Trivia: Most heavily used single track line

[SWTCommuter]

The single line between Weston-super-Mare and Worle Junction carries up to eight trains per hour.

 

[LAX54]

surely the Felixstowe branch

Further to the Felixstowe Line... this is approx 13 mile line with one passing loop at Derby Road, and has 144 services in a 24 hour period, one train late in the morning, then its late all day, no scope for recovery.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

For bi-directional lines the Mill Hill East branch will probably be up there - a train is operating one way or the other for pretty much most of it's traffic hours.

 

[alistairlees]

The single track tunnel between Tonbridge and High Brooms has 6tph in each direction during the high peak and 4tph in each direction off-peak. If all peak Tonbridge Mainline services become 12-car (as has been recommended by studies) it would lead to there being up to 144 carriages per hour on a bidirectional single track line.

I was going to say that too.

I know the OP asked about number of trains (the route gets up to 10tph passenger per hours, plus a couple of ECS per hour - e.g. between 07.00 and 07.59), so it's not quite the busiest - but it probably is in terms of passenger numbers.

Between 07.00 and 07.59 each of the three 12-car "fast" trains to London will be full (I try and get a seat almost every day on one of these), so that's about 2,350 people. The three "slow" trains will each have about 150 people on board, and the four trains going the other way will each have about 50-100 people on board. So that's 3,100 in just that hour (admittedly the busiest in the morning), which is probably busier than the Liverpool LS LL loop.

Anyone think of anywhere busier (in terms of passenger numbers)?

 

[SGB1953]

"

.... Between 07.00 and 07.59 each of the three 12-car "fast" trains to London will be full (I try and get a seat almost every day on one of these), ...."


If you're prepared to get the 06:59 from High Brooms to London Charing Cross, that's also been 12 cars for the last year or so. In my experience there are nearly always seats towards the rear of the train.

It's not running this week of course!

 

[Intercity 225]

Thank you for all the replies so far, been an interesting read.

Whilst doing so I've noticed that some have queried whether I was interested in finding out about certain types of single line (e.g. one way traffic only or bidirectional) and how I wanted to measure the usage (e.g. rail traffic or passenger numbers).

The truth is I'm interested in all of the above so please continue to contribute if you know of a line that could be considered to be the "most heavily used" using whatever criteria!

 

[Altfish]

Can we include tram lines because Deansgate Junction to Navigation Road has 20 trams per hour, one every 6-minutes in each direction.

 

[thenorthern]

Dore and Totley station has 3 trains per hour in each direction.

If trams are allowed Navigation Road has 10 trams per hour in each direction.

The single track of the DLR has quite a few trains each hour.

 

[mirodo]

George Street on the single-line one directional town centre loop of Croydon Tramlink has 20 trams scheduled in the next hour.

 

[thenorthern]

Around Glossop at peak times there are a couple of single lines which get a fair few number of trains.

 

[urbophile]

What abut the Heathrow loop of the Piccadilly line?