Autumn storms cost railway £21 million in lost revenue

GBRTT’s Train Travel Snapshot unpicks the reasons people are travelling, and what it means for railway finances.

The latest analysis, out now, looks at the financial impact of five named storms (Babet, Ciaran, Fergus, Pia and Gerrit) which hit the UK between October and December and saw other key sectors like construction reporting effects on output.

The lost income only accounted for 0.8% of total rail passenger revenue for this quarter. However, climate change is projected to increase the frequency and severity of extreme weather, making Network Rail’s efforts to make the network more resilient to weather today crucial.

Network Rail has committed to significant spend over the next five years for improving the resilience of its assets to extreme weather and climate change.

Weather disruption is likely to have deterred business travellers the most, with autumn seeing 2 million fewer trips (-6%) for business reasons quarter-on-quarter.

The quarter also saw a 11% rise in commuter journeys compared to the three months prior, as people headed back to the office after the summer holidays, helping to boost rail revenue by £47 million.

Suzanne Donnelly, Customer & Revenue Growth Director at Great British Railways Transition Team (GBRTT), said: “As a great green option, rail is part of the solution when it comes to meeting Britain’s net zero targets. But like many sectors it’s also affected by extreme weather, especially now that many workers have more flexibility than ever over whether they travel.

“Ahead of the creation of Great British Railways, GBRTT is supporting those running train services and rail infrastructure locally to see the impact of decisions on both sides of the balance sheet as they work to deliver the things that matter most to customers, like improved reliability and communication during disruption.”

Rail passenger revenue by journey purpose, 1 October to 31 December 2023