London and south east overcrowding worsens

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Peak-time overcrowding on London and south-east England services has got worse, according to figures released by the Department for Transport.

The percentage of rail passengers travelling from London at peak times who exceeded normal capacity stood at 3.2 per cent in 2011, 0.2 per cent up on the previous year’s statistics.

The research, which looked at rail passenger numbers and crowding in major cities across England and Wales, also found that First Great Western had the highest level of passengers in excess of capacity of any London and south east operator with 10.5 per cent across both rush-hour periods – a fall from 16.6 per cent in 2010.

Birmingham had the highest crowding outside London in the morning peak in 2011, with 3.1 per cent of passengers in excess of capacity, while Manchester had the highest crowding in the afternoon peak with 2.5 per cent of passengers exceeding capacity.

Responding to the latest rail crowding figures, a spokesman for the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) said: “Faster trains and better services are attracting record numbers of people to the railways. But the flip side is overcrowding and we understand passengers’ frustration when they can’t get a seat.

“Train companies now run 20 per cent more services a day than they did 15 years ago and the rail industry last year set out plans to provide around 180,000 more seats when services are busiest.”

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