Train bosses ‘may take no action’ over Leeds overcrowding

Instead, Network Rail set a target date for improving 11 other stations with greater priority.

Their hit list includes the London stations of Victoria, Fenchurch Street and Charing Cross as well as Liverpool’s Lime Street.

In a report, NR said action should be taken to identify the measures needed to relieve passenger congestion at the 11 stations by 2019.

It also listed 12 stations - including Leeds- with long-term plans which would deal with congestion but which “might not be fully committed or developed”.

The 12 also include Barking in east London, Bristol Temple Meads, Chelmsford in Essex, Derby, Finsbury Park in north London, Glasgow Queen Street, Liverpool Central, London Euston, Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Victoria and Tottenham Hale in north London.

The report suggested various measures to ease congestion, ranging from “soft” options, such as encouraging more print-at-home ticketing or relocating information points, to more expensive options involving provision of additional space.

NR said on-train counting systems already existed but with varying degrees of sophistication. It added that the rail industry did not routinely or systematically count the number of non-travellers at stations.

But NR added: “There is not a direct correlation between the number of station users and the level of congestion observed. So merely analysing which stations have the greatest numbers of users will not of itself highlight where crowding is a particular difficulty.”