Rail passenger traffic in Europe 2004–2022
In 2022, passenger traffic on railways amounted 473 billion passenger kilometers in Europe. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, rail passenger traffic in Europe had been on an upward trend but collapsed when travel restrictions were put in place in 2020. Passenger demand rose in 2021 and 2022 but remained well below traffic recorded in 2019.
Europe one of the leading passenger rail markets
Worldwide, passengers traveled nearly 2.5 trillion passenger kilometers on railway networks in 2022, with Europe representing the second-largest market globally. In fact, Europeans traveled nearly 13 times as much as their America counterparts. The passenger demand in the Asia and Oceania region, however, substantially outstripped demand in Europe. In 2022, passenger traffic in Asia and Oceania was nearly four times as high as in Europe.
French leading European passenger rail transport
The French operator SNCF was responsible for transporting the largest number of passengers in Europe in 2021, recording nearly 75 billion passenger kilometers. SNCF was followed by German operator Deutsche Bahn, which reported over 46 billion passenger kilometers.