please empty your brain below
Didn’t Teesside Airport eastbound platorm close first? Because you cant exit from the eastbound without using the footbridge whuch takes you to the westbound, hence the eastbound closed first, followed later by the westbound.

( Great stats, thanks! )

dg writes: switched thanks

clive | 22.11.24 - 7:15 a.m. | #

I was just engaging myself with last year's data, and this was posted! Thank you for a good morning read.

Stanley V | 22.11.24 - 7:51 a.m. | #

It must be a relief that Meridian Water doesn't feature in then least used London stations, unlike its predecessor.

Reading doesn't seem to have had any serious Crossrail bump, as it was a major station before the service started. Crossrail passengers have just moved across from previous ones.

Mikey C | 22.11.24 - 8:06 a.m. | #

Alongside the 13 mentioned National Rail Termini of London, Moorgate should also count as a London Terminus (especially in contrast to other Termini like Blackfriars which is a fully through station).

A3 | 22.11.24 - 8:53 a.m. | #

I always wonder how different those Sutton Loop numbers would look if it had been the Northern Line extended down that way. Although there wouldn't be a South Merton or Wimbledon Chase then, I guess.

Chz | 22.11.24 - 9:03 a.m. | #

Before Crossrail (Elizabeth Line), North and East London was sorely in need of a seamless journey from east to west London, especially to get to Heathrow, for example, either directly or with much fewer changes.

So the growth explosion is the result of this very convenient link. If you're getting to Heathrow, even if you wanted to take the Heathrow Express you would have to trek all the way to Paddington to catch the train.

Now it's much easier to just board a direct train from East London. A massive game changer!

Ell | 22.11.24 - 9:14 a.m. | #

Congratulations to Liverpool Street and Denton!

Ewan | 22.11.24 - 9:17 a.m. | #

Mikey - your point about Reading is quite correct. Really the Elizabeth line has had negligible benefit to Reading directly - the service is (I believe) the same as was provided by the GWR stopper which was replaced, and it's always quicker to wait for a fast train to Paddington and change there than take the Elizabeth Line into town. Obviously Paddington's connectivity is much improved, which benefits Reading passengers' onward journeys.

Ted | 22.11.24 - 9:27 a.m. | #

Seeing East Croydon made me curious what are the other not-TfL London commuter stations. The data portal you link to uses the London region, but I think you may be able to combine this with a wider London commuter region. I expect Watford, St Albans, Guildford, Chelmsford, Dartford, Shenfield, etc, not in order.

Toby | 22.11.24 - 10:17 a.m. | #

Altnabraec (currently 12th least-used) has been closed since November 2023 because of a dispute with a local landowner over access, so expect it to join Stanlow & Thornton and Teesside Airport in the zero list next year

timbo | 22.11.24 - 10:23 a.m. | #

As a Londoner born in the sout-east, I’ve often wondered about the prioritising of Crossrail lines. The first, the Lizzie, runs E-W, but almost entirely north of the Thames. The intended second, Chelsea to the NE, again avoids South London. But then I see the difficulty: where could a N-S line run to satisfy most S. Londoners? Whichever route chosen would leave large tracts of the south unserved. Even if you ignored Thameslink.

Bruce Perkins | 22.11.24 - 10:42 a.m. | #

For a moment I thought Ardwick Locheilside was a renaming of one or the other.

dg writes: No you didn’t. Fixed thanks.

MKIan | 22.11.24 - 11:11 a.m. | #

Bruce: Crossrail 0 - or Thameslink - performs that function

timbo | 22.11.24 - 1:07 p.m. | #

Bruce Perkins - Thameslink does a decent job at serving South London, though some sections, like the Sutton Loop, show that there are areas that maybe don't need a new line

Also, Crossrail 2 (the Chelsea line) will serve South London, at Balham/Tooting and Wimbledon. Unless plans have since changed.

Not that I would mind new rail projects...

All Over 2a | Homepage | 22.11.24 - 1:26 p.m. | #

Just wanted to say thanks, as ever, for your analysis of these figures, always one of your best posts of the year.

Simon | 22.11.24 - 3:55 p.m. | #

Old Street wins my 'not expected to be in that list' category.

Still Anon | 22.11.24 - 4:02 p.m. | #

Unless I'm reading the data wrong (entirely possible) it seems that Heathrow T4 is the least used Crossrail station in London with Hanwell getting almost half a million more passengers? This doesn't seem right.

Chris M | 22.11.24 - 4:24 p.m. | #

Excluding the Crossrail stations, everything on the 2019/20 top ten London list is still down in terms of absolute passenger numbers in this latest wave compared with pre-pandemic figures.

matthieu1221 | 22.11.24 - 5:10 p.m. | #

I am intrigued by your perceptive comment about Whitechapel. Whitechapel is less than one million entries and exits behind Euston. So a growth at Whitechapel of just 3% more than Euston would probably be enough to put it in the top ten.

Not bad considering the business case for Whitechapel was never that good and also it experienced huge cost overruns during construction. If my memory is correct it was something like 9x its budgeted cost.

Furthermore, the figures don't take into account people changing at Whitechapel from the Shenfield branch to get to Canary Wharf.

Presumably passengers changing from the Underground at Whitechapel are included (as they would be at Euston) but those changing from the Overground are not so the figures are even more impressive. If the East London line had still been part of the Underground then presumably it would have already have beaten Euston.

So, probably next year seven of the top ten stations will be Elizabeth line stations. Its statistics like this that indicate that Crossrail was well worth building despite the delays and cost overruns. And they also back up the need for the current order of ten extra trains (with an option for three more).

Pedantic of Purley | 22.11.24 - 5:10 p.m. | #

Chris M - Terminal 4 is a surprisingly little used station (as is the equivalent station on the Piccadilly line). Think of it as a place to reverse trains rather than a station to serve passengers.

Equally, Hanwell has grown enormously in terms of passenger numbers now it has a decent service. If you think Hanwell seems scarcely believable, take a look at Acton Main Line.

I can see before too long that both these stations are going to get six trains an hour which may reduce the disparity between semi-fast and all-stations trains (or may not).

Pedantic of Purley | 22.11.24 - 5:16 p.m. | #

Largest increase in passengers since last year

Meridian Water (↑122%)
Barking Riverside (↑105%)
Acton Main Line (↑103%)
Bond Street (↑97%)
South Greenford (↑85%)
Tottenham Court Road (↑84%)
West Ealing (↑79%)
Custom House (↑75%)
Maryland (↑69%)
Ealing Broadway (↑66%)

The next 10: Hanwell, Woolwich, Southall, Heathrow T23 , Heathrow T5, Heathrow T4, Castle Bar Park, Whitechapel, Ilford, Abbey Wood

diamond geezer | Homepage | 22.11.24 - 5:30 p.m. | #

I can appreciate why the sleepy backwater of Hackney Wick has surged, but scratching my head about increase at Maryland.

dg writes: 🟪

scrumpy | 22.11.24 - 5:41 p.m. | #

You might want to actually add the changes since 2022/2023 to the first list.

A G | 22.11.24 - 9:38 p.m. | #

Okay you are doing the changes in ranking rather than passenger numbers, I see now.... apologies

A G | 22.11.24 - 9:39 p.m. | #

On the few occasions I am in the West End to get home, I tend to take the Liz line to Liv st as just two stops compared to the Central Line so I wonder if the Central Line has lost passengers overall.

Patrick | 22.11.24 - 10:46 p.m. | #

I bet that Meridian Water is far from the least used station in London now - I've seen loads of people disembark there to go nightclubbing in what used to be the Ikea

James | 23.11.24 - 9:28 p.m. | #











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