The number of passenger journeys taken at rail stations in West Devon has increased, latest figures show.

The Campaign for Better Transport said it was "cause for celebration" that more people across Britain are taking the train and called for investment to expand the rail network further.

New figures released by the Office of Rail and Road show there were around 402,000 entries and exits recorded across the three stations in West Devon in the year to March.

This was a 10% increase on the 366,000 the year before, and a 560% increase on the 61,000 recorded in the year to March 2020, the last full year before the Covid pandemic.

Some 87,000 of those were made using a season ticket, accounting for 22% of all entries and exits in West Devon.

The busiest station in Britain was London Liverpool Street, with an estimated 98 million entries and exits, up 4% from 94.5 million a year earlier.

This was largely due to increased usage of the Elizabeth line, which opened in 2022, and connects Reading and Heathrow Airport through central London to Shenfield in Essex.

It was followed by London Waterloo in second place (70.4 million) and London Paddington (69.9 million).

All the 10 busiest stations were in London.

Birmingham New Street was the busiest station outside the capital (36.6 million journeys), followed by Manchester Piccadilly (27.4 million) and Leeds (27.3 million).

The leader in Scotland was Glasgow Central (25.3 million), while Cardiff Central (12.5 million) took top spot in Wales.

A total of 1.73 billion passenger journeys were made in the year to the end of March, up 7% from 1.61 billion in the previous year, the ORR said.

Michael Solomon Williams from the Campaign for Better Transport said: "More people travelling by train is real cause for celebration, disproving all the gloomy predictions that the railways wouldn't bounce back after the pandemic.

"People love travelling by train, and everyone who does is helping to cut congestion and carbon emissions – but unfortunately not everyone has that choice.

"Some people have no station nearby, and many struggle to afford train travel.

"We are campaigning for Great British Railways, the new public body that will soon run both trains and track, to have clear targets to increase passenger numbers and expand the rail network.

"Connecting more communities by rail, building on the success of new lines like the Elizabeth Line, and reopened lines like the Northumberland Line, will bring enormous economic, environmental and social benefits, as rail has always shown it can do."

Elton and Orston in Nottinghamshire was Britain's least-used station in 2024-25 with just 68 entries and exits.

It is served by one East Midlands Railway train per day in each direction between Mondays and Saturdays. One runs to Nottingham, while the other takes passengers towards Skegness.

Railway stations are often kept open despite being rarely used because it is easier to arrange for a train to stop infrequently than obtain permission for closure.

Feras Alshaker, director of planning and performance at the ORR, said: "This year’s statistics show rail usage continuing to grow around the country, and we're also seeing the sustained impact of major investment, particularly the Elizabeth line.

"These insights are vital in understanding how travel patterns are changing and in planning a network that meets passenger needs."