The number of people using local railway stations has increased significantly this year but passenger levels remain considerably lower than before the Covid pandemic, according to figures.
Both Crowborough and Eridge stations saw large increases in passenger numbers, according to figures reported by railwaydata.co.uk.
At Crowborough, passenger journeys went up by 20,814 or almost 9 per cent between 2023/24 and 2024/25. It had a daily average number of passengers beginning or ending their journeys at the station just short of 700 with almost 20 passengers per service.
With a total of 254,886 passenger entries and exits in 2024/25, Crowborough was the 1,247th most used station in Great Britain out of the total of 2,586.
At Eridge, meanwhile, the number of passenger journeys increased by 9,512 which was 13 per cent more than in 2023/24. It had 82,636 passenger entries during the year, making it the 1,842nd busiest station out of the 2,586 total.
Eridge had a daily average of 226 passengers during 2024/25 with just over 6 passengers each service.
But while the increases are significant, both stations remain much quieter than they were before the covid-19 pandemic forced lockdown and a major cultural shift in how people work.
In the years leading up to 2020/21, Crowborough was used to seeing around 400,000 passenger entries and exits a year – compared with the 254,886 total in 2024/25. And Eridge’s 82,636 passenger entries and exits remains a long way below its pre-pandemic annual figure around 140,000.