‘10 busiest trains in England’ named as passenger numbers bounce back

The Department for Transport (DfT) has named the “10 busiest trains in England and Wales” – with three of the top five on the same route, from Bedford to central London.

According to the data, covering a 12-week spell from mid-September last year, the 7.15am and 7.30am Thameslink departures had 79 per cent and 84 per cent more passengers than seats, respectively – more than any other trains.

The 7.03am departure from Bedford takes fifth place, with 63 per cent more “passengers in excess of capacity” – PiXC, in the industry jargon.

But the train operator says, in fact, there is plenty of space on board – with the DfT having specified fewer seats and more standing room on the particular trains used.

A spokesperson for Thameslink said: “We constantly monitor crowding on our services and take action where necessary to give our passengers the best possible service.

“However, these huge 12-carriage trains, almost a quarter of a kilometre long and designed to carry up to 1,620 people seated and standing, actually arrived in London with plenty of room on board – just 67 per cent full in the worst case.

“The problem is this survey doesn't reflect the fact that Thameslink trains, unlike other UK carriages, were specified by the DfT to be built as people-movers with fewer seats and lots of standing space.

“This low density of seating sensibly allows more passengers to board services and travel in comfort on this busy commuter route.

“Standing space was left out of the calculations only because the train took one minute longer than the 20-minute threshold between its last station stop and London.”

On journeys of 20 minutes or less, an allowance for a proportion of passenger standing is made – meaning that many super-crowded services are not included in the figures.

The joint-second and fourth most crowded pair are both on West Midlands Trains: the 5.46pm departure from London Euston to Milton Keynes Central, and the 7.54am from Leamington Spa to Birmingham – the only train that does not include London.

All the remainder are London commuter trains.

Places six, eight and 10 are taken by newly renationalised South Western Railway on the link between Woking in Surrey and London.

Chiltern Railways is seventh and ninth on links to and from London Marylebone: a morning rush-hour train from Haddenham & Thame Parkway, and an evening departure with multiple stops to Buckinghamshire.

The DfT says: “Chiltern and the DFT are working together to bring in additional rolling stock and capacity.”

The new figures also show that passenger numbers have increased above pre-Covid levels. The DfT says: “On a typical autumn day in 2024, there were on average 1,865,000 passenger arrivals into major cities in England and Wales.”

This was a 1.6 per cent increase on the figure for 2019, and the highest number of daily arrivals since these statistics began being collected in 2010.

But it is somewhat distorted by the launch of London’s Elizabeth Line, which has persuaded many thousands of commuters each day to switch from the capital’s creaky Underground network to the new east-west railway.

Top 10 most crowded trains in England and Wales – with the percentage of “passengers in excess of capacity” at the busiest stage of the journey. All are Monday to Friday services.

1. Thameslink, 7.30am Bedford to London St. Pancras, 84%

=2. Thameslink, 7.15am Bedford to London St Pancras, 79%

=2. West Midlands Trains, 5.46pm London Euston to Crewe, 79%

4. West Midlands Trains, 7.54am Leamington Spa to Birmingham Snow Hill, 72%

5. Thameslink, 7.03am Bedford to London St Pancras, 63%

6. South Western Railway, 5.35pm London Waterloo to Weymouth, 61%

7. Chiltern Railways, 6.14am Stourbridge Junction to London Marylebone, 58%

8. South Western Railway, 6pm London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour, 56%

9. Chiltern Railways, 6.59 London Marylebone to Aylesbury Vale Parkway, 55%

10. South Western Railway, 6.27am Fareham to London Waterloo, 53%

Source: Department for Transport (DfT). The Thameslink trains mentioned continue south from London but are less crowded after London St Pancras International.