The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has released figures showing 182 million rail journeys were made between April and June 2021 (Q1 2021/22). This is more than double the previous quarter (Q4 2020/21) of 80 million journeys, and more than five times the 35 million journeys made in April to June 2020 (Q1 2020/21).
Commenting on the ORR’s Passenger Rail Usage statistics, Andy Bagnall, Director General at the Rail Delivery Group, said:
“Rail companies are working together to welcome people back to train travel, whether to visit friends or family or head in to the workplace. This growth in journeys is supporting the nation’s economic recovery because when people take the train it’s more than a journey. Train travel boosts communities and local businesses as rail passengers spend £133 billion a year in places like shops, restaurants and hotels before the pandemic.”
The Department for Transport publishes weekly data on journeys across transport modes during the pandemic, compared to pre-covid levels, which shows that rail journeys have continued to increase over the summer and into the autumn and are currently around 65% of pre-covid levels.
