Britain’s railways continue to achieve record breaking levels of growth

A statistical report published today by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) shows a record number of passenger journeys on Britain’s railways.

The ‘Passenger Rail Usage’ statistical release assesses rail passenger numbers and revenue from 2002-03 to 31 December 2013. The regulator’s report shows that rail usage in Britain has been steadily increasing over the past decade.

ORR’s latest figures for 2013-14 Q3 (1 October-31 December) show:

• Passenger journeys in 2013-14 Q3 reached 402.8 million. This is the highest number of franchised passenger journeys since records began and a 4.5% increase on the same quarter last year.
• Passengers on the network travelled 15.1 billion kilometres in 2013-14 Q3. This is an increase of 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year, and the highest number of passenger kilometres travelled since records began.
• Total passenger revenue in 2013-14 Q3 was £2.08 billion, a 6.2% increase on 2012-13 Q3. Continuing the trend, this was the highest amount of revenue generated within any quarter since records began.

The report identifies a number of possible factors behind recent increases in rail usage such as the opening of new lines and stations, additional train services and ticketing initiatives including special offers and more competitive pricing.

This report is part of a series of quarterly and annual statistical releases which offer context and commentary on latest data trends. Detailed explanations of the methodology used in collecting the data can be found in the accompanying quality report: http://orr.gov.uk/statistics/published-stats/statistical-releases

Read the report in full at: http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/10651/passenger-rail-usage-quality-report-2013-02-20-q3.pdf