This miniature train station is one of the UK’s quietest, only used by 194 people each year.
Despite the number of rail passengers increasing by 14 percent in 2023, this station in Devon remains peaceful.
Chapelton train station, just outside of Barnstaple, is one of the UK’s least-used stations, receiving under 200 individual passengers annually.
Located on the Tarka line, its passengers are mainly headed towards the historic Exeter.
Its 194-strong passenger cohort makes it the 14th quietest railway station, according to National Rail figures.
As it’s a rural station, there are very few departures from Chapelton.
At most, each destination – Barnstaple and Exeter Central– gets a mere two trains per day.
Realistically, however It would be difficult to justify any more. After all, the station only has a single platform, long enough to fit a seven-coach train.
At one point, however, Chapelton was even more isolated than it is today, and the station has a tumultuous history.
Services in the early Victorian period were infrequent, and days could go by without a single train entering the station. Unfortunately, it closed its doors in 1860, when services stopped.
But, like a phoenix from the ashes, a new stone platform meant passengers could once again board the train from 1875 onwards.
Growing from strength to strength, it earned a northbound line and a second platform was built in 1890.
It was, however, ill-fated. Alas, in 1971, the line was reduced to a single once again.
