Warrington West train station sees usage soar over past year

This is according to new figures released by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) showing passenger usage of stations across the country from April 2021 to March this year.

In Warrington, 2.6million passengers entered and exited train stations in 2021-22 – up from 853,626 the previous year, but below pre-pandemic levels of 3.9million in 2019-20.

Warrington Bank Quay was again named the most used train station in the town, with 958,532 passengers entering and exiting the Wilson Patten Street site.

This is compared to 311,724 the previous year, demonstrating a rise of 207 per cent.

Station usage more than doubled across Great Britain as people across the country returned to more normal travelling routines following Covid, with all stations in Warrington seeing passenger numbers rise.

None more so than Warrington West, which welcomed 268,996 passengers this past year compared to 68,936 the year prior – a staggering rise of 290 per cent.

At the other end of the scale, Sankey for Penketh once again saw the least activity, with 2,930 visits across the year.

The total number of passengers using Warrington Central was 938,726, with Birchwood station being the next busiest with 330,190 rail users.

Warrington West is the fourth busiest station in the town behind Bank Quay, Central and Birchwood, followed by Padgate (92,434), Glazebrook (23,552) and Sankey for Penketh.

London Waterloo was the country’s most used station with 41.4million passengers, while Elton and Orston in rural Nottinghamshire was the least-used with just 40 recorded entries and exits.

Warrington West train station

Across the country, passenger numbers rebounded from a pandemic drop in 2020-21.

An estimated 1.8billion visitors entered and exited train stations in Great Britain last year – more than double the 690million visitors the year before.

But this was still well below the three billion passengers who used stations in 2019-20, before the pandemic.

Feras Alshaker, the ORR’s director of planning and performance, said: “It is heartening to see passengers return to travelling by rail following what was a difficult period for the industry during the pandemic.

“There is still some way to go in order for station usage figures to return to pre-pandemic levels.

“Once again it is important to thank all those in the rail industry, who continue to work hard to help people travel safely and with confidence.”

Transport think tank, the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, said it is positive to see numbers rebounding, but that there is still a long way to go.

Jacob Mason, the firm’s research and impact director, added: “As we recover from the pandemic, the time for a major investment into public transport is now.”

The Department for Transport said it has provided more than £16billion of funding for passenger services since the start of the pandemic.

A spokesman commented: “We now need to reform our railways to reflect changes in travel trends and restore financial stability on our railways.”