THE number of train passengers getting on or off at Worcester's two railway stations has increased by 170,000 in the past year.

The public transport boost was announced by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR).

Worcester Foregate Street station saw a total of 1,859,984 passengers either join or leave a service in the latest period, April 2012 to March 2013 (corr).

The figure makes Foregate Street the 283rd busiest railway station in the UK, down slightly from the 280th position the year before when, strangely, fewer passengers were recorded at 1,791,810.

Worcester Shrub Hill, meanwhile, saw 891,844 visits in the same time period, placing it 565th in the national list, down from 602 in 2011/12 when 780,168 people were recorded.

Nationally, eight of the top ten heavily-used stations are in London with Waterloo, Victoria and Liverpool Street making up the top three.