Trivia: Busiest platform in the UK? (most passenger services per day)

[Mountain Man]

Being in London this week with all the posters for increased service frequency on the Elizabeth line got me thinking, based on usual usage patterns what is the busiest platform in the UK in terms of trains per day? Obviously station data for passengers is produced but I've never seen platform data.

I assume it is now one of the Crossrail core ones, but any ideas of what it would be with or without Elizabeth line? My initial thought was 13/14 at Manchester Piccadilly or one of the platforms at Clapham Junction?

Apologies if this has already been discussed

 

[basfordlad]

Platform 13/14 must indees be very busy

 

[jdp30]

Thameslink core?

 

[185143]

Platform 13/14 must indees be very busy

I've heard that at least in pre Covid times, more people used 13+14 than platforms 1-12. And from extensive experience could well believe it.

 

[swt_passenger]

I've heard that at least in pre Covid times, more people used 13+14 than platforms 1-12. And from extensive experience could well believe it.

The original question was about trains per day at a platform, not numbers of people.

 

[Lewlew]

If including the tube, then the Victoria line. Pre covid there was a train every 60-90 seconds

 

[185143]

The original question was about trains per day at a platform, not numbers of people.

Ah, my apologies.

In which case I suspect somewhere like Clapham Junction may be the winner.

Pre Covid, MAN 14 had:
xx:01 Blackpool
xx:05 Middlesbrough
xx:09 Liverpool
xx:18 Southport
xx:22 Liverpool
xx:26 Scotland
xx:31 Blackpool
xx:35 Newcastle
xx:39 Liverpool
xx:52 North Wales

 

[Tetchytyke]

My initial thought was 13/14 at Manchester Piccadilly or one of the platforms at Clapham Junction?

I’d go with the Thameslink core or the City Loop of the Wirral Line in Liverpool.

 

[PGAT]

Elizabeth Line has 24tph in core stations. Thameslink has 18tph in core stations.

Clapham Junction has 36tph to Waterloo (and more that don't stop) but not all of them depart from the same platform. From Platform 10 there are 14tph, which I believe is as much as you're going to get.

London Bridge is also a fair shout, as the Cannon Street, Charing Cross and ThamesLink platforms have at least 10tph each.

 

[cadder toad]

Partick eastbound has 14tph around 0830. There may be busier periods of one hour - I only looked at mornings

 

[Mountain Man]

The original question was about trains per day at a platform, not numbers of people.

I didn't even contemplate asking it in terms of passengers as the added variable of differing numbers of passengers per train would make it even harder. I think in terms of passengers it would make Manchester Piccadilly 13/14 less likely as answer as the trains are typically not as long as some of the other suggestions

 

[Thirteen]

I know it's not real but Platform 9 and Three Quarters?

 

[BeijingDave]

I would be quite interested to find out which is the least busy in a given year, while still having occasional services call.

Maybe Penrith platform 3.

 

[zwk500]

I know it's not real but Platform 9 and Three Quarters?

6 trains a year, isn't that one? (Beginning and end of each term)

 

[DynamicSpirit]

6 trains a year, isn't that one? (Beginning and end of each term)

3 a year if you're only counting departures (which seems the sensible way to do it). So yeah, I definitely can't see that being the busiest

 

[Stephen42]

With some cheating by querying a personal timetable database, agree the answer would be the Crossrail core platforms these days. I'm taking the permanent timetable for a Wednesday in August and assuming that any trains passing over midnight are the same as the previous day. Counting each train that could be alighted/boarded/both.

Both directions and all from Paddington to Whitechapel have the same number of trains by my logic at 331 for the day. The next hasn't been mentioned yet so in a spoiler if anyone wants to guess:

Spoiler

East London Line stretch Haggerston to Surrey Quays inclusive southbound platform 2 (or 3 or 6 depending on the station) at 293

Then in a close 3rd place after the other direction of the above are the Thameslink core stations. For Clapham Junction 11 then 10 are the busiest, Wimbledon 5 and 8 are similar in the 250s per day. I think the busiest at London Bridge is platform 9 with 181 trains closely followed by the Thameslink platforms though it will vary through the week.

 

[Magdalia]

I would be quite interested to find out which is the least busy in a given year, while still having occasional services call.

There is an interesting example that is the other side of the Crossrail coin.

Platforms 16-18 at Liverpool Street now see very little use. I have followed the Wednesday in August method.

Platform 17 has some peak hour trains, but, as far as I can see, platform 16 only has the 0554 to Shenfield and platform 18 nothing at all.

Someone who can do the cheating can do proper counts.

But I'm guessing one of the "parliamentary" stations would be the winner?

 

[Kite159]

There is an interesting example that is the other side of the Crossrail coin.

Platforms 16-18 at Liverpool Street now see very little use. I have followed the Wednesday in August method.

Platform 17 has some peak hour trains, but, as far as I can see, platform 16 only has the 0554 to Shenfield and platform 18 nothing at all.

Someone who can do the cheating can do proper counts.

But I'm guessing one of the "parliamentary" stations would be the winner?

Would be hard to get something into platform 18 at Liverpool Street at it doesn't exist anymore.

 

[Magdalia]

Would be hard to get something into platform 18 at Liverpool Street at it doesn't exist anymore.

Ah! I was at Liverpool Street not long ago but only on the west side.

I should have checked the OTT map, or similar.

 

[Ianigsy]

In an average hour, the Wirral Line platforms at any Liverpool city centre station will see 16 departures - four each to New Brighton, West Kirby and Chester and two to Ellesmere Port.

 

[Thirteen]

3 a year if you're only counting departures (which seems the sensible way to do it). So yeah, I definitely can't see that being the busiest

I mean the Hogwarts Express isn't on the ORR stats so we can't say for sure...

 

[DynamicSpirit]

In an average hour, the Wirral Line platforms at any Liverpool city centre station will see 16 departures - four each to New Brighton, West Kirby and Chester and two to Ellesmere Port.

3 times 4 plus 2 doesn't make 16

 

[ruaival]

This is going to end up being a station on a busy line but with few platforms - the just 2 platforms at City Thameslink is an obvious choice on that busy (non-Underground) route across the capital or the just 4(ish) platforms at both Haymarket near Edinburgh Waverley or Stockport near Manchester Piccadilly. Frequency of trains will drop off away from the major cities and larger stations will spread the load across more platforms (even quiet Inverness has 7!)

What a good question.

 

[Dome97]

I mean the Hogwarts Express isn't on the ORR stats so we can't say for sure...

Hogwartius expellius!

 

[100andthirty]

With 36 trains per hour, peak and 27 TPH off peak in each direction, the honour has to go to the Victoria line stations Finsbury Park to Brixton. North of Finsbury Park a small number of trains serving the third platform at Seven Sisters and the depot split off from the line to Walthamstow, so the beyond Seven Sisters is slightly reduced.

 

[Mountain Man]

So outside of the London area, it's likely one of the Wirral line platforms?

Thinking of stations not mentioned, are there any candidates at Birmingham New Street? Obviously the number of services are very high but are there simply too many platforms for one single one to have really high numbers?

 

[DynamicSpirit]

So outside of the London area, it's likely one of the Wirral line platforms?

I would think so. The ones at the Liverpool end would have had 14 tph pre covid. I can't think of anywhere else outside London that can match that.

It would have to be a high frequency metro service with no nearby conflicting moves as otherwise you couldn't get that capacity on one single track. Which is why stations like Preston or Birmingham New Street or almost any terminus won't win this one.

 

[kkong]

I would think so. The ones at the Liverpool end would have had 14 tph pre covid. I can't think of anywhere else outside London that can match that.

Partick?

 

[sjm77]

Elizabeth Line and Thameslink core have to be the winners on National Rail surely. By contrast Manchester Picadilly 13/14 do not come anywhere close.

For London Underground you have the 36 tph peak time frequency on the Victoria line however the question from Mountain Man was quite specific in terms of 'most passenger services per day' in which case I would like to nominate Cornbrook on Manchester Metrolink which has (Monday to Saturday) 35tph from ~7am until 7pm with less before and after

 

[Robert Ambler]

For outside London I would suggest the Glasgow Subway which has a peak frequency of a train every four minutes and an off peak frequency of a train every 6-8 minutes (assuming we are excluding tramway/light rail systems).