Railway stations in Luton still quieter than before the pandemic

It comes as new data from regulator the Office of Rail and Road shows the total number of passenger entries and exits taken across Britain in the year to March reached 2.9 billion – just shy of the 3 billion pre-pandemic peak in 2019-20.

It is the closest the number of journeys on the nation's rail system has come to recovering to pre-pandemic levels.

There were 9.5 million recorded entries and exits across the three stations in Luton in the year to March – down 2 per cent on 2020, when there were 9.7 million entries and exits.

Nationally, London Liverpool Street retained its title of Britain’s busiest station as passenger numbers using it soared.

The estimated number of entries and exits in the year to March was 94.5 million – up 14.1 million on 2022-23, which is largely due to increased usage of the Elizabeth Line.

London Paddington maintained its position at number two with 66.9 million entries and exits.

Silviya Barrett from the Campaign for Better Transport said: "It’s extremely encouraging to see that station usage is almost back to its pre-pandemic level, and that more people are choosing to travel sustainably by train.

"Attracting passengers back onto the railways should be a vital part of the government’s plans to tackle the climate crisis, and we hope to see further expansion of the rail network as we have this past year with the opening of seven new stations."