The Association of Train Operating Companies has said that a ‘surge in the sale of cut price train tickets combined with rocketing petrol prices’ are helping to drive up demand for rail to historic levels.
Analysis by ATOC shows that passenger numbers grew by 6% in the last 12 months and journeys on the rail network reached over 1.4 billion – a new high since the 1920s.
ATOC said that strong growth in sales of reduced-price tickets ‘suggests that people are increasingly turning to rail by opting for affordable tickets that compare well with the cost of other forms of transport’.
Figures from ATOC show that over the last 12 months, sales of reduced-price tickets rose by 9%.
ATOC’s opinion polling shows that the record price of petrol is also ‘prompting hundreds of thousands of people to switch from road to rail’.
Research carried out by Ipsos MORI for ATOC shows that more than a quarter of rail users have switched from car to train for at least one journey over the last few months.
Around a third of those to switch said that they had done so because of the price of petrol.
Michael Roberts, ATOC Chief Executive, said:
“People are voting with their feet and wallets by choosing to travel by train in growing numbers.”
