Shippea Hill railway station is on the Breckland Line in the east of England, serving the Burnt Fen area of Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. The line runs between in the west and in the east. Shippea Hill is a request stop from London Liverpool Street via Cambridge, in one of the few areas within Burnt Fen which rise just above sea level. The station is on the A1101 road between Littleport and Mildenhall. It has been noted for its low patronage: for example, only 12 passenger entries/exits were recorded at the station in 2015/16. History The station was opened in 1845 as Mildenhall Road. In 1885 its name was changed to Burnt Fen, and in about 1904 it adopted the name Shippea Hill. On 7 April 1906, a passenger train derailed due to excessive speed. Eight passengers were injured, two seriously. Ordnance Survey maps from the 1920s show a network of narrow-gauge horse-drawn feeder agricultural tramways running south west from the station yard onto the Hiam Estate. There was also a standard gauge private railway branch running east to a chicory factory, which in turn had a network of narrow gauge agricultural tramways running south east onto the Chivers Estate. On 3 December 1976, at about 4 pm, a passenger train collided with a lorry on an unmanned level crossing near Shippea Hill. The train driver, Robert (Bob) Hitcham, was killed and eight of his passengers were injured. The wooden level crossing gates at Shippea Hill used to be operated manually by the signalman in the local signal box. In 2012, the signal box was closed and the crossing was renewed with automatic barriers and warning lights. Quietest UK railway station Shippea Hill has been recorded as one of the least-used railway stations in Britain. According to Office of Rail and Road estimates, it was the least-used railway station in 2014/15 (with 22 passengers) and 2015/16 (12 passengers). In 2016/17 there was an increase to 156 passengers. This trend has continued in subsequent years, to a recent record of 432 passengers in 2018/19. Due to its unusual status, it sometimes attracts attempts to boost its numbers. In December 2016, Ian Cumming, a finalist from The Great British Bake Off attracted at least 16 people to the station by handing out free mince pies. Simon Usborne of The Guardian wrote, "It's hard to imagine a more desolate place to get off a