Rail travel in UK arrives at 60-year high

Rail travel is now at its highest level in Britain for more than 60 years, it was announced today.

Last year, passengers travelled 45.6 billion kilometres on the country's railways, according to the Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc). This year's figure is so far up another seven per cent, meaning the post-war record of 47bn km set in 1946 could be surpassed.

Atoc said Britain had the fastest-growing railway in Europe, with passenger journeys having risen 43.6 per cent in the last decade. On average, 3.15 million passengers travel on the railways every day.

Atoc director-general George Muir said: "Our railways have outperformed the growth of other countries in attracting more people to rail and more freight is being carried too. This reflects the fact that our railways provide frequent and well-used services and proves that the new trains and improvements to punctuality we have seen in recent years are attracting new passengers and freight customers to our extensive rail network."