Major rail station use increased year-on-year, claims figures

Author: Ashley Curtis - 05 April 2013

A handful of major railway stations up and down the country are getting busier, according to official figures.

Reported by daventryexpress.co.uk, statistics from the Office of Rail Regulation suggest nearly five per cent more journeys were made to and from the ten busiest train stations in 2011/12 compared with 2010/11.

Birmingham New Street station contributed to that increase, claims itv.com, with over 25 per cent more passengers passing through the station in 2011/12.

Overall, the busiest station in 2011/12 was Waterloo in London with more than 94 million passengers passing through. The next busiest was London Victoria, with a 3.6 per cent rise in passengers to more than 76 million.

However with this success comes a problem, as some train stations may have to start rethinking their station design in order to increase capacity.

A Department for Transport spokesman believes that crowding could become a problem if stations were left alone: "The railways are an undoubted success as shown by this increase in journey numbers, but this kind of success does mean we are faced with the challenge of providing extra capacity to tackle potential crowding at stations.

"That is why the government is investing record amounts into improving railway infrastructure and services...," claimed the spokesman.