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Passenger station totals were not shown in the official 'Railway returns' published before 1948, although there were occasional references in other publications.
The number of stations probably reached its peak in the 1930s, following a period in which some companies – notably the Great Western – had opened large numbers of 'halts', particularly in country areas, in an attempt to compete more effectively with the rapidly expanding bus network.
A halt, at least on the GW, was normally an unstaffed stopping place with minimal infrastructure. If any staff were present, such as a crossing keeper who might also briefly open a miniature booking office as trains approached, the usual suffix – on the GWR at any rate – was 'platform'. In other words, a 'platform' was a staffed halt. Until the 1960s, a true station was more generously staffed and often included a yard and shed for goods traffic.
Other companies also had halts, but these sometimes had at least one member of staff on duty. Both 'halts' and 'platforms' are considered to be stations for the purposes of these statistics.
Staff were withdrawn from many stations from the 1960s onwards as British Rail pursued economies, but official statistics rarely indicated how many unstaffed stations existed. The tables include notes of these where the data are available.
The suffix 'halt' was officially abandoned in 1969, but in recent times the title has begun to reappear.
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