In 2023, rail traffic accounted for 429 billion passenger kilometers, compared to 386 billion in 2022 (+11.2%), marking the highest figure reported by rail companies since data collection began in 2004.
The demand for rail passenger transport increased by 9.4% between 2015 and 2019, reaching a peak of 411 billion kilometers, according to Eurostat.
Compared to 2020, which saw the lowest performance (221 billion km), passenger kilometers in 2023 almost doubled.
Rail passenger performance increased in all quarters of 2023 compared to the same quarters in 2022. The first quarter of 2023 saw the largest change, with 21 billion more rail kilometers than in the same quarter of 2022, representing an increase of 29.1%.
Of the 8 billion rail passengers recorded in 2023 in the EU, nearly half traveled in Germany (33.9%) and France (15%).
The number of rail passengers increased by more than 25% in Croatia (29%), Ireland (28.7%), and Luxembourg (25.1%). In contrast, Greece recorded the largest decrease in rail passenger numbers, down by 17%.