Surrey County Council (SCC) is to develop a new rail strategy to tackle train overcrowding and boost economic growth through improvements to the railways.

The announcement comes after it was revealed that the 7.32am train service from Woking to London Waterloo is the second most overcrowded in England and Wales.

The new strategy will consider ways to reduce overcrowding, increase capacity, make faster journeys and run longer trains, while boosting economic growth. 

It will also look at train access to Heathrow and Gatwick airports, Crossrail 2 and the latest signalling technologies.

John Furey, SCC’s cabinet member for transport and environment, said: "It is awful feeling like a sardine packed into a train carriage. 

"Our rail strategy will look at ways to tackle overcrowding, reduce bottlenecks and build longer platforms to cater for longer trains. Nothing is off the table.

"Good transport links are vital to the economic recovery. Surrey contributes around £28 billion to the UK economy, which is more than anywhere outside London, so it is vital this county’s rail network meets rising passenger demand."

The strategy will take in the views of organisations across the rail industry, including train companies, Network Rail, passenger groups and the DfT.