TOKYO, Japan Wire - JR Shinjuku Station maintained its status as the busiest train station in the East Japan Railway Co. network in 2024, with all major stations in the network handling an increase in passengers, according to recent data.
A daily average of 666,809 passengers boarded trains at Shinjuku Station in Tokyo in 2024, up by 2.5 percent from the previous year, according to the data released by JR East in September.
Shinjuku was by some distance the busiest of the stations for which data, covering passengers boarding trains only, was available. With a daily average of 499,128 passengers, Ikebukuro Station in Tokyo’s Toshima Ward was the second busiest, followed by Tokyo Station with 434,564.
Osaki Station handled the largest increase in passengers among the 100 busiest stations in the JR East network. Passengers at the train station in Tokyo’s Shinagawa Ward increased by 7.9 percent from 134,526 in 2023, to 145,194.
Yokohama, Shibuya, Shinagawa, Omiya, Shimbashi, Akihabara, and Kita-Senju completed the 10 busiest train stations, which have remained unchanged since 2022.
At the other end of the scale, Hirataki Station in Sakae, Nagano Prefecture, was the quietest train station, handling an average of three passengers a day.
Despite the widespread increases, passenger numbers at the busiest JR East stations have yet to surpass pre-pandemic levels. Shinjuku Station handled a daily average of 775,386 passengers in 2019, before falling below 500,000 in 2020, according to the data.
In 2022, Shinjuku Station (including facilities serving railway and subway operating companies other than JR East) was recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world’s busiest railway station, with an average daily passenger throughput of 2,704,703.
This article was submitted by a contributing writer for publication on Japan Wire.
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