The Railway Industry Association has welcomed new government figures and the National Infrastructure Assessment, which show that demand for public transport continues to grow. It has urged politicians to reject messages from some quarters that the rail industry is in decline.

The infrastructure assessment, published today (Wednesday 18 October), reports that there has been some change in travel patterns following the Covid-19 pandemic, but that “the largest cities are likely to require more capacity on their public transport networks to support economic growth over the next 20 to 30 years.”

The Department for Transport (DfT) has published data this week which demonstrates that passenger numbers from April to September nearly returned to full pre-Covid levels. The figures show national passenger levels (including the Elizabeth line and excluding the impact of rail strikes) were an average 98% of pre Covid levels.

Darren Caplan, Chief Executive of the Railway Industry Association, said, “These latest figures from the DfT make a mockery of the recent assertion that we don’t need more rail capacity with schemes like HS2 Phase 2 from Birmingham to Manchester. Indeed, passenger numbers today are more than 15% higher than when the business case for the full HS2 scheme was made and accepted in 2012.

“We are getting clear and sustained evidence this year that people have returned to rail in very healthy numbers post pandemic, with every likelihood this will continue to grow in the years ahead. About a third of the Elizabeth line passengers are new to rail demonstrating that if you provide a high-quality railway service people will use it. The National Infrastructure Assessment published today also supports the view that demand for urban public transport in the future will grow, with more capacity required to accommodate that growth.

“We urge politicians of all parties not to accept the excessively negative messages from some parts of the Government that UK rail is in decline. Rather, there needs to be more investment in major national transport infrastructure schemes not less, to deliver the capacity we’re going to need in the years ahead.”