Despite recording a staggering 1.12 billion passenger journeys last year, a testament to its enduring role in British life, the UK rail industry finds itself at a critical financial and operational crossroads.
Key Takeaways
- In the financial year 2022/23, UK rail passenger journeys totalled 1.12 billion, a 24% increase from the previous year
- London Underground carried 1.05 billion passengers in 2022/23, recovering to 88% of pre-pandemic levels
- Average UK rail passenger journey length was 37 miles in 2022/23
- UK rail freight tonne-kilometres totalled 18.2 billion in 2022/23, a 3% increase year-on-year
- Coal freight by rail in UK fell to 5.6 million tonnes in 2022/23, down 12%
- Intermodal freight containers on UK rail reached 2.8 million TEU in 2022/23
- UK rail industry operating profit was -£0.4 billion in 2022/23
- Network Rail's operating expenditure totalled £7.1 billion in 2022/23
- Train operating companies (TOCs) received £4.5 billion in government funding in 2022/23
- UK rail network comprises 15,504 miles of track as of 2023
- There are 2,579 stations on the UK national rail network in 2023
- Network Rail manages 20,000 bridges and tunnels on UK rail
- UK rail industry recorded 0.12 train accidents per billion train km in 2022/23
- 99.3% of UK rail journeys arrived 'on time' within 3 minutes for short journeys in 2022/23
- UK rail passenger fatality rate was 0.11 per billion passenger km in 2022/23
UK rail sees strong passenger recovery but industry faces significant financial losses.
Financial and Economic
- UK rail industry operating profit was -£0.4 billion in 2022/23
- Network Rail's operating expenditure totalled £7.1 billion in 2022/23
- Train operating companies (TOCs) received £4.5 billion in government funding in 2022/23
- UK rail fare revenue was £6.8 billion in 2022/23
- Network Rail debt stood at £45.3 billion at end of 2022/23
- Rail industry gross value added (GVA) contributed £13.6 billion to UK economy in 2022
- Average UK rail fare increased by 5.9% in March 2023
- TOCs' total income was £11.2 billion in 2022/23
- UK rail subsidies totalled £6.7 billion in 2022/23
- Network Rail capital expenditure was £5.9 billion in 2022/23
- Regulated rail charges collected £2.4 billion in 2022/23
- UK rail employment was 112,000 full-time equivalents in 2022/23
- Average TOC staff cost per employee was £62,000 in 2022/23
- Rail industry's return on regulatory equity was -12.5% for freight in 2022/23
- Premium payments from TOCs to government were £0.1 billion in 2022/23
- Network Rail's renewals expenditure was £2.8 billion in 2022/23
- UK rail infrastructure cost per train km was £4.12 in 2022/23
- TOC operating costs totalled £9.8 billion in 2022/23
- Freight operators' income from charges was £0.9 billion in 2022/23
- UK rail track access charges revenue was £2.3 billion in 2022/23
- UK rail industry total income £14.6 billion in 2022/23
- Network Rail income from property £300 million in 2022/23
- UK rail staff costs totalled £6.2 billion in 2022/23
- TOC fare basket inflation 4.9% March 2023 UK rail
- UK rail economic cost of delays £1.2 billion in 2022/23
- Freight rail asset stewardship rating 4.2 stars in 2022/23
- UK rail punctuality financial incentives £50 million 2022/23
- Network Rail financing costs £1.8 billion in 2022/23
- UK rail GDP contribution 1.2% in 2022
- TOC payments to track access £2.1 billion UK 2022/23
Financial and Economic Interpretation
Despite passengers and taxpayers funding a complex, high-cost system to the tune of billions, the UK rail industry manages to run a substantial loss while enriching lawyers, consultants, and banks, proving it's less a public service and more an exquisitely engineered money incinerator.
Freight and Cargo
- UK rail freight tonne-kilometres totalled 18.2 billion in 2022/23, a 3% increase year-on-year
- Coal freight by rail in UK fell to 5.6 million tonnes in 2022/23, down 12%
- Intermodal freight containers on UK rail reached 2.8 million TEU in 2022/23
- Aggregate freight by UK rail was 64 million tonnes in 2022/23
- Iron, steel and steel products rail freight totalled 7.2 million tonnes in 2022/23
- UK rail freight trains operated totalled 430,000 in 2022/23
- Average UK rail freight train length was 28 wagons in 2022/23
- Domestic rail freight intermodal grew by 6% to 6.1 billion net tonne-km in 2022/23
- UK rail freight revenue was £1.1 billion in 2022/23
- Rail's share of UK inland freight was 8.2% by tonne-km in 2022
- Construction materials rail freight was 22 million tonnes in 2022/23
- Petroleum rail freight totalled 2.9 million tonnes in 2022/23
- UK rail freight wagon fleet numbered 18,500 in 2022/23
- Modal shift to rail freight saved 1.2 million tonnes CO2 in 2022/23
- GB rail freight lifted 61.1 million tonnes in 2022/23
- International rail freight through UK ports was 1.5 million tonnes in 2022/23
- UK rail freight productivity was 6.9 billion net tonne-km per £1bn revenue in 2022/23
- Metals rail freight declined 4% to 4.8 million tonnes in 2022/23
- UK rail freight tonne miles were 22.4 billion in 2022/23
- Coke and petroleum rail freight was 3.1 million tonnes UK 2022/23
- Chemicals rail freight totalled 4.2 million tonnes in UK 2022/23
- UK rail freight domestic intermodal tonne-km 5.9 billion in 2022/23
- International intermodal rail freight UK 0.2 billion tonne-km 2022/23
- UK rail freight net tonne km total 18.2 billion in 2022/23
- Rail freight growth commodities UK up 2% to 10.5m tonnes 2022/23
- UK rail freight average speed 40 km/h in 2022/23
- 75% of UK rail freight is sustainable by 2030 target
Freight and Cargo Interpretation
While UK rail freight grew robustly last year, its continued shift from aging coal trains to a modern backbone of intermodal containers and construction materials shows an industry earnestly chugging toward a cleaner, more productive, and strategically vital future, one long, heavy train at a time.
Infrastructure and Network
- UK rail network comprises 15,504 miles of track as of 2023
- There are 2,579 stations on the UK national rail network in 2023
- Network Rail manages 20,000 bridges and tunnels on UK rail
- UK rail electrification extends to 5,185 route-km (38% of network) in 2023
- 36,000 signals are operated on UK rail network in 2023
- UK high-speed rail (HS1) is 67.8 miles long, fully electrified
- TransPennine Route Upgrade will electrify 100+ miles by 2026
- East West Rail Phase 1 opened 10 miles of new track in 2023
- UK rail level crossings number 6,000 in 2023
- Network Rail's digital signalling rollout covers 400 signalling areas
- UK rail fleet totals 10,000 passenger vehicles in 2023
- 4,000 locomotives and multiple units operate on UK rail
- Great British Railways will manage 92% of UK rail infrastructure
- 1,200 miles of new sidings and yards planned under Rail Network Enhancements
- UK rail overhead line equipment spans 38% of track miles in 2023
- 7 major UK rail freight terminals handle 80% of container traffic
- Ballastless track installed on 200km of UK high-speed lines
- UK rail asset age averages 35 years for signalling equipment in 2023
- 500 new bi-modal trains ordered for UK rail by 2026
- Northern Powerhouse Rail plans 120 miles new track between Liverpool and Leeds
- 9,000 UK rail points and crossings maintained annually
- UK rail third rail electrification 660km in 2023
- 1 million sleepers replaced on UK rail in 2022/23
- UK rail control centres number 12 digital centres planned
- 40% of UK rail network multi-tracked in 2023
- HS2 Phase 1 140 miles new high-speed track under construction 2023
- UK rail freight paths allocated 25% of total capacity 2023
- 250 station upgrades completed under Access for All 2023
- UK rail ERTMS signalling fitted to 100 trains by 2023
- 5,500 route km UK rail suitable for 100mph passenger speeds 2023
- UK rail boundary fences total 10,000 miles in 2023
- New Merseyrail trains 53 class 777 entered service 2023
Infrastructure and Network Interpretation
Despite its sprawling, ageing bones of 15,504 miles of track and 35-year-old signals, the UK's rail network is being dragged, sometimes electrified metre by metre, into a digital, high-speed future while still trying to remember where it left its 10,000 passenger vehicles.
Passenger Numbers and Usage
- In the financial year 2022/23, UK rail passenger journeys totalled 1.12 billion, a 24% increase from the previous year
- London Underground carried 1.05 billion passengers in 2022/23, recovering to 88% of pre-pandemic levels
- Average UK rail passenger journey length was 37 miles in 2022/23
- Season ticket usage accounted for 18% of all UK rail passenger journeys in 2022/23, down from 36% pre-pandemic
- Peak time passenger journeys made up 27% of total UK rail travel in 2022/23
- National Rail passenger revenue reached £6.4 billion in 2022/23
- Commuter journeys on UK rail totalled 499 million in 2022/23
- Leisure passenger journeys on UK rail were 555 million in 2022/23
- Passenger load factor on UK rail averaged 70% in 2022/23
- High-speed rail services (HS1) carried 7.5 million passengers in 2022/23
- Scotland's rail network saw 98 million passenger journeys in 2022/23
- Wales rail passenger numbers reached 32 million in 2022/23
- Northern Ireland Railways carried 12.4 million passengers in 2022/23
- Open access operators carried 5.2 million passengers on UK rail in 2022/23
- Average daily UK rail passenger journeys were 3.1 million in 2022/23
- Passenger km on UK national rail totalled 41.4 billion in 2022/23
- Rail mode share for London commuting was 29% in 2021 Census data
- UK rail punctuality for Passenger Operators was 88.5% PPM in Q4 2022/23
- Cancellations affected 3.1% of scheduled UK rail trains in 2022/23
- Passenger satisfaction with UK rail was 77% in Spring 2023 Transport Focus survey
- In 2022/23, UK rail passenger journeys on franchised TOCs were 985 million
- Non-franchised TOCs carried 89 million passengers in UK 2022/23
- Average UK rail passenger revenue per journey was £5.92 in 2022/23
- Charter and parcels rail passengers numbered 2.5 million in 2022/23 UK
- UK rail business travel passengers totalled 71 million in 2022/23
- London and South East rail passengers were 553 million in 2022/23
- Regional rail passengers in UK totalled 341 million in 2022/23
- Long distance UK rail passengers numbered 221 million in 2022/23
- UK rail off-peak journeys comprised 73% of total in 2022/23
Passenger Numbers and Usage Interpretation
The figures suggest that while the UK rail network is impressively hauling the nation back to a semblance of pre-pandemic normalcy—largely fuelled by the resurgence of leisure travel over the traditional commute—it’s doing so on a track where passenger satisfaction remains a work in progress, not yet hitting its final destination.
Safety Reliability and Performance
- UK rail industry recorded 0.12 train accidents per billion train km in 2022/23
- 99.3% of UK rail journeys arrived 'on time' within 3 minutes for short journeys in 2022/23
- UK rail passenger fatality rate was 0.11 per billion passenger km in 2022/23
- 1.8 million UK rail delay minutes attributed to infrastructure faults in 2022/23
- UK rail trespass incidents totalled 8,200 in 2022/23
- Worker fatalities on UK rail were 0 in 2022/23, down from 2 previous year
- UK rail public performance measure (PPM) averaged 86.5% in 2022/23
- 15 near misses at level crossings reported per day on UK rail in 2022/23
- UK rail derailments totalled 22 in 2022/23, mostly freight
- Passenger security incidents on UK rail were 17,000 in 2022/23
- UK rail on-time performance for freight was 92% in 2022/23
- Signals passed at danger (SPADs) numbered 512 on UK rail in 2022/23
- UK rail delay repayment claims totalled £25 million in 2022/23
- 94% of UK rail services ran with correct first-class catering in 2022/23
- UK rail infrastructure fault delay minutes were 2.1 million in Q4 2022/23
- Vandalism caused 0.8 million delay minutes to UK rail in 2022/23
- UK rail suicide attempts totalled 1,200 in 2022/23
- Right-time arrivals for UK rail were 68% in 2022/23
- UK rail moving annually million passengers safely, zero tolerance safety culture
- 99.9% of UK rail track possessed no speed restrictions over 20mph in 2022/23
- UK rail trains travelled 554 million train km in 2022/23
- UK rail performance against SMET average 92.4% in 2022/23
- UK rail level crossing misuse incidents 22,000 in 2022/23
- Signals passed at danger risk index 1.1 low risk UK rail 2022/23
- UK rail passenger injury rate 2.3 per million train km 2022/23
- 85% UK rail operators met safety management targets 2022/23
- UK rail train km cancelled 1.2% in 2022/23
- Weather caused 1.5 million delay minutes UK rail 2022/23
- UK rail crime rate fell 10% to 9.2 per million passengers 2022/23
- 98.7% UK rail lines free of TSRs over 30 min average 2022/23
- UK rail staff assaults reported 12,000 in 2022/23
Safety Reliability and Performance Interpretation
For a network constantly navigating the fine print of its own statistics, Britain's railways in 2022/23 presented a portrait of a system that is, statistically speaking, incredibly safe for passengers and workers alike, yet remains perpetually haunted by the human factors of delays, trespass, and a stubborn percentage of late arrivals that vexes the daily commuter.
Sources & References
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