London - Waterloo station in London is on course to be Europe's first transport terminal to reach 200 million passengers in a year.
Analysis by The Independent shows that the number of Tube users of the station is likely to exceed 100 million by the end of 2015, with rail passengers at almost the same level.
The Gare du Nord in Paris is the second busiest European mega-terminal, with 180 million passengers. Other London stations are third and fourth: Victoria (175 million) and King's Cross/St Pancras (170 million) respectively. By comparison, Europe's busiest airport, Heathrow, will handle 75 million passengers this year.
It is believed to be the first time a common methodology has been applied to compare European transport terminals. While most Continental authorities combine rail, underground and rapid suburban services, the UK's Office of Rail and Road issues figures only for passengers entering and exiting rail stations. These have been combined with Transport for London figures for the Tube, and - in the case of King's Cross/St Pancras - Eurostar passengers.
Last year 94.5 million Tube passengers used Waterloo. The annual rate of increase for the Underground over the past five years has been 3.6 percent. But work to increase capacity on the Northern line by 20 percent was completed a year ago. As one of the Tube lines serving Waterloo, this is estimated to have nudged the station's increase to six percent, taking the total to 100.2 million.
The latest figures from the Office of Rail and Road show 99.2 million rail passengers using Waterloo in the year to March. While the annual rate of increase for train users is lower, because of constraints on lines to south-west London and Hampshire, it is likely to be at least 1 per cent - which would total a few thousand short of 100 million.
Mark Smith, rail expert and founder of the Seat61.com website, said: “UK train travel has more than doubled since 1995, and the rise is continuing. We have the fastest-growing railway in Europe, and I dare say the London termini will become even busier.”
Rail writer Christian Wolmar said: “London dominates rail travel because of its extensive commuting network. It is resilient but needs major investment such as Crossrail 2.”
Compared with Japanese stations, the numbers are tiny. Shinjuku, on the west side of Tokyo, handles around 1.3 billion passengers a year - more than the busiest seven terminals in Europe combined.
TOP 10 TERMINALS EUROPE'S BUSIEST
1. London Waterloo 200m passengers a year
2. Paris Gare du Nord 180m
3. London Victoria 175m
4. London King’s Cross/St Pancras 170m
5. Hamburg Hauptbahnhof 165m
6. Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof 165m
7. Zurich Hauptbahnhof 155m
8. Rome Termini 150m
9. London Liverpool Street 140m
10. Paris Gare de Lyon 125m
The Independent