Skip to main content

Growing passenger numbers, fare rises for UK rail

According to Rail Travel, a new market report from business intelligence provider Key Note, in 2013/2014 the total value of passenger receipts for UK rail travel increased by 6.2 per cent year-on-year, and grew by 32.5 per cent over a five-year period. In addition, passenger journeys grew by 23.5 per cent over the five-year review period, with passenger kilometres travelled also growing by 17.9 per cent over the same timeframe. For the purpose of this report, the rail industry in the UK has been split in
December 16, 2014 Read time: 3 mins
According to Rail Travel, a new market report from business intelligence provider Key Note, in 2013/2014 the total value of passenger receipts for UK rail travel increased by 6.2 per cent year-on-year, and grew by 32.5 per cent over a five-year period. In addition, passenger journeys grew by 23.5 per cent over the five-year review period, with passenger kilometres travelled also growing by 17.9 per cent over the same timeframe.

For the purpose of this report, the rail industry in the UK has been split into four distinct sectors. Firstly, National Rail, which represents the largest share of the industry in terms of passenger receipts. Secondly, urban rail services, which include underground systems such as those in London and Glasgow, in addition to other metro, light rail and tram operators. Thirdly, Northern Ireland Railway services, which are analysed separately to National Rail services in Great Britain. Finally, international rail services, which consist of the shuttle service provided by Eurotunnel that operates between Folkstone and Calais, in addition to the Eurostar passenger service.

The UK Government plays a vital role in the country’s rail sector, and continues to considerably support the industry, spending over US$7.8 billion in 2013/2014 subsidising rail travel.

This figure is an increase of 13.1 per cent on the level seen in 2009/2010. In addition, in March 2014, the Government outlined a five-year investment strategy for the sector worth an estimated US$59.7 billion. This comes alongside commitments to improve upon the UK’s high-speed rail services (HS2 and HS3), which will represent substantial investment in the UK rail industry. The Government also impacts upon the sector by regulating rail fares, which continue to rise above the rate of inflation, thereby facilitating a steady increase in overall passenger receipts.

Other trends evaluated in this report include the consumer price indices for rail travel fares, in addition to a comparison of rail against alternative modes of transport. The report analyses national rail infrastructure, including such factors as overall track length, the number of stations and the age of rolling stock. For exclusive use in this report, Key Note commissioned a survey of 1,000 people in Great Britain to evaluate consumers’ rail travel patterns, including the reasons for rail travel and the frequency of using rail services for various outings.

Looking ahead, Key Note estimates that the total value of rail receipts in the UK will grow by 25.3 per cent over the five-year period between 2014/2015 and 2018/2019. Key Note further forecasts that the number of passenger journeys on rail services in the UK will also grow robustly in the coming years, as will the overall number of passenger kilometres travelled via rail.

Related Content

  • Moody’s more bullish on prospects for US toll roads
    December 6, 2013
    Moody’s Investor Services have up-rated the outlook for US toll roads from negative to stable. They think traffic should grow 1.5 per cent on a median basis in 2014, which they describe as a “sustainable comeback” from the three per cent decline since 2009. They think toll revenues should grow to a “mid-single digit percentage range” in 2013 and 2014 which we guess means 4 per cent to 6 per cent. They note such an increase in toll revenues is a slowdown from 2012 when big toll rate increases boosted r
  • UK plans fully integrated transport network to high tech hot spots
    December 9, 2013
    The UK government’s plans to support the country’s burgeoning high-tech industry, centred on London, Cambridge and Oxford, are being facilitated by the Department for Transport (DfT) and its plans for a fully integrated transport network linking each of the three core technical clusters, as well as the wider technical community. The DfT is developing proposals for the construction of a new railway line from Bedford to Cambridge. This would build on the ongoing work on the east-west rail project and compl
  • Strategy to connect the UK’s northern cities
    March 20, 2015
    Plans to revolutionise travel in the north, including a new TransNorth rail system and new road investments, will today be set out by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin and northern city leaders. As part of building a northern powerhouse, the Chancellor established Transport for the North (TfN) to bring together northern transport authorities, and tasked it with working with government to create the first ever comprehensive tr
  • IAM responds to report on decrease in UK road casualties
    November 5, 2015
    The UK Institute of Advanced Motorists has responded to the Department for Transport report, Reported Road Casualties in Great Britain: quarterly provisional estimates Q2 2015, which claims that there were 1,700 road deaths in the year ending June 2015, down by two per cent compared with the year ending June 2014. Neil Greig, IAM director of policy and research said: “It is indeed good news to see that in spite of an increase in volume of traffic by 2.3 per cent that the numbers of casualties has falle