PASSENGER figures for Newport’s city centre railway station have fallen on the year before, according to recent figures.

Newport railway station scored a decline in the numbers of people using it despite increases at Severn Tunnel Junction and several Ebbw Valley line stations.

According to figures from the Office of Rail Regulation the number of entries and exits from Newport fell by 1.1 per cent in 2012/13 from the year before.

The station clocked 2,250,258 entries and exits, 25,104 less than in 2011/12. At Severn Tunnel Junction the number of people using the station increased by 9.1 per cent to 205,814 in 2012/13.

The number of people using Ebbw Vale Parkway rose by 3.6 per cent to 254,956. Rogerstone railway station’s figures rose by 2.85 per cent to 101,366, while Newbridge saw 2.06 per cent more passengers with 133,672 entries and exits recorded.

However the number of people using Risca’s train station fell by 3.4 per cent to 100,236, while Crosskeys stayed broadly the same at 117,012.

Alan Edwards, president of Newport Chamber of Trade, speculated the falling usage at Newport’s main station could be down to the state of the city centre.

“We will know the truth of that in two years time when the development is done,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Arriva Trains Wales, which operates Newport Station, said statistics showed overall satisfaction with the transport hub increased since the completion of the new station.

She said: “We are not aware of any significant reason why footfall at Newport Station has declined.”