List of busiest railway stations in Great Britain (2021–22)

This is a list of the busiest railway stations in Great Britain on the National Rail network for the 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 financial year. The dataset records patterns of mobility during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, with significantly reduced levels of mobility compared with the 2019–20 data. Extended periods of significantly reduced commuting and long distance travel caused many major stations to drop in the ranking. During 2021–22 there were 990 million passenger journeys on the network, compared to 388 million in 2020–21 and 1,739 million in 2019–20.[1] With pandemic restrictions eliminated during the year, passenger levels during 2021–22 were more than double those of the previous year. The busiest station was London Waterloo, replacing Stratford which was top of the ranking the previous year.

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 2021–22. 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, TfL Rail and Merseyrail are included in the data. Data for 2021–22 was published on 24 November 2022.

All stations

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During 2021–22 there were 24 stations with more than 10 million entries and exits, compared to five stations the previous year and 43 in 2019–20.

Rank Railway station Annual entries/exits

(millions)

2021–22[3]

Annual entries/exits

(millions)

2020–21[4]

Location Main services Number of platforms Interchange systems Image
1 London Waterloo 41.426 12.215 London 24[note 1] London Underground  
2 London Victoria 36.776 13.791 London 19 London Underground  
3 London Bridge 33.309 13.764 London 15 London Underground  
4 London Liverpool Street 32.165 11.212 London 17[note 2] London Underground  
5 Stratford 28.182 13.985 London
  • Great Eastern Main Line
  • Lea Valley Lines
  • London Overground
  • TfL Rail
9[note 3]
 
6 London Paddington 23.870 6.392 London 13[note 4] London Underground  
7 London Euston 23.097 6.607 London
18 London Underground  
8 Birmingham New Street 22.682 7.351 Birmingham
13 West Midlands Metro  
9 London King's Cross 20.476 4.668 London East Coast Main Line 11[note 5] London Underground  
10 Manchester Piccadilly 19.581 5.188 Manchester West Coast Main Line 14 Manchester Metrolink  
11 Leeds 19.263 5.854 Leeds
  • East Coast Main Line
  • Midland Main Line
  • Cross Country Route
18  
12 London St Pancras International 18.995 6.363 London 15
 
13 Highbury & Islington 17.816 8.661 London
6[note 6] London Underground  
14 Clapham Junction 17.397 8.371 London
  • South West Main Line
  • West of England Main Line
  • Brighton Main Line
  • London Overground
17  
15 London Charing Cross 15.733 5.373 London South Eastern Main Line 6 London Underground  
16 Glasgow Central 15.322 5.325 Glasgow West Coast Main Line 17 Glasgow Subway[note 7]  
17 East Croydon 14.504 6.695 London Brighton Main Line 6 Tramlink  
18 Canada Water 13.645 5.576 London London Overground 2[note 6] London Underground  
19 Edinburgh Waverley 13.617 2.958 Edinburgh
  • East Coast Main Line
  • West Coast Main Line
20 Edinburgh Trams  
20 Vauxhall 11.651 4.987 London South West Main Line 8 London Underground  
21 Barking 11.232 6.743 London 5[note 6] London Underground  
22 Brighton 11.228 4.149 Brighton 8  
23 Liverpool Central 10.747 3.606 Liverpool Merseyrail 3  
24 Liverpool Lime Street 10.464 3.511 Liverpool
10  
25 Wimbledon 9.952 4.433 London South West Main Line 4[note 8]
  • London Underground
  • Tramlink
 
26 Whitechapel 9.273 4.142 London London Overground 2[note 6] London Underground  
27 Reading 8.818 2.963 Reading Great Western Main Line 15  
28 Glasgow Queen Street 8.467 2.299 Glasgow Glasgow to Edinburgh line 9 Glasgow Subway[note 9]  
29 York 8.091 1.836 York East Coast Main Line 11  
30 London Fenchurch Street 7.795 3.200 London London, Tilbury and Southend line 4  
31 London Marylebone 7.488 2.035 London Chiltern Main Line 6 London Underground  
32 Cardiff Central 7.463 1.975 Cardiff South Wales Main Line 8  
33 West Ham 7.450 4.012 London London, Tilbury and Southend line 2[note 10] London Underground

Docklands Light Railway

 
34 Sheffield 7.205 1.907 Sheffield Midland Main Line 9[note 11] Sheffield Supertram
 
35 Newcastle 7.040 8.815 Newcastle East Coast Main Line 12 Tyne and Wear Metro  
36 London Cannon Street 7.023 2.684 London South Eastern Main Line 7 London Underground  
37 Cambridge 6.952 2.301 Cambridge West Anglia Main Line 8  
38 Farringdon 6.865 2.643 London Thameslink 2[note 6] London Underground  
39 Bristol Temple Meads 6.628 2.033 Bristol
13  
40 Richmond 6.423 2.699 London London Overground 7 London Underground  
41 Romford 6.287 3.133 London
  • Great Eastern Main Line
  • London Overground
  • TfL Rail
5  
42 Tottenham Hale 6.096 2.652 London West Anglia Main Line 3[note 6] London Underground  
43 London Blackfriars 5.982 2.100 London Thameslink 4[note 6] London Underground  
44 Gatwick Airport 5.919 1.686 Crawley Brighton Main Line 7  
45 Manchester Victoria 5.820 1.542 Manchester 6 Manchester Metrolink  
46 Seven Sisters 5.400 2.359 London London Overground 2[note 6] London Underground  
47 Willesden Junction 5.357 2.796 London London Overground 5 London Underground  
48 Lewisham 5.248 2.555 London 4 Docklands Light Railway  
49 Nottingham 5.202 1.417 Nottingham Midland Main Line 7 Nottingham Express Transit  
50 Waterloo East 5.109 2.194 London
  • South Eastern Main Line
  • North Kent Line
4 London Underground  
51 Oxford 5.013 1.575 Oxford 4  
52 Shepherd's Bush 5.009 2.272 London London Overground 2 London Underground  
53 Surbiton 4.987 1.945 London South West Main Line 4  
54 Shoreditch High Street 4.843 1.403 London London Overground 2  
55 Moorfields 4.808 1.613 Liverpool Merseyrail 3  
56 Ealing Broadway 4.768 2.066 London
  • Great Western Main Line
  • TfL Rail
4[note 6] London Underground  
57 Ilford 4.754 2.536 London TfL Rail 4[note 12]  
58 Coventry 4.636 1.747 Coventry
  • West Coast Main Line
  • Cross Country Route
4  
59 Finsbury Park 4.599 2.014 London
  • Northern City Line
  • Thameslink
4[note 6] London Underground  
60 Bromley South 4.600 2.025 London 4  

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Platforms 25 and 26 are part of the London Underground
  2. ^ One platform was removed in preparation for the Elizabeth line
  3. ^ Excluding London Underground and Docklands Light Railway, 4 and 7 disused, 3A, 4A, 4B, and 10A exist
  4. ^ Excluding London Underground, platform 13 closed
  5. ^ Platform numbering starts at 0
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Excluding London Underground
  7. ^ St Enoch station is close by
  8. ^ Excludes London Underground, 10a and 10b are Tramlink
  9. ^ Buchanan Street station is close by
  10. ^ Excluding London Underground and Docklands Light Railway
  11. ^ 9 train, 2 tram
  12. ^ 4 operational; 1 disused

References

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  1. ^ "Estimates of station usage 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022" (PDF). Office of Rail and Road. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  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". dataportal.orr.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  4. ^ "Estimates of station usage". Office of Rail and Road data portal. Office of Rail and Road. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
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