Rail passenger numbers increase at Driffield station

More than 200,000 people used Driffield railway station last year, as passenger numbers returned closer towards pre-pandemic levels.

A report by the Office Of Road and Rail says that the station has recovered a lot faster than many other parts of the country after the COVID lockdowns.

It estimates that around 212,000 passengers got on or off a train at Driffield between April 2021 and March 2022.

In the previous 12 months, that figure dipped as low as 63,000 as people had to work from home and shops and leisure facilities were closed at the start of the pandemic.

The most recent numbers show that Driffield station’s numbers are only 19 per cent below the levels seen before COVID changed passenger behaviour forever.

It is still not in the top 1,000 busiest stations in the country, and is fifth in the list of East Yorkshire stations – behind Beverley, Bridlington, Brough and Goole.

Nafferton and Hutton Cranswick have both seen passenger numbers reach around 75 per cent of the levels seen before COVID.

More than 27,000 boarded or alighted a train at Nafferton in the 12 months the survey looked at, and almost 32,000 used Hutton Cranswick.

Feras Alshaker, director of planning and performance at the Office of Rail and Road said: “It is heartening to see passengers return to travelling by rail following what was a difficult period for the industry during the pandemic. There’s still some way to go in order for station usage figures to return to pre-pandemic levels.

“Once again it is important to thank all those in the rail industry, who continue to work hard to help people travel safely and with confidence.”