The busiest UK train stations have been named – and one station has retained its top spot with most passenger rail journeys.
Whether you love it or hate it, train travel remains popular judging by the number of passengers going through UK stations each year.
The festive travel season is almost upon us, and for many it will involve travelling through the busiest train station – London Liverpool Street on the Elizabeth line.
The central London travel hub was named the busiest last year to the end of March.
We have listed the top 20 busiest stations which recorded a whopping 836 million journeys between them.
UK’s busiest train stations
The ten busiest stations are all in London, while five stations outside the capital made the top 20 ranking.
London Liverpool Street took the top stop with around 94.4 million entries and exits in 2023-24, data from the Office of Rail and Road shows.
The busy station is used by commuters and tourists alike due to the Stansted Express, London Underground and National Rail connections.
The passenger numbers at Liverpool Street are up by 14.1 million from 80.4 million in 2022-23.
Top 20 busiest railway 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
- Bond Street – 38,307,986
- London Euston – 36,185,290
- London St Pancras International – 35,959,980
- Whitechapel – 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 said to be due to the increased usage of the Elizabeth line.
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London Paddington retained the second position, while Tottenham Court Road took over London Waterloo as the third busiest.
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.
It only had 54 entries and exits last year and it is served by only two Northern trains per week – one to Stockport and one to Stalybridge on Saturday morning.
It might seem odd to run these services, but getting permission to close a route is harder than arranging for a train to stop.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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