Train station footfall in Oxford continues to lag behind the levels seen before the coronavirus pandemic, new figures show.

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 6.8 million recorded entries and exits across the one stations in Oxford in the year to March – down 22 per cent on 2020, when there were 8.7 million entries and exits.

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The busiest stations in England outside London were Birmingham New Street with 33.3 million entries and exits, Manchester Piccadilly with 25.8 million, and Leeds with 24.9 million.

Glasgow Central (25 million) had the most journeys in Scotland, while Cardiff Central (11.5 million) took top spot in Wales.

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."