Passenger rail travel in the UK – statistics & facts
In 2022, the United Kingdom’s rail services transported passengers on 64 billion kilometers of rail travel. In the years immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic rail passenger-kilometers had stood at 80 billion or above but dropped precipitously in 2020, beginning to recover the following year. The UK’s passenger rail segment comprises regional and long-distance rail, light rail, and metro, and a high-speed rail route connecting London to continental Europe. The UK rail network boasts over 16,000 kilometers of railroad tracks – nearly 38 percent of which have been electrified. Ranked twenty-fifth overall when it comes to rail electrification rates in Europe, the United Kingdom has some way to go before it can compete with some of its European neighbors.
