Rail passenger traffic – by region 2018-2021

In 2020, passengers traveled just under 24 billion passenger kilometers on railways in the Americas. The region trails behind Europe and APAC.

Rail passenger transport collapses amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Rail passenger numbers dropped in all world regions at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Global passenger demand dropped from 4.2 trillion passenger kilometers to only 2.7 trillion passenger kilometers. In Europe rail passenger traffic dropped by nearly half before rising to around 59 percent of pre-pandemic traffic in 2021.

High-speed rail continues to boom

Despite the downturn in passenger numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic, countries around the world are continuing to expand their high-speed rail networks. As of 2022, there were thousands of kilometers of high-speed lines under construction globally. This boom is largely driven by China, which had over 13,000 kilometers of high-speed lines under construction in 2022.