Passenger numbers were down at Gwynedd and Anglesey's railway stations last year as more people stayed at home during the coronavirus pandemic, figures show.

Statistics from the Office of Rail and Road show an estimated 360,000 passengers used Gwynedd's 27 stations in 2020-21, while 48,900 passengers used Anglesey's six stations during the period.

In Gwynedd, this was 76 per cent fewer than in 2019-20, when 1.5 million travelled on trains in the area; in Anglesey there were 81 per cent fewer passengers, at 261,000.

The busiest station in Gwynedd was Bangor, which saw 107,000 entries and exits by passengers. This was followed by Harlech, with 84,600, and Barmouth, which saw 52,800 passengers use the station.

Meanwhile on Anglesey it was Holyhead, with 44,500 passengers, with Rhosneigr, 2,150 passengers, and Ty Croes, 1,190, the next most on the island.

Across both counties, the number of passengers was down from 732,000 the year before, the lowest number since comparable records began in 1997.

Across Great Britain, usage of railway stations fell from 3 billion in 2019-20 to 687 million – a fall of 77 per cent.

The busiest station in Wales – with an estimated two million passengers – was Cardiff Central.

The figures are based primarily on ticket sales.

ORR director of planning and performance Feras Alshaker said: “We’ve seen a radical change, especially in London, in the stations people were using the most.

“Stratford, Highbury and Islington, Clapham Junction, Barking and East Croydon replaced Kings Cross, St Pancras, Euston and Paddington in the top 10, underlining their importance as vital stops and interchanges, linking key workers with Underground and bus services to travel.

“This year we have seen many railway stations with very few passenger entries and exits.

"However, we know that recent figures show leisure journeys are nearly back to pre-pandemic levels, while there has been a slower increase in commuter journeys.”

The other five were Beasdale, Highland; Sampford Courtenay, Devon; Stanlow and Thornton, Cheshire; and Sugar Loaf, Powys.

Andy Bagnall, director-general at industry body the Rail Delivery Group, said: “The station usage figures show how the rail industry kept people moving for the first year of the pandemic.

“Some of the entries on the list reflect where people like key workers were travelling from and also the acceleration of changes to how people are travelling after the pandemic.

“Rail companies are working together to welcome people back and the recent increase in passengers continues to both reflect and support the nation’s recovery.”

Separate figures from a YouGov poll of 56,000 adults show 51 per cent of Britons think their local train services are very good or fairly good.

In Wales, 41 per cent of people surveyed said the same.