Angus Railway station named UK's least used

A railway station in Angus is the least used in Britain, new figures show.

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

London Waterloo maintained its title as the country'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

Brian Boyd, an independent councillor on Angus Council, said Barry Links station is used much more than the figures suggest.

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.

People at the west end of Carnoustie are closer to Barry Links than the main Carnoustie station so there would be a lot of disgruntled customers if it was ever closed down on the view that it's not used.''

He added: It is not the least-used station - it's fake news.''

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.

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.'