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Scottish railway station is least used in Britain

Google Barry LinksGoogle
Barry Links station is located between Dundee and Carnoustie

A railway station in Angus is the least used in Great Britain, new figures have revealed.

Just 24 passengers travelled to or from Barry Links station in 2016/17, according to data published by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR)

Only two ScotRail trains stop at the station, which is unstaffed and has no facilities, each day between Monday and Saturday.

The station, which opened in 1851, is located between Dundee and Carnoustie.

Brian Boyd, an independent councillor on Angus Council, said the station was used more than the figures suggested.

'Way out'

He said: "Many people buy Carnoustie tickets but get off at Barry.

"These figures are quoted based on who buys tickets for stations and you can't buy a ticket at Barry so you buy it at Carnoustie.

"I can assure you there's at least a dozen passengers coming off each and every evening from the tea-time train at Barry.

"Yes, there aren't many trains that stop there but the figures are way out, in my opinion."

Quietest railway stations

Mr Boyd, who represents the Carnoustie and District Ward, expects the station to be well-used next summer as golf fans travel to the Open Championship.

He said: "With golf coming in 2018, it will used considerably more because it's right on the perimeter of the world-renowned golf course.

"It's an important station for the area."

Last year's least-used station, Shippea Hill in Cambridgeshire, saw its passenger figures rise from 12 to 156 over the last 12 months.

Ashley Dace/Geograph Shippea Hill stationAshley Dace/Geograph
The numbers of people using at Shippea Hill have risen dramatically

It received a publicity boost when Great British Bake Off finalist Ian Cumming offered mince pies to people who disembarked at the station on Christmas Eve 2016.

The data suggested that Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley are Scotland's busiest railway stations, with 32,060,134 and 22,582,342 entries and exits respectively.

London Waterloo maintained its title as Britain's busiest station for the 14th consecutive year.

Some 99.4 million passengers used the station in the past year, up by more than 250,000 on 2015/16.

The ORR survey covers 2,560 UK mainland railway stations.

Five other stations - Tees-side Airport, Breich, Kildonan, British Steel Redcar, and Reddish South had fewer than 100 entries and exits.