England’s busiest trains have been revealed by Government statisticians – with three of the top five within half an hour on the same commuter line into London.
The 7.30am Thameslink service from Bedford to London St Pancras had an 184 per cent ‘load factor’ – meaning nearly twice the number of passengers than capacity.
The 7.15am train on the same route was in second at 179 per cent, while the 7.03am service was fifth at 163 per cent, according to the Department for Transport (DfT).
The West Midlands Trains 5.46pm London Euston to Crewe was third at 179 per cent; and the 7.54am Leamington Spa to Birmingham Snow Hill fourth at 172 per cent.
South Western Railway had three entries – in sixth for the 5.35pm London Waterloo to Weymouth at 161 per cent; eighth for the 6pm Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour at 156 per cent; and tenth for the 6.27am Fareham to Waterloo at 153 per cent.
Chiltern had the 6.14am Stourbridge Junction to Marylebone in seventh at 158 per cent; and the 6.59pm Marylebone to Aylesbury Vale Parkway in ninth at 155 per cent.
The DfT research covered England and Wales, but the top ten were all in England. It calculated the load factor by dividing the passenger numbers in standard class carriages by the total capacity – covering standard seats and standing allowance.
For shorter journeys, where the journey time between stations is 20 minutes or fewer, a standing allowance may be applied depending on the rolling stock.
For services where the journey time is greater than 20 minutes, no standing allowance was permitted regardless of rolling stock.
The DfT added that data for last autumn – over a 12-week spell from mid-September – was collected before the December 2024 timetable change and therefore ‘may not provide a guide to current crowding’.
While Thameslink came out on top, the operator claimed its trains are not overcrowded because of the layout of the carriages which are intended to provide significant standing space.
A Thameslink spokesman 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 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.’
| Train operating company (TOC) | Service Description | Point of Maximum Load | Maximum Load Factor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thameslink | 07:30 Bedford to 09:40 Three Bridges | London St. Pancras International | 184% |
| 2 | Thameslink | 07:15 Bedford to 09:00 Three Bridges | London St. Pancras International | 179% |
| 3 | West Midlands Trains | 17:46 London Euston to 19:57 Crewe | London Euston | 179% |
| 4 | West Midlands Trains | 07:54 Leamington Spa to 08:34 Birmingham Snow Hill | Birmingham Moor Street | 172% |
| 5 | Thameslink | 07:03 Bedford to 08:59 East Grinstead | London St. Pancras International | 163% |
| 6 | South Western Railway | 17:35 London Waterloo to 20:19 Weymouth | Vauxhall | 161% |
| 7 | Chiltern Railways | 06:14 Stourbridge Junction to 08:42 London Marylebone | London Marylebone | 158% |
| 8 | South Western Railway | 18:00 London Waterloo to 19:39 Portsmouth Harbour | Vauxhall | 156% |
| 9 | Chiltern Railways | 18:59 London Marylebone to 20:07 Aylesbury Vale Parkway | Harrow-On-The-Hill | 155% |
| 10 | South Western Railway | 06:27 Fareham to 08:19 London Waterloo | Vauxhall | 153% |
| Data collected by the Department for Transport over a 12-week period from mid-September 2024 | ||||
The Thameslink trains referenced in the data continue south from London but are not as crowded after stopping at St Pancras.
In addition, the ‘crowding’ figures are for the last stop of the journey only – not the whole journey – into London.
And since the survey last autumn, Thameslink has also lengthened the 7.03am service to a 12-coach train.
A Chiltern Railways spokesman said: ‘We are working with the Department for Transport to bring in additional capacity which will deliver easier, greener, and better train travel for our customers.’
MailOnline has also contacted West Midlands Trains and South Western Railway for comment.
The DfT release also revealed that the number of rail passengers travelling into cities across England and Wales is now above pre-pandemic levels.
However, overcrowding on the morning commute has eased because of changing work and travel patterns due to hybrid working.
Nearly 1.9million boarded a train into a city on a typical weekday last autumn – which is the highest level since records began for such data in 2010.
But about 13 per cent fewer passengers arrived during the morning peak than in 2019.
The data also revealed that arrivals into all London stations grew in the year to autumn 2024, particularly at Paddington and Liverpool Street which are used by Elizabeth line trains.
