A decline in demand for rail travel has been reversed despite a fall in season ticket usage, figures show.
Some 429 million passenger journeys were made in Britain between April and June, up 3.1% year-on-year, according to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).
The preceding 12 months saw the first annual decrease in passengers – down 1.4% – in eight years.
A 3.5% spike in the London and south-east England sector drove the recent increase.
The total number of rail passenger journeys increased by 13 million in 2018-19 Q1 compared to the same period last year. Full report available here: https://t.co/1uZjyjBJsA pic.twitter.com/Up31W7v5gF
— ORR (@railandroad) October 4, 2018
Paul Plummer, chief executive of industry body the Rail Delivery Group, said: “After seeing passenger growth slow in recent years, this return to growth is encouraging.
“It underlines the importance of delivering our long-term plan for thousands of new services and engaging in a national conversation about the future of the railway.”
Most train operators saw a rise in demand between April and June, although Northern Rail suffered a 2.4% dip amid major disruption before and after new timetables were introduced.
But Govia Thameslink Railway – which also experienced severe delays and cancellations on some of its routes after timetables were changed – recorded a 4.8% increase.
The ORR data also shows that season ticket journeys fell by 1.7% over the same period, while ordinary tickets were up 5.9%.
The market share of season tickets has fallen from 48% to 35% over the past decade.
Transport campaigners believe this trend is due to a number of factors, including rising fares making regular travel unaffordable to many, and an increase in part-time and flexible working.
Last month the Government commissioned a review of Britain’s railways which will consider all parts of the network, including accountability, the franchising system and value for money.
