Railway Industry Association hails strong progress on increased passenger levels

The Office for Rail and Road (ORR) has today released further evidence of the strong return to rail post-pandemic, with a 20% year-on-year increase in the number of passenger journeys.

Commenting on the figures Darren Caplan, RIA Chief Executive, said: “The return to rail continues apace and this substantial 20% uplift year-on-year is a really encouraging increase in the number of passenger journeys and revenues.

“This follows the excellent recent DfT passenger statistics which – despite changing calculations methodologies to exclude all Elizabeth Line passengers – has in March exceeded 100% of pre-Covid figures. Inclusion of those passengers would take overall numbers to nearly 110%, which is real progress considering the comparison year, 2019-20, was the second highest on record.

“These new ORR and DfT figures are a reminder that the railway will need more capacity in the future, especially with the recent RIA-commissioned Steer report forecasting passenger numbers to grow between 37% and 97% to 2050, depending on which policy levers the UK Government adopts in the coming years.

“It is clear that there needs to be rail reform and a long-term rail strategy, including a plan for more capacity, to deliver the connectivity, economic, levelling-up, and sustainability benefits everyone wants to see.”