10 busiest trains in England and Wales, revealed

One rush-hour train through London carries more than twice as many passengers as seats available, new government figures reveal.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has published a list of the 10 busiest trains in England and Wales in autumn 2023. All but one are London commuter services, with the exception serving Cardiff Central.Topping the list was the 7.33am from Bedford via Luton airport, London and Gatwick airport to Three Bridges in Sussex.

Approaching London St Pancras International the train had more passengers standing than seated, with a “maximum load factor” of 204 per cent. The Independent calculates 537 passengers were obliged to stand.

The Thameslink train has now been extended to 12 carriages, with an average of “only” 187 passengers standing.

Next in the list: Chiltern Railways’ 7.46am departure from Prince’s Risborough in Buckinghamshire, which on the final leg of the journey had almost two-thirds more passengers (65 per cent) than seats available.

The train operator says it has introduced additional peak services in Buckinghamshire to help reduce crowding on midweek services, and is seeking DfT approval “to bring additional carriages into service over the next 12 months”.

Wales takes third place with an afternoon train that begins at Gloucester in England but which is at its busiest between Cardiff and Bridgend. The Transport for Wales (TfW) 2.57pm from Gloucester to Maesteg has 62 per cent more passengers than seats after it leaves the Welsh capital. TfW says it is making timetable changes in December that it is “confident will spread out demand across several services”.

Early boarders of the 6.10am from Portsmouth Harbour to London Waterloo can be confident of a seat. But after passing through Guildford and Woking this South Western Railway service carries 57 per cent more passengers than there are seats, making it the fourth-busiest train. A stop at Vauxhall relieves some of the pressure before the final three minutes to Waterloo.

The rail firm plans to increase this train to 12 coaches, the maximum possible length, in December 2024, adding a further 126 standard seats.

London Euston is the departure point for the fifth-most crowded train, in the shape of the 5.46pm to Crewe. This is run by London Northwestern Railway, and is mainly a commuter service – with 55 per…