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UK’s 20 busiest train stations revealed | UK News

Umito November 22, 2024

A woman walking through a crowd of passengers at a busy UK train station. — A London train station has retained its top spot as the UK’s busiest station (Photo: Shutterstock)

The UK’s busiest stations have been named – and one station has retained its top spot for the most passenger rail journeys.

Love it or hate it, train travel remains popular judging by the number of passengers passing through UK train stations each year.

The festive travel season is fast approachingand for many, this will involve passing through the busiest station – London Liverpool Street on the Elizabeth Line.

The central London travel hub was named the busiest in the last year until the end of March.

Passengers in the concourse of London Liverpool Street station. — London Liverpool Street is served by the Greater Anglia, Stansted Express and Elizabeth lines, among others (Photo: Mike Kemp/Getty Images)

We’ve listed the 20 busiest stations, which between them recorded a total of 836 million journeys.

The UK’s busiest train stations

The ten busiest stations are all in London, while five stations outside the capital feature in the top 20 rankings.

London Liverpool Street took first place with around 94.4 million entries and exits in 2023-2024, according to data from the Office of Rail and Road.

The busy station is used by commuters and tourists alike due to Stansted Express, London Underground and National Rail services.

Passenger numbers on Liverpool Street increased by 14.1 million from 80.4 million in 2022-23.

Top 20 busiest stations

London Liverpool Street – 94 499 824
London Paddington – 66 859 098
Tottenham Court Road – 64 219 040
London Waterloo – 62 525 274
Stratford (London) – 56 570 866
London Victoria – 50 829 676
London Bridge – 50 045 010
Farringdon – 46 049 862
Rue Bond – 38 307 986
London Euston – 36 185 290
London St Pancras International – 35,959,980
White Chapel – 35 246 924
Birmingham New Street – 33 335 376
Manchester Piccadilly – 25,776,162
Glasgow Central – 24,964,246
Leeds – 24,891,386
London King’s Cross – 24 483 826
Clapham Junction – 22 858 198
Highbury and Islington – 21,827,580
Edinburgh – 21,307,916

This is believed to be due to increased usage of the Elizabeth Line.

Latest news from London

For the latest news from across the capital, visit Metro.co.uk London Information Center.

London Paddington retained second position, while Tottenham Court Road took over from London Waterloo as third busiest.

People arriving at the London Paddington Station shed which dates from 1854 in the Victorian era and was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel on June 30, 2024 in London, United Kingdom. Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington district. The site has been the London terminus for services provided by the Great Western Railway and its successors since 1838. (photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images) — London Paddington recorded around 67 million entries and exits through its ticket offices (Photo: Mike Kemp/Getty)

London Euston remained the tenth busiest station.

Outside of London, the busiest stations were Birmingham New Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Glashow Central, Leeds and Edinburgh.

What about the least used station?

The quietest station is Denton in Greater Manchester.

There were only 54 entries and exits last year and it is only served by two Northern trains per week – one to Stockport and one to Stalybridge on Saturday mornings.

It may seem strange to operate these services, but getting permission to close a route is more difficult than arranging for a train to stop.

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