Gatwick Airport - Still Busiest Train Station In South East

Tuesday, 1 December 2020 11:16

By Jade McLean

Twenty-one million passengers used the station this year, according to figures published today.

The annual survey of all Britain's stations was carried out by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

It found a drop in passengers at Gatwick of 174,000 entries and exits, however, it still ranks as the 20th most used station in Britain.

Figures showed Brighton came in second with 17,355,572 passengers, followed by Reading (16,753,368), Oxford (8,702,368) and Woking (7,352,236) stations made up the remainder of the top five most used stations across the south east.

The least used station was Finstock in Oxfordshire, with 1,542 entries and exits recorded last year.

The numbers are revealed in ORR's estimate of station usage statistics, which officially records the annual total of passenger entries and exits.

Brighton (29,062), Reading (327,370) and Woking (376,864) all recorded a decrease compared to last year, while Oxford saw entries and exits increase by 431,882.

Waterloo station topped the chart for the sixteenth consecutive year despite the decrease in numbers.

The decline in usage across Great Britain can be partly attributed to the dramatic fall in passenger numbers towards the end March of this year following the impact of COVID-19.

Britain's least used station was Berney Arms in Norfolk which recorded 42 entries and exits during the year.

Last year's least used stations Denton and Stanlow & Thornton increased from 46 to 92 and 82 respectively.

There were six stations across Great Britain with fewer than 100 entries and exits.

Around Great Britain, Glasgow Central (32.5 million) remained the busiest station in Scotland but saw 331,886 fewer passengers, followed by Edinburgh Waverley (23.1 million). In Wales, Cardiff Central recorded 12.7 million entries and exits, a decrease of 2.0% compared to last year.

Jay Symonds, ORR senior statistical analyst, said:

"Despite the dramatic decline in passenger numbers towards the end of March due to Covid-19, Gatwick remains busiest station in south east England.

"Nationally, Waterloo remains top but we saw a change in the least used station with Berney Arms taking the spot from Denton and Stanlow and Thornton.

"With numbers staying at historically low levels during 2020, there is no doubt that next year's figures will look a lot different."