PASSENGER numbers were down at all railway stations in Gwent in the last year – except in Torfaen.

Across Wales as a whole the number of people using railway stations in the 2019-2020 financial year was down by 2.3 million to 50.4 million compared with the previous year.

But Cwmbran and Pontypool and New Inn stations bucked the trend, with a combined increase of 17,708 passengers – a rise of 3.7 per cent.

Office of Road and Rail data showed the busiest station was Cwmbran with 413,000 entries and exits by passengers, followed by Pontypool & New Inn, 87,170.

MORE NEWS:

Every other station in Gwent saw a drop in passengers, which pressure group Railfuture has put down to the impact of travel restrictions in place due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Newport’s three stations – Newport, Pye Corner and Rogerstone – saw 2.9 million passengers, down 18,648, or 0.6 per cent.

Newport was by far the busiest of the three, with 2.7 million entries and exits, followed by Pye Corner with 112,000 and Rogerstone, with 85,112.

The biggest drop in Gwent was seen in Caerphilly, where overall passenger numbers were down 8.9 per cent, or 268,416, to 2.8 million.

Blaenau Gwent’s three stations – Ebbw Vale Town, Llanhilleth and Ebbw Vale Parkway – saw 346,000 passengers, down 15,242, or 4.2 per cent, on the precious year.

The busiest station was Ebbw Vale Town, with 227,000 entries and exits, followed by Llanhilleth with 75,226, and Ebbw Vale Parkway with 44,100.

Monmouthshire’s four stations saw 977,000 passengers, a drop of 34,624, or 3.4 per cent.

Abergavenny was the county’s busiest station, with 415,000 uses, followed by Severn Tunnel Junction, with 244,000, Chepstow, with 229,000, and Caldicot, with 89,024.

Railfuture spokesman Bruce Williamson, said: “I am very confident that the railways will bounce back when Covid-19 is over.

“We can’t ignore the fact the world has changed and people working from home may stay put – but I still feel for the most part, things will return to normal.

“Considering the underlying trend of increased rail usage over the past 30 years, we have to look at Covid-19 as a temporary blip.”

Jay Symonds, senior statistical analyst with the Office of Road and Rail, said: “The dramatic drop in passenger numbers towards the end of March due to Covid-19 explains much of the drop in usage compared to last year.”

He added: “With numbers staying at historically low levels during 2020, there is no doubt that next year will look a lot different.”