The chance of being assaulted at a mainline railway station has nearly doubled in the past five years, according to figures from the British Transport Police.

There were 1,270 violent attacks against passengers at stations last year compared with 702 in 2001 — an increase of 80 per cent.

By far the most dangerous station is Leeds Central, where there were 159 attacks. In 2001 there were 75. Next are listed the main London stations — including Victoria and Waterloo — Birmingham New Street and Cardiff Central.

The amount of violence had increased or stayed level at all the 61 stations covered by the British Transport Police figures, with the sole exception of Liverpool Lime Street.

The figures were provided in response to a parliamentary question by the Conservatives, who said that the numbers involved showed that the Government had failed to deliver on its promise to make public transport safer.

Chris Grayling, the Shadow Transport Secretary, said: “One of the key promises the Government made in its ten-year plan was to ensure that people using public transport would see their journeys becoming safer.

“What these figures show is that in many parts of the country, passengers are far more likely to get mugged than they were five years ago. It really is time the Government got to grips with the law and order problem on our public transport system.”

However, the Department for Transport hit back, saying that crime had fallen by 3 per cent since 2004. A spokesman said: “Overall levels of crime are low relative to the billion passenger journeys being made each year. However, just one incident is too many and safety must remain a top priority for the rail industry.”

The spokesman insisted that the Government was stepping up security at stations. “The British Transport Police’s budget has increased by 25 per cent and the number of officers has increased by 11 per cent in the last year. There are thousands of additional CCTV cameras on the network and stations are better lit . . . We have given railways staff powers to tackle antisocial behaviour.”

There have been several high-profile attacks at stations in recent months. In January Tom ap Rhys Pryce, a City lawyer, was murdered soon after alighting from a Silverlink train at Kensal Green, northwest London. Delano Brown, 18, and Donnel Carty, 19, who had followed him from his train, were jailed for life after being found guilty at the Old Bailey of stabbing him for his mobile phone and Oyster card. Another man was stabbed at the same location in July, leading to renewed calls for greater security at suburban London stations.

In May 16-year-old Callum Latham was convicted of killing Richard Topp, at Welwyn Garden City station. Latham had been looking at images on his mobile phone of violent “happy slap” attacks moments before attacking Mr Topp, a random stranger waiting on a platform with his fiancée.

Two teenage girls kicked and headbutted a girl, 16, before attempting to push her on to the line at Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, on September 16. A 30-year-old woman was sexually assaulted at Clapham Junction in March. Her attacker followed her on to a train and assaulted her again.

Ismail Dogan, 30, a paranoid schizophrenic, stabbed David Symes, 31, at Edmonton Green station as part of a 90-minute rampage last December that left one man dead and four others injured.

David Gibson, 19, scrambled clear seconds before a train arrived after being thrown on to the track at New Milton, Hampshire. His attacker, who mistook Mr Gibson for someone else, was jailed for 21 months.