please empty your brain below

So, let me see if I understand it all correctly. 'Generally speaking' stations are busy/busy'ish from say 07:15-08:45 & 16:45-19:00 give or take 15mins either way. Hope someone, somewhere, wasn't over-paid coming-up with that insight bit of info!

Perhaps supermarkets will also cough-up such enlightening stats as to when they are busy...but I think most people can save them the time and trouble.

(PVH 6.5)
Maybe Bayswater is busier at that time as the majority of shops at Whiteleys open at 10.00am?
Grumpy Anon
Not forgetting stations in the outer areas are busier in the morning peak period with commuters travelling towards the central area and stations in the central area are busier in the afternoon peak with commuters heading home to the outer areas.
Fascinating.
Interesting that Richmond is so much later in the mornings than Kew Gardens, one stop further in on the District Line. Presumably this is because we benefit from 19 minute fast services to Waterloo, and 15 to Vauxhall On the mainline, rather negating the need to jump on the Tube at the crack of dawn for those heading that way.
The 'busiest time' stats for some mainline stations would be entertaining (if they were available).

East Croydon, for example, has a peak between 09:25 and 09:27 (Monday to Friday) as the silver-haired brigade who have packed the booking hall from about 09:10 surge through the barriers with their Freedom Passes and off-peak tickets.

(The gates have been tweaked so the official 09:30 start time is 5 mins earlier. Because of those looong ramps, perhaps?)
The three hour long PM peak stations in the West End all have large inward flows from people heading home but also large exit flows with people heading to shops, pubs, restaurants etc.

Having worked at Leic Sq for years I'm surprised its peak doesn't stretch later. I'd also love to see how close to the main peak numbers are those for its second late night peak where the station can be jammed full of people heading home or elsewhere in the West End before last trains depart.

If the Night Tube ever starts and is a success how long before we see a second set of info for the "busiest time to catch the Night Tube" at some stations (given the lower frequencies / longer wait times)?
No data published for DLR?
As someone who has children at Uxbridge college, I wonder if that anomaly is due to students from there, (and also nearby Brunel Uni) heading home, along with all the shoppers and retail staff from the 2 shopping centres closing for the day?
The change at Uxbridge in the 20+ years I've lived here has been very noticeable. As well as students and shop workers there are also those who work in several large office complexes. These figures do show how difficult it would be to bring in an understandable smarter range of cheap fares to encourage people to switch to quieter times of day.
Completely take the point re Uxbridge and smarter pricing; especially as there is plenty of capacity at Uxbridge, given that all trains start there. And in the evening those commuters are, I assume, heading to relatively local destinations so won't be causing congestion up in central London.

The other possible reason for the Uxbridge anomaly is that those heading to London will be leaving quite early and the mass of them won't coincide with the morning's inbound students, shop workers etc, whereas there may be some overlap in the evening.
For some reason people departing Northfields and Boston Manor stations wake up 15 minutes later than those departing South Ealing.
RayL,

For "East Croydon" read "almost any station in the London area with a (non-TfL) train departing to London shortly after 9.30am".

I suspect that the busiest time of the week at Mornington Crescent is actually on a Sunday. However, since the objective on this day is to encourage people to use Mornington Crescent (instead of exit-only Camden Town) and this is irrelevant for most days of the week, it sensibly hasn't been mentioned.
Pedantic,
From observation, East Croydon is a special case (perhaps because it offers so many possible routes). Other non-TfL stations will be busy but not to the extent of East Croydon.
TfL-run stations with non-TfL trains (such as nearby West Croydon) do not have the same time restriction on the gateline. I'm not suggesting, of course, that one should board a Southern service before one is supposed to, but if there is a need to get to central London early in the morning on a Freedom Pass, then the Overground from West Croydon, with a change at Canada Water if appropriate, is entirely legitimate.
Would be interesting to compare passenger numbers at South Kensington with admission numbers at the museums (NH, NS and V+A).
Wonder whether this is early warning of TfL introducing station-specific peak times for Oyster and Contactless PAYG users?
Just don't use Victoria Underground station during the peak 'cos it's busy! No shit Sherlock!
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/tube-bosses-tell-commuters-dont-travel-through-victoria-at-rushhour-its-too-busy-a3197996.html
I can perhaps understand why no data for Heathrow and Kensington (Olympia) but what of E&C?
Harrow & Wealdstone has 5 fast trains to Euston between 08:00 and 08:45.
Harlesden, Willesden Junction and North Acton all serve the Park Royal area.North Wembley and Uxbridge aalso serve major employment areas.
I can explain Upminster as I'm a local; you've got people living in Havering that will get the fast train from Fenchurch Street (which is not a Tube station of course) then pick up a bus from there to their destinations. Or get the District Line to the stations on the eastern end of that line.
@Kirk
"For some reason people departing Northfields and Boston Manor stations wake up 15 minutes later than those departing South Ealing. "

Surely, it's because it takes slightly longer to get to central London from there. (maybe not fifteen minutes longer, but the time is divided into fifteen minute chunks, and South Ealing falls just one side of a division and Northfields the other side)
I believe the morning peak is actually 0632-0928 in all stations.
@ Timbo - I think the point being made is that S Ealing is *nearer* to Central London but has the earlier peak than places further west. I suspect we may be looking at the influence of local bus connections and / or schools. I know a lot of people change off the 65 at S Ealing. I don't know about local schools though. I am assuming that when TfL say "busiest" they are referring to the total 2 way flow through a station rather than just busiest in a single direction.
@ Grumpy Anon - supermarket peak data is actually available from Google maps.
Funny to see Queensway, which is on the same street as Bayswater, doesn't share the busiest hour with it at all.

Maybe the reason is luggage carriers mostly head for Paddington – I personally pulled luggage between there and Paddington on foot.










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