Switzerland had the highest number of passenger kilometres travelled by trains per inhabitant in 2021 at national and international levels, while Luxembourg had the longest average distance for international rail travel.
Data by Eurostat show that passenger-kilometres per inhabitant at a national level for Switzerland in 2019 were 2,378, while in 2021, this figure dropped to 1,536, marking a 35.4 per cent decrease, which can be related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the EU average was 927 kilometres, the second and third countries to follow in terms of rail passenger kilometres travelled per inhabitant in 2021 are France and Austria, with 1,121 and 902 kilometres, respectively.
In 2019, Austria was ranked second with 1,140 kilometres, followed by France with 1,437 kilometres. However, these two countries switched positions in 2021, with France climbing on the list and Austria ranking third.
The list of countries with the most passengers passed in rail transport is concluded with Sweden (773 kilometres), Denmark (716), Germany (692) and Czechia (643).
However, compared to 2019 levels, all these countries have experienced major decreases in the passenger kilometres travelled in rail transport in 2021, with the highest difference being recorded in Ireland, as the decrease accounted for 64.4 per cent – from 489 to 174 kilometres travelled on rail passport per inhabitant.
In addition to Ireland, countries like Norway, Italy, and Slovakia recorded the most evident decreases in passenger transport travelled by rail per inhabitant in 2021, with all of them seeing this figure halve. More specifically, the rail passenger transport in Norway dropped by 52.6 per cent, around 50.6 per cent in Italy and 50.2 per cent in Slovakia.
Countries that managed to retain their figures less impacted during this period were Slovenia, Lithuania and Bulgaria, with their average rail passenger transport travelled in 2021 being 13, 19.8 and 19.5 per cent below 2019 levels, respectively.
Furthermore, the passenger-kilometres per inhabitant in 2021 at an international level were the highest for Luxembourg (135.5 kilometres), followed by Switzerland (62.2 kilometres) and Czechia (57.5 kilometres). Countries like Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Greece had no passenger-kilometres per inhabitant travelled in 2021.
The number of journeys per inhabitant was the highest for Switzerland – 60.8 in 2019 and 38.8 in 2021, followed by Luxembourg and Denmark, with 26.1 and 23 journeys per inhabitant, respectively. However, the number of journeys in 2019 was 40.8 and 35.6 for Luxembourg and Denmark, recording decreases of 36 and 35.3 per cent, respectively.
The share of trains in inland passenger transport was higher than the EU average (eight in 2019 and six in 2021) in countries like Switzerland (14.6), Austria (9.8) and Sweden (7.5).
Greece, Lithuania and Slovenia have the lowest rates, as less than two trains in inland passenger transport were recorded.
