RAIL passengers travelling between Didcot Parkway and London Paddington faced some of the worst overcrowding in the country last year, a new report has revealed.

Figures from the Department of Transport show the 7.34am service from Didcot was the second-most congested in the first half of 2015, with trains often running with double its passenger capacity in standard class.

But the service, which is operated by Great Western Railway, does not feature in the report's top 10 for the autumn period.

GWR spokesman James Davis said since the start of last year the operator had added extra carriages to the service which had doubled the capacity from about 240 to about 500.

He added: "We are pleased that the work we have done over the past few years to increase capacity means we no longer feature in the latest overcrowding figures.

"However, this is only a short term solution, and we know demand for rail travel is likely to rise further in the coming years."

The new figures also come after the opening of Oxford Parkway station last September, which has given passengers living in Oxford an alternative route into London.

When asked about impact of the new station, Mr Davis said there had still been an increase in passengers travelling through Oxford railway station towards Didcot.

Nationally the most overcrowded peak train last year was between Brighton and Bedford, which often ran as much as 229 per cent capacity in standard class.