Waterloo revealed as UK's busiest train station

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Waterloo has been revealed as the UK’s busiest train station with more than 99 million passenger journeys each year.

The central London station recorded the most journeys in the 12 months to March 31, according to figures released by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

Victoria and Liverpool Street stations were the second and third most crowded across the UK’s rail network with 81.2 million and 66.6 million journeys respectively.

Clapham Junction was the station where the most passengers changed trains with 30.4 million interchanges, the statistics showed. 

East Croydon followed with about seven million connections, while Waterloo was third with about six million. 

The 10 busiest stations in Britain were all in London apart from Birmingham New Street, which was seventh on the list. 

The figures, released by the ORR on Tuesday, were based on ticket sales including Oyster card data in the 12 months from April 1 to March 31.

The Rail Delivery Group, representing train operators and Network Rail, said the figures demonstrate the need to "invest and plan long-term for increasing demand".

The quietest train station in the country was used by the equivalent of just one passenger per month, the figures show.

Shippea Hill station in Cambridgeshire had only 12 entries and exits during 2015/16. Only one train - towards Norwich - serves the station on weekdays, but there is no return service.

On Saturdays, it is possible to take a day trip to the city from Shippea Hill, leaving at 7.25am and returning just over 12 hours later. There are no trains on Sundays.

The nearest significant conurbation is the cathedral city of Ely, which is around seven miles away.

In Scotland, Glasgow Central remains the busiest station with passengers using the hub 30 million times in 2015/16, with Edinburgh in second place at 21.7 million.

Cardiff Central is the busiest station in Wales with 12.7 million journeys.

The ORR estimated that there were over 2.9 billion entries and exits at all rail stations in Britain in 2015/16, an increase of 5% compared with the previous year.

There were also 222 million connections made.

A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, representing train operators and Network Rail, said: “More and more people rely on the railway every day, and with passenger numbers having doubled in the last 20 years it’s vital that we invest and plan long-term for increasing demand.

“Rail companies are delivering more than £50billion worth of improvements in a Railway Upgrade Plan to provide better stations, more trains and faster, more reliable journeys. 

“We are building the bigger, more modern railway that Britain needs to carry even more people and freight safely.”