Can't count - won't count

ORR recently published the annual station usage figures for 2006/7.

The resulting media coverage made much of the fact that an alleged 84 million passengers use Waterloo Station each year, whilst just 17 lonely souls used Tyndrum Lower.

A Railway Eye reader travelled to Tyndrum Lower on Thursday 11th July.

He was one of five boarding the train. The conductor had picked up nine more passengers on his outward run, meaning that annual loadings for the station had almost been achieved in just two journeys on one day.

Plainly ORR's station usage figures are just plain wrong.

Delta Rail (formerly AEA Technology Rail) collates station usage for ORR. In their defence the data is drawn from 'Lennon' and excludes non-station specific tickets, so BritRail Passes, Rovers, and Staff Passes don't count.

Even so this must make a nonsense of claims that Tyndrum Lower "cost Scotrail £589 per passenger during 2006/7".

Is Tyndrum Lower the only station where usage figures are so magnificently under reported. Community Railways are advised to mount their own counts.