History of rail transport in Great Britain 1995 to date

Rail Passengers in Great Britain from 1829 to 2023

The period from 1995 covers the history of rail transport in Great Britain following the privatisation of British Rail. During this period, passenger volumes have grown rapidly,[1] safety has improved,[2][3] and subsidies per journey have fallen. However, there is debate as to whether this is due to privatisation or to better government regulation. During this period, High Speed 1, the West Coast Main Line upgrade and Crossrail were completed and more construction projects are currently under way. The period also saw the demise of privately-owned Railtrack and its replacement with government-owned Network Rail.

Rail subsidies from 1985/86 to 2016/17, including funding for Crossrail and HS2[4]

Overall rail subsidies have risen, as shown in the graph, although spend per journey has decreased. Rail subsidies have increased from £3.4 billion in 1992–93 to £4.5 billion in 2015–16 (in current prices), although subsidy per journey has fallen from £4.57 to £2.61.[5][6] However, this masks great regional variation: for instance, in 2014–15 funding varied from "£1.41 per passenger journey in England to £6.51 per journey in Scotland and £8.34 per journey in Wales."[6]

Due to the increase in passenger numbers and the prospect of high speed rail both within Great Britain and connecting to Europe, this period has been called the start of a new Golden Age of rail travel.[7][8] However quickly increasing passenger numbers have meant many trains (as many as 1 in 6 in some places) are very crowded at peak times.[9][10] Peak-time fares have increased by over 200% (since privatisation) to deter people from travelling at these times,[5] whereas the price of advance tickets has halved in the same period.[11] The COVID-19 pandemic caused a massive drop in passenger numbers,[12][13][14] even though freight transport held up fairly well.

  1. ^ "Growth of 6.9% in 2010 takes demand for rail travel to new high levels". Association of Train Operating Companies. February 2011. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  2. ^ "NATIONAL RAIL TRENDS 2009-10 YEARBOOK" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 May 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  3. ^ "Railway safety statistical report 2007" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 May 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  4. ^ "ORR Rail finance 2016/17" (PDF). 10 October 2017. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  5. ^ a b Have train fares gone up or down since British Rail? Archived 14 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, 22 January 2013
  6. ^ a b "Rail industry financial information 2015-16 | Office of Rail and Road" (PDF). orr.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  7. ^ Beanland, Christopher (10 July 2014). "Striking new stations, high-speed links and (whisper it) better services - the UK's railways are entering a new golden age". The Independent. London.
  8. ^ "This page has been removed | The Guardian". TheGuardian.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  9. ^ "Pre-Covid trains left one in six rush hour passengers standing". BBC News. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  10. ^ "UK Government overcrowded trains" (PDF). UK Government. 2017.
  11. ^ "The facts about rail fares - Stagecoach Group". Stagecoach.com. 6 December 2013. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  12. ^ "Cut rail fares to counter Covid slump in train travel, watchdog urges". The Guardian. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  13. ^ "Coronavirus: Train services to be cut amid falling demand". BBC News. 20 March 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  14. ^ "Impact of Covid-19 on the railways: could the pandemic bloster rail travel?". www.railway-technology.com. 11 August 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.