Dramatic decline in number of passengers using the railways
Passenger numbers on trains plummeted to their lowest level since the mid-19th century during the first few months of lockdown, a report says.
West Midlands Trains – which runs West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway – recorded a drop of 94 per cent in passenger use.
Figures from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) revealed the decline over April and June this year when compared to the previous year.
The railway watchdog said passenger numbers fell to 35 million nationally – a decline of more than 400 million on the year before.
Graham Richards, director of railway planning and performance at the ORR, said: “This unprecedented fall in passenger numbers, the largest on record to levels last seen in the mid-19th century, has clearly had an impact on both rail usage and also ticketing revenue.
“These figures include the period of lockdown and reassuringly we’re now seeing passenger numbers slowly increase.
"ORR has worked closely with the industry, and continues to do so, to ensure the necessary health and safety advice and guidance is in place.
“Rail is one of the safest ways to travel and our inspectors continue to monitor the reality on the ground to ensure people have the confidence that they can travel safely.”
It represents the lowest quarterly total since the mid-19th century which had seen the first-steam passenger service introduced in 1830.
