I've said it before, and I've been proven right on more than one occasion: transport "consultants" know nothing!
Time and again their estimates on passenger numbers have been proven woefully inadequate. Whether it's the reopening of the Alloa line or the new(ish) station at Dalgety Bay, they have always seriously underestimated how many people will want to use the railway and the effect it will have on the local area (when Dalgety Bay reopened in the late 90's, house prices doubled).
The know-all consultants have been caught out again - Laurencekirk Station, between Montrose and Stonehaven on the East Coast Main Line, was reopened in May last year with an estimate of 36,000 passengers per year using the facilities.
In fact, 64,000 people used the station in it's first year.
When it comes to the railway, if you build it they will come.
(Incidentally, if you want to see what the station looks like after restoration, then have a look at this photo)
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