COMMUTERS in Southampton are travelling on one of the country’s most crowded trains, it has been revealed.

The South West Trains 6.51am service from Southampton Airport Parkway to London Waterloo has been named and shamed as the ninth most overcrowded peak train service in England and Wales.

That is according to figures released by the Department for Transport which reveal that some of the nation’s services are carrying more than twice as many people as they should at peak times.

One in three commuters, equivalent to nearly 100,000 people, were forced to stand on services arriving into London last year, it was found.

The figures revealed that 973 passengers cram onto the 6.51am service at its most crowded point – 375 more than its 598 capacity.

But the report stresses that South West Trains is introducing a number of initiatives across the network to address crowding on its services.

Rail Minister Paul Maynard said: “These statistics reveal the unprecedented scale of passenger demand, with journeys doubling in the past 20 years.”

He said £40 billion is being invested into the network to deliver 3,700 extra carriages by 2019 and added: “These projects will inevitably cause some disruption whilst they are carried out, which is why we have capped regulated rail fares at RPI + 0 per cent for this parliament and why we are working hard with Network Rail and train operators to ensure that any inconvenience is minimised."

But David Sidebottom, of the Transport Focus group, said: “Overcrowding is a daily struggle for many commuters. In the long term we need a big increase in capacity.”

It comes as guards on Southern Railway are due to stage a five-day strike from Monday, August 8, in the long-running dispute over their role.

TOP 10 MOST OVERCROWDED TRAINS

1. 06:57 Brighton to Bedford

2. 04:22 Glasgow Central to Manchester Airport

3. 16:00 Manchester Airport to Edinburgh Waverley

4. 18:00 Manchester Airport to Edinburgh Waverley

5. 08:02 Beckenham Junction to Bedford

6. 17:46 London Euston to Crewe

7. 07:32 Woking to London Waterloo

8. 16:26 Bedford to Brighton

9. 06:51 Southampton Airport Parkway to London Waterloo

10. 06:15 Edinburgh Waverley to Manchester Airport