Rail passenger levels at their highest in 60 years

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Figures out today show a total of 1.21 billion squeezed on to the network last year - more than any time since 1945, when the railways were the backbone of the war effort.

The figure highlights the need for more trains and longer platforms, as called for by the Evening Standard's Seat for Every Commuter campaign.

The figures, prepared for the Association of Train Operating Companies by economic historians, show that rail passenger levels have soared since the early 1990s - despite the cost of travel consistently rising above inflation.

The other measure of rail use - miles covered by passengers - also reached a new high of 30.1 billion.

The last time the figure was reached was in 1943, 1944 and 1945 when the much larger network was brought to the brink of collapse by the demands of the war effort.

It means many parts of the network - particularly in the South-East - have never been more intensively used. The new high is likely to be broken in this year due to high petrol costs and London's continued population growth.

The Standard's campaign has called for measures to make commuting less unpleasant such as introducing more and longer trains and extending platforms to accommodate them.

Crossrail, the crucial new London railway from Paddington in the west to Shenfield in the east, is due to be completed by 2016, significantly increasing capacity on the network.