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2012

Highest Number Of Rail Journeys Since 1959!

30/12/2004

More than one million additional rail journeys are being made every single week, compared to last year, and by New Year’s Eve the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) expects that approximately one billion and 50 million journeys will have been made on the rail network during 2004.

This is the highest number of passenger rail journeys since 1959, when the network was almost twice the current size and beats 2003, itself a record year, by 4%. 2003 was the first time that more than one billion journeys were made on Britain’s rail network since 1961.

George Muir, Director General of the Association of Train Operating Companies, said:

“More people than ever are voting with their feet and travelling by train, which is good news for the environment. With nearly 1,400 new trains introduced this year alone and an additional 320 new timetabled services running in the new annual timetable, rail travel is attracting more passengers than in the late 1950’s when we had a much bigger rail network. It also means we have the fastest-growing railway in Europe.”

There have been significant increases in the number of journeys made in all three categories of passenger rail travel during 2004, compared to the previous year: Regional, 7.8%; Long Distance, 4.1%; and London and South East, 2.6%.

In 2004, about 38% more passenger journeys will have been made than in 1995, although certain routes have experienced even greater increases in usage:

Growth figures on specific flows¹

1994/5

2003/04

% growth

Manchester - York

78,377

137,171

75%

Birmingham - Sheffield

51,460

99,268

93%

Edinburgh - Bathgate

747,959

1,280,259

71%

Bristol - Plymouth

25,547

51,212

100%

Liverpool - Wirral

1,707,702

2.430,571

42%

Brighton – London *

1,800,720

3,338,476

85%

Cambridge – London *

1,265,151

2,199,206

74%

Reading – London *

1,486,030

2,091,531

41%

*Includes journeys to London Travelcard destinations (including London Underground stations)

Alistair Darling, Secretary of State for Transport, said:

“The railways are now carrying more people than at any time since 1959. The changes we are putting in place together with increasing investment are essential if we are all to see even more improvement in services in the future.”

Over the past ten years train operators have responded to passenger growth by running a record number of train services –19,411 trains every weekday in the new annual timetable.