Britain’s five most uncomfortable commuter trains

East Croydon, south of London, is the departure point for three of the most overcrowded services

Standing instructions: East Croydon is the departure point for three of the five most uncomfortable commuter trips (Simon Calder)

Hitchin to King’s Cross, East Croydon to London Bridge and Manchester to Wigan: those are the most uncomfortable commuter journeys in Britain.

The Independent has conducted exclusive analysis to calculate the degree of discomfort endured by commuters. The Department for Transport (DfT) has published data on overcrowded trains for Autumn 2016, but it has two significant shortcomings.

The first is that no train with a gap of 20 minutes or less between the busiest stations is included. The second is that no account is taken of the length of the journey. So by multiplying the journey time in minutes by the factor by which the train is overcrowded (1 signifies there are as many standing passengers as seats), The Independent has been able to specify the train on which conditions are most inhuman.

1. 8.35am, Hitchin to King's Cross: 28 minutes, crowd factor 1.11, score 31.08

2. 7.59am, East Croydon to London Bridge: 21 minutes, crowd factor 1.13, score 23.73

3. 4.19pm Manchester Oxford Road to Wigan North Western:  24 minutes, crowd factor .87, score 20.88

4. 7.54am East Croydon to London Blackfriars: 21 minutes, crowd factor .93, score 19.53

5. 8.02am, East Croydon to London Bridge: 22 minutes, crowd factor .84, score 18.48

The worst is the 8.35am from Hitchin to London King’s Cross, which has more than twice as many passengers than available seats for the 28-minute journey to the capital. The DfT says: “This service is currently operated as a four-car train. Once the government funded Thameslink Programme has been completed in 2018 services from Cambridge will transfer to the Thameslink route, and services will be operated as eight- and 12-car trains.”

The journeys from East Croydon to London Bridge appears in second and fifth place; the 7.59am departure has 113 per cent more standing passengers than seats, while someone waiting three extra minutes would find slightly more breathing space aboard the 8.02am — which has only 84 per cent more passengers than seats.

Third place is taken by the only train that does not serve the capital. The 4.19pm from Manchester Oxford Road to Wigan Northwestern takes 24 minutes, with 87 standing passengers for every 100 seated. The DfT says: “The train departs Manchester at the beginning of the peak and is considerably faster than alternative stopping services so is very attractive for commuters as well as long-distance passengers to the Lake District and Scotland”; the service continues to Edinburgh.

East Croydon, the main intermediate station on the London-Gatwick-Brighton line, makes yet another appearance at fourth, with the 7.54am to London Blackfriars overloaded by 93 per cent.

“This service operates as a 12-car train and cannot be lengthened further,” says the DfT.

"In 2018 more trains will be provided on routes from south of London to central London and beyond, this additional capacity should relieve pressure on many services.”