Figures unveiled in the Passenger Rail Usage 2018-19 Q4 Statistical Release (covering January-March 2019 and published by the Office of Rail and Road (
www.orr.gov.uk) on 13 June) show that journeys by passengers using ordinary tickets increased by 5% compared with 2017-18, driven by a 6.9% growth in ‘anytime tickets’.
Meanwhile, the number of journeys made by passengers using season tickets fell for the third consecutive year; it was down 0.4%, with season tickets now holding a 36% share of the market — down from 48% a decade ago.
In 2018-19, there were 1.217 billion journeys in the London and South East sector, 393 million in the Regional sector and 147 million journeys in the Long Distance sector.
The highest increase in 2018-19 was 3.9% in the London and South East sector, which accounts for nearly 70% of all British rail journeys.
Total passenger revenue reached £10.3 billion in 2018-19, with annual revenue growth of 6.1% — the highest figure since 2014-15.
The increase in passenger revenue was driven by a 7% rise in the London and South East sector, which contributes half of the total revenue and reached a record high of £5.1 billion in 2018-19.