Passengers number up at Doncaster’s main railway station but smaller sites see fall

Doncaster’s main railway station has experienced an increase in passengers but smaller community sites have seen numbers fall, new figures show.
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But seven of the eight smaller stations across the borough saw decreases in passenger numbers in the same period ranging from 0.3 per cent in Bentley to 13.7 per cent fall in Adwick.

Kirk Sandall saw a decrease of 13 per cent, Hatfield and Stainforth 10 per cent while Mexborough and Thorne North saw drops of eight per cent respectively.

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But Conisbrough booked the trend and saw passenger numbers increase by 28 per cent between 2016 and 2019. Numbers went up from 91,000 to 118,000 in the three year period.

Doncaster Railway Station.  Picture Tony JohnsonDoncaster Railway Station.  Picture Tony Johnson
Doncaster Railway Station. Picture Tony Johnson

The busiest station outside of Doncaster’s main station is Mexborough which had 192,350 passengers down from 209,928 in 2016.2017.

The borough quietest station is Hatfield & Stainforth which saw 73,108 passengers down from 81,440 in 2016/2017.

The total number of passengers coming through all of Doncaster railway stations in 2018/2019 was 4,965,334 up from 4,937,774 in 2016/2017.

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Thorne & Moorends councillor Mark Houlbrook said there were many reasons as to why numbers had declined at both stations in his ward.

“There has been continued economic growth in Thorne and Moorends, increased investment in retail and people use of businesses in the town centre, where they can get access to local shops, without the need to travel to outside areas as regularly.

“There are also times when trains are not efficient or not on time. People can often lose confidence in using them.

“The price of tickets for regular commuters go up annually. It may be cost effective and simpler to use a car. Reducing the price could see more people use them.

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“There has been a surge in the use of cycles. Thorne and Moorends has the highest propensity of cyclists in the whole of Doncaster.”

Conisbrough councillor Lani-Mae Ball added: “I think the location of Conisbrough is fantastic in terms of connecting both Sheffield and Doncaster. It’s much easier and quicker than the bus. It only takes seven minutes on a good day to get to Doncaster so it does make it a lot more accessible than catching the bus for some.”

The passenger numbers for 2018/19 are the most recent available figures.

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