't want to dive into one of them...🤪
@@geofftech2 Submarine version comes in yellow
I thought, it would be something like taht (although I did not think specifically of a Septic Tank). It also looked like a fallen over watertower or so.
@@simoncampbell-smith6745 People also generally don't dive into submarines :)
I'm glad Midgham has lost the Berkshire wooden spoon. Two fabulous pubs within five minutes walking distance, The Rowbarge and The Angel.
Happy new year Geoff! Another great video.
I grew up there! Planes are a bit low, you can count the rivets on the planes as the fly over, be glad Concorde no longer passes over
That thing in the field is a septic tank, we only got mains drainage about 20 years ago
Across the road from the station is the gravel pit where they filmed the scene in View to a kill where Bond survives in the sunken Rolls Royce by breathing for a tyre!
Wraysbury and Sunnymeads are not the original stations, these original was between but there’s virtually nothing left now
Interesting thing about Sunnymeads, about 18 months ago, it was part of a massive re-signalling scheme. Originally controlled from Feltham, it is now controlled from the ROC at Basingstoke. There are a lot of tell-tale signs at Sunnymeads of our handiwork, the new OFF indicator on the platform, the new AWS magnet, the new LED Signal and the new Location Case by the Road bridge. There might not have been many people there, but there is plenty there to look at 😀
You'll have to revisit the whole 'Least used station in....' series with this new metric.
Good stuff, Geoff. I noticed Shippea Hill on the list you showed of least used stations. My parents used to live on that line (in Brandon - they moved there from London when they retired). I would visit on the train - you change onto the Norwich line at Ely. I drove to Shippea Hill once to have a look around and it was bleak. A couple of houses and that's your lot. I should imagine that it would be grim there in winter, with the cold wind howling across the fens and not a soul to be seen.
My Dad and I used to watch trains at Sunnymeads when I was a kid - it hasn’t changed in the slightest!
Excellent as always. Thanks Geoff
Regarding the sorting by "Passengers by train": I recommend you ask Matt Parker about whether you could apply some corrections to the data, because due to the small numbers, the fractions are quickly skewed.
To explain what I mean: Look at Pilning. It gets just 330 passengers, but because it also gets just 2 services per week, you end up with a whopping 3.17 passengers entering/exiting each train. For that same reason, Reddish South with just 128 people comes down to a ratio of 1.23. In my book, Denton with 54 annual passengers and 2 services per week still is an impressively low number, but because both the dividend and the divisor are tiny (102 / 54), you get a comparatively large number.
So, it might make sense to do something here with harmonic numbers, or some kind of quadratic or logarithmic corrections. If only someone could stand up and do the maths...
EDIT: Granted, it IS a very smart scheme to continue to avoid going to Denton, which you've successfully managed to do for a solid eight years now. I'll give you that! 😂🍻
Love the wobbly sound of those electric motors on 3rd rail.
Oh, nice. My former local area. I grew up in Eton (although I live in the US now). It's funny about the airplanes though. My mum says I can sleep through anything, since we essentially lived right under the flight plan for the Concorde (back in the 70s).
As part of the data on the RailwayData website, I've compiled 'passengers per service, (PPS) data every year since 2012.
The lowest passenger to service ratios since 2012 are:
2023: Ince & Elton. 86 passengers / 24 trains Per Week / 0.07 Passengers per service
2022: Scotscalder - 124 / 44 / 0.05
2021: Stanlow & Thornton - 44 / 26 / 0.03
2020: lots of stations, due to Covid!
2019: Stanlow & Thornton - 82 / 36 / 0.04
2018: Stanlow & Thornton - 46 / 36 / 0.02
2017: Stanlow & Thornton - 92 / 48 / 0.04
2016: Kildonan - 76 / 44 / 0.03
2015: Shippea Hill - 12 / 7 / 0.03
2014*: Coombe Junction Halt - 26 / 24 / 0.02
2013: Shippea Hill - 70 / 7 / 0.03
2012: Kildonan - 62 / 50 / 0.09
* timetable data from December, not May, due to insufficient data held.
Quite often, the stations with the lowest PPS aren't at the bottom of least used stations. Ynyswen frequently lands close to the bottom - 5,288 entries and exits in 2023/24, 456 scheduled services in the May 23 timetable, 0.22 passengers per service.
Been to Windsor twice so would have passed through it. Looks nice around it. Thanks for exploring the area.
Midgham has finally been usurped! That old video was from 2017! Sunnymeasds is in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (as is Datchet and Wraysbury, the latterly is the most easterly station in Berkshire - Sandhurst being the most southerly, Cookham the Nmost Northerly and Hungerford the most westerly) - mol.rbwm.gov.uk/mol/map/
The distance between the east and west of Berkshire is approximately 68 miles!
1:36 station opened in 1927, butb the line opened in 1849. And Sunnymeads was in Bucks until 1975.
5:20 No 5-car Arterios in service yet. Only 10-car sets
"We seem to be on the flight path again, C.J."
Happy New Year Geoff. Great video to start the new year.
Happy New Year, Geoff!
Great vid Geoff, but where has the least used music gone?? We need it back!
You can always tell if a person comes from the Staines/area Wraysbury area… they don’t look up when a planes goes over!
I once spent half an hour stuck there after I switched carriage via the platform and the guard wouldn't let me back on. Great to see it getting acknowledged.
Happy New Year to you Geoff. I’m always amazed that every train recognises your finger print - even the new trains 1:11
😳🤣🤣🤣
Nice, a least used station that I’m actually in the passenger numbers for!
There’s a car garage up the road and whenever I’m having work done on my car, I’ll leave it there and catch the train from Sunnymeads up to my office and back.
The first time I did it was so confused arriving at the station, it’s hidden away on a residential street, you’d have no idea it was there!
Some great edits on this one, Geoff! A very unusual station
Happy new year to you Geoff hope you have a great 2025
The issue with Sunnymeads is its located on a private estate where no parking is allowed, and there's no station car park. So the only way to get there is to walk or to live there. Or...get the train from another station. I visited it last year and had to get the train from Wraysbury like you did.
I live only a stop away in datchet, you do see some people to get off and on every now and then, but most of the time its empty, since its easier to get to wraysbury via car, this stop is quite inportant for those who live near liquid leisure.
Its nice to see a local train station get recognised especially that its so close to where i live, also that weird looking thing in the field is what ive been told is a old septic tank
Old septic tank probably. You mentioned reservoirs in the area. It may be an old flood control tank. Notice the large out/in flow.
8:15 it's near Queen Mother reservoir.
edit; it's part of the waterpark. cheesychad may be correct.
Looks like a Class 47 Septic Tank in the field 😂😂😂
Lovely camerawork as always. I hope I'll need to travel to a least used station one day, but it hasn't happened yet!
I live on this general line and I always used to get Runnymede and Sunnymeads mixed up. I have also recently developed a reason to go to W&ER semi-regularly so I might stop off at this station if time allows.
Interesting to see the difference between countries. In The Netherlands it’s not allowed to have trains in regular service that are longer than the platforms. The longest train must be able to stop at the shortest platform on a route, so that station determines the maximum length of the trains on that route. If longer trains are needed on the route, every platform that is too short must first be extended. It therefore happens that there are stations with platforms of 340 meters that do not serve trains of that length because there are stations along the route with platforms of 220 meters and this is therefore the maximum train length.
Nice job, of course. I went to New Malden today on a 455 - not long left for them....
One of the few NetworkSoutheast era cars that are still running…
Thanks for sharing all your videos Geoff+Happy New Year 🎄⛄️🎅💙
If you figure out construction and maintenance costs, how much, in terms of money, each passenger needs to contribute at each trip to pay the annual costs and depreciation?
What would be the minimum number of passenger, per service, for the current contributions per trip cover those same annual costs?
9:14 train line here can beat that, no joke, the station here is probably 0.01 or something like that
The previous queen used to sometimes take this rail route to Windsor. I saw her get off the train in Windsor in July 1989. We then took the train she used back into London.
That ending with you repeating “Nothing here” reminded me of an interactive game my wife would use while teaching zoom school during the pandemic with a woman’s English accent that said slowly “Nothing he-ah” for misclicks.
I mean, nowhere to park a car, not even a spot to properly lock up a bicycle. Seems like the only way to ride a train at Sunnymeads is to be a local citizen and walk there.
You can bring a bike onto trains in that area at least
8:25 would love to see where you got these "services per week" numbers from
Incidentally the Late Queen could have identified all the aircraft that could be heard on this video, just from the sounds they made!
A lovely video to start the new year off
Such a townie Geoff. 🙂 It's a bunded tank to hold liquids with a lower risk of leaking on to the land as it is double walled.
1:15 im glad that Celia Drummond is still on the class 701 😊. I thought the 701 announcements were being replaced by Elinor Hamilton, anyway very interesting video Geoff i was very surprised when i saw the title of the video, well you learn something new every video. Thank you Geoff. PS 7:35 Nice edit 👍👍👍👍
She would be on my desert island - singing "Polly on the Shore" as lead singer of folk-rock band "Trees".
Trees is my favourite rock band because i can hear Celia's beautiful voice. Probably my favourite song from Trees is "Black Widow" from "The Garden Of Jane Delawney" album, i love it, Trees has the best music it's so underrated in my opinion, it's sad that they were only active for 3 years but in that short time they made their mark in folk rock and created the best 1970s music. R.I.P Celia ❤️🕊️
@-MapEnthusiastjj4eu Yes, I love "Black Widow" too. As for "Lady Margaret" I still remember the first time I heard it at 12 years old. Sort of "WTF just happened?" 😯😵💫
I'm currently reading a book by Matthew Engel about English Counties. The Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, seeking to ascertain what the county he was responsible for, was told "YOU are it!"
I was born and bred in Berkshire but, somewhat frustratingly, with Sunnymeads replacing Midgham as the Least Used Station in Berkshire it is one of the few at which I have yet to get on or off.
The object in the field looks as if it could be a septic tank.
Whato Geoff
I am a person who still recognises the historic counties of England and therefore Berkshire is and always will be a real county.
You can recognise it all you want but you are not the recognised authority on such things - there are no historic counties anymore, Yorkshire, Sussex etc. All the best :)
Sunnymeads has only been in Berks since 1975. Historically it was in Buckinghamshire.
Most entertaining - not a dull moment in this episode Geoff 😊
Its an inverse submarine where you keep the water inside instead of outside.
Very enjoyable video Greoff 👍
I mean if you happen to do Snowdown in Kent (the lowest kent one i believe), i'd suggest being careful if also visiting Aylesham (the near station - there are usually youths around the station when it's closed), the latter was my local station for a long time, so know this one well :) )
Berkshire is not one but several unitary authorities, including West Berkshire, Reading, Wokingham, Windsor & Maidenhead, Bracknell Forest and Slough.
Slough is debatably also in Buckinghamshire!
Need to get there myself one day, great video
Happy New Year Geoff! Great video 😀
Historic gravel extraction lakes. Went I used to use this line into London for meetings the station was used by school children and commuters. That is morning and late afternoon. This line is also used for steam hauled excursions in the summer.
Sunnymeads station has a 30 minute service between windsor and enton riverside and london Waterloo via Richmond
I’m surprised you didn’t walk the short distance to Datchet. I would’ve done. By the way; happy new year! 🥳
So what are the most used, per service, stations?
Those footbridge don't have ramps to push bike up and down them? Seems like a bike would be very desirable at such an isolated station.
Septic tank with attached squirrel.....
@ 4:23 - Not quite too sure, but that 'Submarine' could be used by a farmer for holding perhaps hay for animals or even dry food for Animals perhaps??? 🤔🚂🚂🚂
HAHA that’s hilarious!! Just earlier today I got around to watching your previous Q+A/update video and I wrote in a comment that I hope more classic Geoff short form videos will be coming soon because they are special to me for nostalgia and also theyre great… and now!!! :D
The card readers are provided by Cubic transportation systems who also operate the Oyster network which suggests it was Cubic that was attacked not TFL so not sure why the posters etc. say that the attack was on TFL.
Because your contract as a passenger is with TfL, they provide the service you're using, and whom they use as subcontractor doesn't need to concern you.
@@1258-Eckhart But in that case South West trains had a contract with Cubic not TFL in which case TFL had nothing to do with the SWT system not working yet that's who the poster blamed.
To add to the complexity of 'least used stations'. How about 'least used station with direct service to London'? I live in the most densely populated place outside London. If I want to get out to the countryside my favourite station is Rowlands Castle. It gets a service every hour. Sorry, I can't be arsed to look up the figures, but it must be well down on the list!
side question: does british rail ever use bus bridges? they connect three stations because the train can't stop at the middle of the three for some reason.
I love Sunnymeads as my mother-in-law lives nearby. But why was it built in the first place?
Sunnymeads used to be a separate village,but it's long since been absorbed by Wraysbury 🎩
By now, the shadow authority heading the renationalisation must've mandated an asterisk to account for random UA-camrs distorting the passenger stats for these least used stations - wonder how many of Denton's riders were one and the same delightful blue-haired person \m/
Sunnymeads opened in 1926 the lswr simply slewed the tracks and has a 30mph speed towards Windsor and 45 to staines, the crossing at the country end is called fleet 😊
ah, thanks Paul! good knowledge.
1:14 is that the late Celia Drummond’s voice? (The lady who is still the main voice of the Northern and Jubilee lines)
No, that`s a bloody AI generated sh*t.
I AM SHOCKED TO SEE THIS! The fact that my local train line (SWR Metro Lines) you makes me want to visit this station now! Never expected Sunnymeads to be the least used station! I kinda think Berkshire’s 2nd least used has to be Betchworth but can Salfords (Surrey) make it into 3rd? Never also realised that Sunnymeads had an island platform! Good video Geoff!
How would Salfords (Surrey) make it to third place in Berkshire's least used station?
@ I’ve been to the station in person and being there for a while day it’s ghostly quiet with not a single person for at least 3 hours
@Transport265 Let me ask the question again...
How would Salfords (SURREY) make it to third place in BERKSHIRE's lest used station?
@ Oh I see! I forgot Berkshire went only up to Betchworth 🤦 Salfords could be Surrey’s 2nd-3rd least used station
@Transport265 I'm guessing that you didn't do geography at school.
hint: Look at a map.
I really like station statistics and am still studying all the ORR data. It does say though that the top destination for Sunnymeads for 23/24 is London Waterloo, albeit only for about a third of journeys.
I didn’t even know the 701s where even in service, nice to keep Celia Drummonds announcements
Really!? Sadly passed a few years back - but wife of Radio 1 DJ Pete and lead singer of fab folk-rock band Trees (one of my very favourites - check 'em out).
4:24 "What is that!? It's The Unknown!" *nuhhhhhhhh* 🤣🤣
Well, it _WAS_ the least used until me and my sixty eight mates turned up and started using it daily from today until 2026.
Can you do the Lea Valley line next and cover their atrocious seats? Either as a journalist or just literally cover them in cushions, because they're abysmal.