please empty your brain below
I normally do this much later in the year, but if the data's already ready, let's go now.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 16.05.12 - 7:00 a.m. | #

Can these lists be taken a step further to match annual usage figures with the square meterage of platform/public space at each station to produce a new ranking of the most densely used stations? I know that you have hours of time on your hands DG....

Waterhouse | 16.05.12 - 8:28 a.m. | #

I thought it did not seem a year ago since you last presented the statistics.
Shepherds Bush down in numbers, Stratford up, no doubt due to a Westfields Mall now being available at both stations.
Next years figures should make for some unusual results after the Olympics.
Nice to see Waterloo still there at the top despite the unfortunate removal of international trains from that station.

John | 16.05.12 - 8:29 a.m. | #

Busiest railway platform in Western Europe? Platform 6 at London Bridge (as told to me by a transport planner yesterday.)

ganching | Homepage | 16.05.12 - 8:45 a.m. | #

I cannot believe Dorking West has only 22 passengers a year. How would they know ? If you ask for a ticket there you get a ticket to "Dorking stations" which is also valid at Deepdene and Dorking (main).

Pedantic of Purley | 16.05.12 - 9:38 a.m. | #

Interesting that all of the work at Tottenham Court Road saw it fall out of the Top 10 busiest non-rail tube stations.

Also, it's pretty much a uniform 10%-ish rise at the national rail stations, a result of the ticket gates being closed more often? Seems that way at Waterloo for me: it's later in the evening before they open them all up nowadays.

gooneruk | Homepage | 16.05.12 - 9:42 a.m. | #

@Pedantic of Purley, I heard the only tickets marked specifically 'Dorking West' were those bought from Dorking Deepdene. As this is an unlikely journey it is almost possible to imagine that only 22 are sold each year. Of course you are correct, the actual number using the station will be much higher. I must go and check this out one day. Perhaps dg could go and investigate ;) Out by rail (of course), check out local vineyard, wouldn't want to seemingly promote it by mentioning name, over stepping stones http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonwhite/5034080432/ short climb up Box Hill, return by 465 (london) bus, excellent.

Lorenzo | Homepage | 16.05.12 - 10:57 a.m. | #

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks Lorenzo.

Pedantic of Purley | 16.05.12 - 11:18 a.m. | #

Comment in the railway press from a season ticket holder who uses Dorking West every day, but doesn't get counted because the ticket is valid to Deepdene and gets counted as such!

TCR lost footfall because of the Northern Line closure.

The most interesting climber is Sampford Courtenay, on the private Dartmoor Railway. Like the terminus at Okehampton, it has about 30 trains a year (summer Sundays only) running through from Exeter.

Timbo | 16.05.12 - 11:46 a.m. | #

'Shepherds Bush down in numbers, Stratford up, no doubt due to a Westfields Mall now being available at both stations.'

Indeed John.

SB only fell by 120,000 in spite of Eastfield opening in mid-September 2011, SF on the other hand jumped by almost 20 MILLION. (God knows what the current annualised footfall is now!)

If Canary Wharf footfall does not include the DLR station namesake, then its per-platform footfall must be close(-ish) to that of Victoria.

Edvid | 16.05.12 - 12:58 p.m. | #


I'm curious about which former top ten busiest station not also a National Rail station fell out of the top ten by at least 4 places and what was the drop in ridership (at least 5m passengers it looks like; isn't that a lot?).

martin | 16.05.12 - 1:43 p.m. | #

I'm curious what the top 10 busiest tube stations that don't interchange with anything are. North Greenwich would presumably be fairly high.

Darren | 16.05.12 - 1:55 p.m. | #

@martin

gooneruk's comment above suggests it's Tottenham Court Road that dropped out of the Top Ten, which would make sense as for much of the year it had no Northern Line service.

Timbo | 16.05.12 - 2:13 p.m. | #

@Pedantic of Purley - I was going to post the same thing! Dorking Stations ticket so I'm not sure how they can attribute that to any one journey. Although the last time I tried to catch a train from Dorking West it didn't show up and the screen was broken so I didn't know it was cancelled. I rang up First Great Western and was told the service was cancelled because the guard didn't show up for work. Next train was in two hours and they refused to ask any other trains to make an additional stop there and told me to either wait 2 hours or walk to Dorking Deepdene instead. So if they treat everyone like that maybe the 22 is genuine!

Jon Combe | 16.05.12 - 2:14 p.m. | #

I'm surprised East Croydon comes out above Clapham Junction - though I suppose there is a lot of interchange at CJ rather than entries/exits.

CPgirl | 16.05.12 - 2:58 p.m. | #

re: Highbury & Islington - 16.3m tube and 7.63m NR passengers. How can the numbers entering and leaving the station through the same entrance/ exit be differentiated between the two modes ? (comments apply equally to Richmond/ others. I suppose the Overground falls under 'NR' for these purposes ?

Paul | 16.05.12 - 3:01 p.m. | #


Thanks Timbo. I hadn't noticed gooneruk's comment but, since I don't live in London, I probably wouldn't have put two and two together in any case.

martin | 16.05.12 - 5:49 p.m. | #

@Paul - I would reckon sample surveys to apportion those travellers whose ticket could be valid for either railway. Or something.

Malcolm | 16.05.12 - 10:38 p.m. | #

Is it just me who thinks it's slightly odd that the quietest railway station in the UK is one that serves an airport? When you compare it to the extremely busy stations at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, eighteen passengers for Teesside Airport seems unbelievable.

Andrewh | Homepage | 16.05.12 - 11:16 p.m. | #

Can't believe North Greenwich is busier than Canada Water even with the O2, must be close.

SJM | 17.05.12 - 12:13 a.m. | #

@andrewh - 'serves' is not quite the right word. See the wikipedia entry (other sources of information are available). It has only two trains per week, which call on Sunday. It is a 15 minute walk from the airport.

Of course, this /is/ slightly odd.

Malcolm | 17.05.12 - 12:54 a.m. | #

@ganching - the stat about London Bridge Platform 6 was quoted on page 7 of this 2008 document but I can't see any information on the source of the data
http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/StrategicBusinessPlan/RoutePlans/2008/Route%201%20-%20Kent.pdf

@Lorenzo - thanks for the picture of the stepping stones; it must be 25 years since I last visited them so I'm very happy to know they are still there

@SJM - the figures are for people entering and exiting the station not just interchanging which is why Canada Water, and also Clapham Junction, are not as high as might be expected. Was still surprised to see North Greenwich on the list, though.

And while it is no surprise that the ends of the Central Line and the Metropolitan Line are so little-used, it seems strange to see North Ealing on that list.

Whiff | 17.05.12 - 8:24 a.m. | #

I travelled through Clapham Junction today, en route from Cobham to Waterloo. It could easily be the first time I've ever been there in my life. Yes, it was everything I expected it to be: extremely busy.

RogerW | 17.05.12 - 11:14 p.m. | #

@Darren - I would like to know what the top 10 non-interchange tube stations are too. I reckon Knightsbridge would be pretty near the top.

Matt | 18.05.12 - 4:26 a.m. | #

One day on my way home the signals were out at London Bridge station and the PA was out at Cannon Street, and I got shanghaied to East Croydon by Thameslink. Most of it on a freight siding going 10mph. A real garden spot.

I'd love to see some info like this on TfL bus routes. I'd bet the 188 is in the top 10 for riders.

imajoebob | 18.05.12 - 7:10 a.m. | #

I use Emerson Park quite a lot. It's very handy for my dentist, and also for going to the Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch - but not for coming back from there as the service finishes about 15 minutes into Act 1.

I'm sure a lot more people would use it if they knew it was actually more convenient for Hornchurch than Hornchurch (LU) itself and it's a lot quicker from Liverpool St via Romford than either a slow trundle on the District Line or via Tower Hill/Fenchurch St/c2c/Barking/LU/Hornchurch.

Perhaps they should rename it "Hornchurch Central"? After all, nobody apart from locals knows where Emerson Park is, and it's unlikely that the orange-tanned Footballers-Wives residents of EP ever get out of their Tigras or TTs and use the train.

kenromford | 30.05.12 - 12:38 a.m. | #











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