THE number of passenger journeys made on Britain’s rail network rose by almost a fifth year-on-year in the second quarter of 2023, April 1 to June 30, according to the latest figures produced by industry regulator the Office of Road and Rail.
Atotal of 390 million journeys were made over the three months, representing a 19% increase on the 328 million journeys in the same period in 2022. However, the numbers are still only 89% of pre-pandemic levels.
All franchised operators had a greater number of passenger journeys than the previous year, ranging from 1% for TransPennine Express to 33% for ScotRail. However, the latter was operating on a reduced timetable from May 23 to July 15, 2022, therefore the increase in the latest quarter partly reflects the return to usual services.
The London and South East sector recorded 276 million journeys in the quarter, making it the largest sector by number of journeys. This was a 24% increase on the 223 million journeys in the same period last year. The Long Distance sector recorded 33 million journeys (an 8% increase), while the Regional sector recorded 79 million journeys (a 10% rise).
There were 2.4 million passenger journeys recorded for all open access operators combined, which is a slight increase (up 2%) compared with the same quarter in the previous year. Hull Trains recorded a 31% increase and Grand Central 12%.