The Department for Transport (DfT) has named the “10 busiest trains in England and Wales” – with the top two 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.
The 7.03am train south 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.
Third 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…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Independent Travel…