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Busiest and quietest railway stations in Britain revealed

Getty Images Waterloo ArchGetty Images
Waterloo station arch is a listed building in its own right

London Waterloo is once again the busiest railway station in Britain, after being knocked from the top spot last year by Stratford (London).

Waterloo's passenger numbers though, at 41.4 million, are still less than half of its pre-lockdown figures.

Eight of the top 10 are London stations, with Birmingham New Street and Manchester Piccadilly coming in at eighth and 10th respectively.

Elton and Orston in Nottinghamshire was the least used.

East Midlands Railway schedules "up to two" services a day from the unmanned station, which recorded just 40 passenger entrances.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) estimates station usage for each of the 2,570 stations in Britain.

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London Waterloo

Getty Images Churchill's coffinGetty Images
Sir Winston Churchill's coffin being put on a train at Waterloo - the Battle-of-Britain-Class locomotive was named after him

Waterloo, which opened in 1848, was the busiest British station for 14 years until Stratford (London) took its place for 2020-2021.

Waterloo was the last London terminus to provide steam-powered services - the final steam train went to Bournemouth in 1967.

John Downing AbbaJohn Downing
The Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! railway station was closed that day

It also provided the terminus of the London Necropolis Company, accommodating mourners and holding funeral services before coffins were transported for burial at Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey.

The final journey of British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill started at Waterloo station. His coffin was loaded on to a Battle-of-Britain-Class locomotive named Winston Churchill before travelling to Blenheim Palace for burial.

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Packing lightly for a mini-break in 1913
Getty Images Glasgow CentralGetty Images
Glasgow Central was the busiest in Scotland...

Between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022 there were 24 stations in Great Britain with more than 10 million entries and exits, compared to just five stations over the previous 12 months. There were 43 such stations in the 2019-20 tally.

In Scotland, Glasgow Central remained the most-used station with 15.3 million entries and exits, while Edinburgh was second with 13.6 million.

In Wales, Cardiff Central remained the busiest station in the latest year with 7.5 million. Newport was second.

Getty Images Cardiff CentralGetty Images
And Cardiff Central the busiest in Wales
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Under 100

Getty Images Elton and OrstonGetty Images
Rush hour at Elton and Orston

There were six open stations with fewer than 100 entries and exits in the latest year.

TFW Wales Facilities at Sugar Loaf HaltTFW Wales
Travellers from Sugar Loaf Halt should take a flask and packed lunch (and everything else)
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Feras Alshaker from the ORR said it was "heartening" to see passengers returning to travelling by rail following a difficult period for the industry during the pandemic.

Estimates of station usage are derived from the rail industry's ticketing and revenue system, together with some local ticketing data.

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