Once again, we're back out on the Underground.
This time, on the rather bouncy, but yet always cosy,
Bakerloo Line to do its "Least Used Station."
(train passing sounds)
South Kenton Station opened in 1933,
and is on that odd part of the Underground
that is served by both tube trains and national route trains
in the form of the London Overground.
It has a single item platform to the side
of the West Coast Main Line, meaning that fast trains
are always speeding past here to the side.
So the platform is up there.
We'll return up the steps in a minute.
It's worth coming to the underpass.
That way is Nathan Road to Norfolk Park.
This way is Windermere Avenue.
What there is is that there's a subway
that leads from one side of the station to the other.
Now, originally many, many years ago
there was a footbridge that was removed.
The West Coast Main Line now runs right past it.
So you just have this linking underpass.
Some people just use it to cut through
without going up to the station.
But I just wanna check out this side.
(train passing in the distance)
Outside the station there's not much shine of life.
This pub is an obvious nearby landmark
but appears to be closed.
In fact, the whole of South Kenton has a strangely
closed, desolate, and lonely feel to it.
So time to head back up to the platform.
There's no step-free access here,
but there is a place to sit
whilst I consider the station's other facilities.
I'm in the waiting room.
There's a help point behind me.
The labyrinth is over there.
What other facilities does this station have?
Well, it has no toilets, as this sign specifically mentions.
And there's no ticket barriers here either.
It's one of the few stations on the tube not to have them.
There is a ticket machine, though, dot matrix displays,
and the station is also served by the 223 bus.
And I'm happy to say that the nice weather
is making it feel less gloomy.
The last time I came to South Kenton it was cold
and a winter's day.
Today is the opposite. The sun's out.
I think I've got this view of South Kenton as being
a sort of barren, desolate wasteland.
It's odd. There's like this island platform arrangement.
You've got the West Coast Main Line whizzing past
at hide speeds.
And then occasionally, like every 10 minutes,
you get a little Bakerloo Line train
sort of chugging up alongside.
And then, to add to the mix, you've also got
the London Overground, which also stops here
every 20 minutes, only every half an hour on a Sunday.
So it is this bizarre mix of big trains, Overground trains,
little bouncy, brown Bakerloo Line trains,
and this elevated island platform.
I think it's a rather unusual station.
(train stopping slowly)
Like, for a least used station, it gets a lot of trains.
It seems quite busy.
There's also a bin bag, which is just looking perfect
for a classic kind of slow-mo bin bag moment.
(solemn piano music)
(plastic bag rumbles)
This is what the inside of a bin bag looks like, by the way.
Also, putting your camera in here really stopped it
from blowing in the breeze.
So let's do the important part.
The passenger numbers, which make South Kenton
the least used Bakerloo Line station.
Following on from Victoria, Jubilee,
Circle, H&C, and Northern Lines,
how many people pass through this station?
It was just 1.2 million people per year,
which is just over 3000 per day.
But interestingly, if you look at the Wikipedia page
of South Kenton, passenger usage is listed twice,
once for the tube and once for national rail.
So suggestions in the comments, please, because I'm confused
as to how they work that one out,
when it's the same physical oyster pad
that you're touching in and out on.
And so that is the least used station
on the Bakerloo Line, that's South Kenton.
Come back for more videos as we keep slowly counting down
until we get to the least used station
on the whole of the Underground.