Six train stations in the UK were named among the least used in the last year, with exactly zero passengers being recorded at any of them.

There were no recorded entry and exits for Abererch (Gwynedd, Wales), Beasdale (Highland, Scotland), Llanbedr (Gwynedd, Wales), Sampford Courtenay (Devon, England), Stanlow and Thornton (Cheshire, England) and Sugar Loaf (Powys, Wales) between April 1 2020 and March 31 2021.

Nearly 200 railway stations across Britain had fewer than 1,000 entries and exits, with six recording no entries or exits during the last year as a result of services temporarily suspended at the majority of these stations due to the pandemic.

At the other end of the scale, Manchester Piccadilly had 5.1m passenger entries and exits between April 1 2020 and March 31 2021, despite an 83% decrease in passenger numbers compared to 2019-20.

Bournemouth Echo: Passenger journeys on Britain's railway network have declined during the pandemic (PA)Passenger journeys on Britain's railway network have declined during the pandemic (PA)

Britain’s railway was severely impacted by the pandemic last year. Numbers from the Office of Rail and Road show only 388 million journeys were made in 2020-21 (April to March) – down 78 per cent and equates to 22.3 per cent of the 1,739 million journeys made in 2019-20 – representing the lowest level of annual passenger usage since before the time series began in 1872.

It is the first time in 17 years that London Waterloo is not the most used station. The London station saw the biggest decrease in passenger usage, with 12.21m entries and exits compared to the 86m in 2019-20.

Feras Alshaker, Director of Planning and Performance at the Office of Rail and Road said: “Throughout 2020-21 the railways remained an essential service for those people who needed to travel during a year which was impacted by the pandemic.

“Manchester Picaddily has consistently appeared as one of the most used stations outside of London and it is clear it remained a key destination for many passengers through the year.

“We have seen hundreds of railway stations with very few passenger entries and exits. However, we know that recent figures show leisure journeys are nearly back to pre-pandemic levels, but a slower increase in commuter journeys.”