Collection

Rail statistics

Data and statistics about the national rail system in Great Britain.

Latest rail statistics

Rail passenger numbers and crowding statistics

Statistics on the number of passengers travelling by rail into and out of major city centres in England and Wales on a ‘typical’ autumn weekday.

Guidance on current and previous rail passenger numbers and crowding statistics are available.

Rail research

A range of ad-hoc research reports are available below. Further research can be found on the transport social research and evaluation page.

All the social research follows the government social research (GSR) code set out in the Government social research: profession strategy 2015 to 2020.

Rail factsheets

Rail factsheets provide an overview of key statistics on rail in Great Britain and the context of how rail fits in the wider transport system. These are published annually and collate previously published statistics from a range of sources, including those from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

Previous rail factsheets are available.

Rail data tables

Rail data tables are published by the department and collate data about the rail industry, including statistics that are originally published elsewhere.

Accessibility of tables

The department is currently working to make our tables accessible for our users. If you would like to request a more accessible format, please email rail statistics. We will consider each request but may not be able to provide an alternative accessible format on every occasion.

If you have any feedback on the accessibility of our tables, please email us.

About the rail statistics data and reports

Rail passenger numbers and crowding statistics published are National Statistics. These statistics were assessed by the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) and confirmed as National Statistics in July 2013.

Other statistics about the rail industry are published by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and other organisations. Therefore, a number of the statistics that appear are originally published elsewhere. In these cases, more recent and more detailed statistics than those published here may be available from the organisation that produces them.

Published 24 July 2013
Last updated 25 January 2024 + show all updates
  1. The latest rail factsheet for 2023 added.

  2. Added Rail delays and compensation 2023 and Train operating companies: Passenger’s Charter compensation.

  3. Rail passenger numbers and crowding report added for the year 2022.

  4. Rail factsheet for 2022 added.

  5. Rail passenger numbers and crowding on weekdays in major cities in England and Wales, 2021 added.

  6. Rail factsheet for 2021 added.

  7. Rail passenger numbers and crowding on weekdays in major cities in England and Wales, 2020 added.

  8. Added Passenger experience of rail disruption handling in Great Britain.

  9. Rail factsheet 2020 added to collection.

  10. Rail delays and compensation 2020 added to the rail research section.

  11. Rail passenger numbers and crowding report for 2019 added to collection.

  12. Collection page updated for the 2019 rail factsheet.

  13. Added 24th July 2019 publication.

  14. New release published.

  15. New rail statistics factsheet published.

  16. New release published.

  17. New release published.

  18. New release published.

  19. New release published.

  20. New release published.

  21. First published.