New
figures
show
that
the
demand
for
railway
services
is
getting
closer
to
levels
recorded
before
the
Covid
pandemic,
and
could
be
about
to
overtake
them.
The
latest
quarterly
figures
from
the
Office
of
Rail
and
Road
for
the
three
months
to
December
2024
show
that
passenger
numbers
grew
by
7
per
cent
in
the
last
quarter
year-on-year,
and
that
revenue
was
up
by
8
per
cent
over
the
same
period.
There
were
446
million
journeys,
compared
with
417
million
journeys
made
in
the
same
quarter
in
the
previous
year
in
2023.
There
were
1.7
billion
journeys
in
the
12
months
to
December
2024,
which
was
a
9
per
cent
increase
on
the
1.6
billion
over
the
12
months
to
December
2023.
Total
passenger
revenue
in
the
latest
quarter
was
£2.9
billion.
This
is
an
8
per
cent
increase
on
the
£2.7
billion
in
the
previous
year,
when
adjusted
for
inflation.
A
total
of
16.2
billion
passenger
kilometres
were
travelled
in
the
latest
quarter.
This
was
a
7
per
cent
increase
on
the
15.1
billion
kilometres
in
the
previous
year.
Meanwhile,
the
Department
for
Transport
said
passenger
journeys
in
the
week
ending
Sunday
2
March
2025
were
91
per
cent
of
those
observed
in
the
equivalent
week
in
2019.
In
the
current
publishing
period,
weekly
average
usage
figures
have
been
between
81
and
to
98
per
cent
of
the
same
week
before
the
pandemic,
compared
to
71
to
90
per
cent
in
the
last
publishing
period.
These
figures
exclude
the
Elizabeth
Line,
where
‘updated
adjustment
factors’
are
outstanding.
Railway
Industry
Association
chief
executive
Darren
Caplan
said:
‘These
figures
by
the
ORR
provide
further,
sustained
evidence,
of
a
return
to
rail
post-pandemic.
‘Even
in
tough
economic
times,
with
a
restructure
in
the
offing,
rail
has
a
bright
future.
The
Government
clearly
needs
to
continue
to
invest
in
it
as
the
numbers
using
rail
grow
and
more
capacity
will
be
needed.’
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you
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