1000 passengers crammed on Hounslow Loop in rush hour
A new report has revealed that a service on the Hounslow Loop line which serves Isleworth, Brentford, Chiswick and Putney is one of the most crowded in the country.
The train which leaves Isleworth at 8.04am, then arrives at Brentford adt 8.09am, Chiswick at 8.14am and Putney at 8.22am has well over 1,000 passenger trying to get onto 792 seats.
Also featured in the top 10 is the 7.03am Weybridge to Waterloo which also stops at Chiswick a little earlier at 0759.
The figures, which were published in the Evening Standard were released by the Department of Transport under the Freedom of Information Act.
All of the most crowded trains are in the London area. Some are so packed that over a third of passengers have to stand, sometimes in exceptionally cramped conditions despite paying the full fare. South West Trains were responsible for three of the top ten worst lines in the country.
The most overcrowded train is the 7.51am Cambridge to London service operated by the One rail company, which has an average 433 customers on board, of whom only 234 get seats.
Most overcrowded trains in Britain (train companies in brackets): 1. 7.51am Cambridge to London Liverpool St (One) 234 seats, 433 passengers. 2. 4.33pm Sutton to Luton (Thameslink) 412 seats, 618 passengers. 3. 7.51am London Victoria to London Bridge (Southern) 635 seats, 944 passengers. 4. 6.15pm London King's Cross to Cambridge (WAGN*) 494 seats, 713 passengers. 5. 8.04am Isleworth to London Waterloo (SWT*) 792 seats, 1,138 passengers. 6. 6.06pm London Paddington to Oxford (FGWL*) 270 seats, 385 passengers. 7. 6.38am Margate to London Cannon Street (S Eastern) 218 seats, 310 passengers. 8. 6.42am Haslemere to Waterloo (South West Trains) 598 seats, 845 passengers. 9. 5.50pm Victoria to Rochester (South Eastern Trains) 494 seats, 681 passengers. 10. 7.03am Weybridge to Waterloo (South West Trains) 792 seats, 1,084 passengers. * WAGN is West Anglia Great Northern; SWT is South West Trains; FGWL is First Great Western Link. |
The Government has announced increased funding for South West Trains which will allow them to run longer trains although it is not clear at this stage whether the platforms on the Hounslow Loop service would enable this to happen. The proposed redevelopment of Waterloo station would double the concourse capacity and extend all platforms to accommodate at least 10-carriage trains.
The new-look Waterloo could provide 10,000 more seats in the morning rush hour and 10,000 more in the evening peak.
March 29, 2006