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Number of UK train journeys has doubled since privatisation, report finds
About 1.6bn passenger rail journeys were taken in the past 12 months,
compared to 800m in 1997, says the Rail Delivery
Group
The number of train journeys made each year has more than doubled since
privatisation in the late 1990s, according to a new report.
About 1.65bn passenger rail journeys were taken in the past 12 months, compared to 801m in 1997.
The figures come from analysis by the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators and Network Rail, based on data from the auditors KPMG.
The study found people take an average of 24.7 train journeys each per year, a 60% increase from 1998, when private rail operators took over running UK train services from British Rail.
The growth in journeys is faster than in France (25%), Germany (23%) and the Netherlands (10%) over the same period.
The Rail Delivery Group found income from passengers covers the £9.5bn annual operating cost of the railways, with government support being used to fund infrastructure.
According to the report, the average price paid per passenger mile has increased by 6.7%, adjusted for inflation, since the mid-1990s. The profit made by operators has fallen from 3.6% of revenue in 1997 to 2.3% last year.
The country’s busiest rail termini – Waterloo and Victoria stations in central London – have more arrivals per platform in the morning peak than European stations such as the Gare du Nord in Paris.
Edward Welsh, a spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, said the rail network is better able to serve passengers and businesses because of its transformation over the past two decades into what he called a great British success story.
He said: “Crucial to this success has been the partnership between the private and public sectors, working together to deliver better value to passengers, freight customers and the nation.
“There is much more we need to do to improve services for our customers. Our greatest challenge is to plan and build for the ever growing demand for rail by increasing capacity cost effectively and generating revenue to support investment in more and better services.”
Jeremy Corbyn, the newly elected Labour leader, has committed to renationalising the UK’s railways if he becomes the prime minister.
About 1.65bn passenger rail journeys were taken in the past 12 months, compared to 801m in 1997.
The figures come from analysis by the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators and Network Rail, based on data from the auditors KPMG.
The study found people take an average of 24.7 train journeys each per year, a 60% increase from 1998, when private rail operators took over running UK train services from British Rail.
The growth in journeys is faster than in France (25%), Germany (23%) and the Netherlands (10%) over the same period.
The Rail Delivery Group found income from passengers covers the £9.5bn annual operating cost of the railways, with government support being used to fund infrastructure.
According to the report, the average price paid per passenger mile has increased by 6.7%, adjusted for inflation, since the mid-1990s. The profit made by operators has fallen from 3.6% of revenue in 1997 to 2.3% last year.
The country’s busiest rail termini – Waterloo and Victoria stations in central London – have more arrivals per platform in the morning peak than European stations such as the Gare du Nord in Paris.
Edward Welsh, a spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, said the rail network is better able to serve passengers and businesses because of its transformation over the past two decades into what he called a great British success story.
He said: “Crucial to this success has been the partnership between the private and public sectors, working together to deliver better value to passengers, freight customers and the nation.
“There is much more we need to do to improve services for our customers. Our greatest challenge is to plan and build for the ever growing demand for rail by increasing capacity cost effectively and generating revenue to support investment in more and better services.”
Jeremy Corbyn, the newly elected Labour leader, has committed to renationalising the UK’s railways if he becomes the prime minister.
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