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List of busiest railway stations in Great Britain

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This is a list of the busiest railway stations in Great Britain on the National Rail network for the 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 financial year. The dataset records patterns of mobility for the first full year after travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom were completely eliminated, with increased levels of mobility when compared with the 2021–22 data although still not fully recovered from 2019–20. During 2022–23 there were 1,385 million passenger journeys on the network, compared to 990 million in 2021–22 and 1,739 million in 2019–20.[1] The opening of the Elizabeth line during 2022 increased passenger numbers at several stations and caused new entries to appear in the ranking at Tottenham Court Road (7th) and Bond Street (19th). The busiest station was London Liverpool Street, replacing London Waterloo which was top of the ranking the previous year.[note 1]

Methodology

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The figures are collected by the Office of Rail and Road, and are estimates based on ticket usage data use of an Origin Destination Matrix, a comprehensive matrix of rail flows between stations throughout Great Britain in the financial year of 2023–23. The data count entries and exits at any station. Note that the data covers mainland Great Britain and surrounding small islands (such as the Isle of Wight), not the United Kingdom, and so exclude tickets within Northern Ireland and Eurostar. There are various further limits to the data due to the variety of ticketing options available on rail services within the UK; these are outlined in full in the report on the data.[2] Only tickets sold for National Rail services are included; some stations may also be served by underground metro or urban light rail networks. Stations serving solely the London Underground, light rail, special tours or heritage railways are therefore excluded. The London Overground and Elizabeth line are included in the data. Data for 2022–23 was published on 14 December 2023.

All stations

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During 2022–23 there were 18 stations with more than 20 million entries and exits, compared to 9 stations the previous year and 20 in 2019–20.

Rank Railway station Annual entries/exits

(millions)

2022–23[3]

Annual entries/exits

(millions)

2021–22

Location Main services Number of platforms Interchange systems Image
1 London Liverpool Street 80.448 32.165 London
19[note 2] London Underground
2 London Paddington 59.182 23.870 London
15[note 3] London Underground
3 London Waterloo 57.789 41.426 London
24[note 4] London Underground
4 London Bridge 47.657 33.309 London
15 London Underground
5 London Victoria 45.563 36.776 London
19 London Underground
6 Stratford 44.136 28.182 London
9[note 5]
7 Tottenham Court Road 34.877 N/A London Elizabeth line 2[note 6] London Underground
8 London St Pancras International 33.296 18.995 London
15
9 Farringdon 31.459 6.865 London
  • Thameslink
  • Elizabeth line
 4[note 6] London Underground
10 London Euston 31.318 23.097 London
18 London Underground
11 Birmingham New Street 30.726 22.682 Birmingham
12 West Midlands Metro
12 Leeds 23.964 19.263 Leeds
  • East Coast Main Line
  • Midland Main Line
  • Cross Country Route
 18
13 Manchester Piccadilly 23.558 19.581 Manchester West Coast Main Line 14 Manchester Metrolink
14 Whitechapel 23.307 9.273 London
  • London Overground
  • Elizabeth line
 4[note 6] London Underground
15 London King's Cross 23.287 20.476 London East Coast Main Line 11[note 7] London Underground
16 Clapham Junction 20.790 17.397 London
  • South West Main Line
  • West of England Main Line
  • Brighton Main Line
  • London Overground
 17
17 Glasgow Central 20.767 15.322 Glasgow West Coast Main Line 17 Glasgow Subway[note 8]
18 Highbury & Islington 20.601 17.816 London
6[note 6] London Underground
19 Bond Street 19.400 N/A London Elizabeth line 2[note 6] London Underground
20 East Croydon 18.514 14.504 London
  • Brighton Main Line
  • Thameslink
 6 Tramlink

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Waterloo had been the busiest station for over a decade, except for during 2020-21 when Stratford was the busiest station.
  2. ^ One platform was removed and two added with the opening of the Elizabeth line
  3. ^ Excluding London Underground, platform 13 closed, two platforms were added with the opening of the Elizabeth line
  4. ^ Platforms 25 and 26 are part of the London Underground
  5. ^ Excluding London Underground and Docklands Light Railway, 4 and 7 disused, 3A, 4A, 4B, and 10A exist
  6. ^ a b c d e Excluding London Underground
  7. ^ Platform numbering starts at 0
  8. ^ St Enoch station is close by

References

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  1. ^ "Estimates of station usage 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023" (PDF). Office of Rail and Road. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Station usage quality and methodology report" (PDF). Office of Rail and Road data portal. Office of Rail and Road. 25 November 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Estimates of station usage". ORR Data Portal. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
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