Passenger numbers up at area’s railway stations last year

Scarborough Railway Station. Photo by Richard Ponter.

Pressure group Railfuture said the impact of current travel restrictions is causing a “temporary blip” in the continued growth in railway usage nationally.

Office of Road and Rail data shows an estimated 1.5 million passengers using Scarborough’s 14 stations in 2019-20. That’s 69,374 more than the previous year, a rise of 4.8%.

The busiest station was Scarborough with 973,000 entries and exits by passengers, followed by Seamer, 148,000, and Filey, 140,000.

In Scarborough there were 14 passenger journeys for every person living in the area in 2019-20 compared to the national rate of 75.

The ORR has put the national reduction in journeys down to a “dramatic drop” in passengers in March due to Covid-19 restrictions.

But Railfuture, an independent organisation with 20,000 members, is hopeful the railway system will recover.

Bruce Williamson, a spokesman for the group, said: “I am very confident that the railways will bounce back when Covid-19 is over.

“We can’t ignore the fact the world has changed and people working from home may stay put – but I still feel for the most part, things will return to normal.

“Considering the underlying trend of increased rail usage over the past 30 years, we have to look at Covid-19 as a temporary blip.”