Schoolchildren take over county's quietest station

More than 120 schoolchildren, parents and teachers arrived on the platform to sing carols

Schoolchildren brought festive fun to Essex's quietest railway station, making it possibly the site's busiest day in its 176-year history.

More than 120 pupils, teachers and parents from White Notley Church of England Primary School visited the village station on Tuesday, wearing Santa hats and singing Christmas carols.

Rail operator Greater Anglia said the station was the quietest in the county in 2023-24, with 6,990 entries and exits.

The school group took the short trip to Braintree and back.

The school's visit meant it was, very likely, one of the busiest days in the station's history

Scott Dolling, a partnerships manager at Greater Anglia, became involved in the station's activities as a volunteer due to a family connection.

"We lived at the station house here and my parents were the crossing keepers for many years," he said.

"When I heard about White Notley being the least used station, our family wanted to try and help get it known for being more than that."

He said a series of events were planned to raise the station's profile.

The station is unstaffed but Greater Anglia has volunteer adopters who support many activities at stations in the region.

Alan Neville, Greater Anglia's community and customer engagement manager, said: "This is a wonderful initiative, and we are very grateful to the station adopters and Essex and South Suffolk Community Rail Partnership for the great work they are doing to put railways at the heart of the communities they serve and create a sense of pride in young people for their local railway station."

Head of the school Patsy Fitzpatrick said the school and station were "important parts" of the village community.

Despite its reputation as the quietest station in Essex, White Notley does have a connection to the capital, being on the Braintree branch line direct to London.