Leeds Station: The busiest stations in the UK and where Leeds ranks as passenger numbers unveiled

The city’s central railway station was the second busiest outside of London in the year to March, new figures show. The number of entries and exits was 24million, regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) said.

The busiest stations outside London were Birmingham New Street (30.7 million), Leeds and Manchester Piccadilly (23.6 million).

Across the UK, Liverpool Street station has replaced Waterloo as the busiest in Britain.

The number of entries and exits at Liverpool Street was 80.4 million in the year to the end of March. The year-on-year increase of around 50 million was attributed to the opening of the Elizabeth line railway, which serves the station.

The Elizabeth line also caused Paddington to rise to second place with 59.2 million entries and exits. Waterloo fell to third place with 57.8 million entries and exits.

Glasgow Central was the most used station in Scotland (20.8 million) and Cardiff Central topped the list in Wales (10.2 million).

ORR director of planning and performance Feras Alshaker said: “The full opening of the Elizabeth line has changed the way people travel into and across the capital.

“Waterloo had been the busiest station in Britain for all but one of the previous 18 years.”

The least used station that was open throughout the whole year was Denton, Greater Manchester, with 34 entries and exits.

Only two entries and exits were recorded at Teesside Airport station, but its once-a-week Sunday service was suspended in May 2022 after the platform was classified as unsafe.

The Elizabeth line stretches from Reading in Berkshire and Heathrow Airport in west London to Abbey Wood in south-east London and Shenfield in Essex.

It runs via tunnels built by the Crossrail project between Paddington in west London and Abbey Wood. The line opened in May 2022.

Transport for London’s (TfL) Elizabeth line director Howard Smith said: “The Elizabeth line has been a transformational new railway for London, connecting east and west through 10 modern stations, with around 4.3 million journeys being made each week and more than 270 million journeys since it opened last year.

“Liverpool Street, Paddington, Farringdon, Tottenham Court Road and Stratford all being in the top 10 busiest stations in the UK, and four of the 10 most popular journeys being on the Elizabeth line, shows the popularity of the railway and how it has offered new journey options in London and beyond, as well as a new direct route to Heathrow Airport.”