Figure 10 shows that rail's modal share in passenger transport is higher than the EU average (7.5%) in nine Member States - Austria, Denmark, Hungary, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Germany and Belgium, while Spain, Italy and Slovakia are also catching up. In Croatia, Romania, Poland and Bulgaria rail's share has declined more than 1 percentage point. According to Figure 11 the main markets for passenger rail travel are in large and high-income Western European Member States. The growth of rail use since 2009 varied significantly, the largest relative increases in p-km over the last 5 years being in the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic and Luxembourg. An average decrease of 4 % or more per year has taken place in Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. Most dramatic reduction has taken place in Croatia, where according to available statistics passenger traffic has halved over the last 5 years. The divergence in growth rates in Member States reflects the impacts of a broad range of exogenous and endogenous factors. For example, increased access to car ownership and higher car use in EU13 Member States has suppressed rail demand in these countries. Conversely, the opening of new infrastructure or services, such as the West Coast Main Line upgrade works in the United Kingdom (2008) have supported rail demand and encouraged modal shift. Congestion on roads is also a strong factor supporting demand for rail services, in particular if facilitated by a suitable service offer and appropriate public policies (such as scarcity charge). Figure 11 Passenger traffic volumes by Member State (p-km, 2014), proportion of international traffic (%) – and average annual change of volumes since 2009 (%) Source: RMMS, except EL, ES, IE a mixture of Eurostat data and estimates is used Note: FR drop in international traffic between 2012 and 2013 is due to a break in time series – In Eastern Europe, upgrading rail infrastructure and rolling and thus enhancing service quality appears of being the lever to support modal shift towards rail.
Figure 10 shows that rail's modal share in passenger transport is higher than the EU average (7.5%) in nine Member States - Austria, Denmark, Hungary, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Germany and Belgium, while Spain, Italy and Slovakia are also catching up. In Croatia, Romania, Poland and Bulgaria rail's share has declined more than 1 percentage point. According to Figure 11 the main markets for passenger rail travel are in large and high-income Western European Member States. The growth of rail use since 2009 varied significantly, the largest relative increases in p-km over the last 5 years being in the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic and Luxembourg. An average decrease of 4 % or more per year has taken place in Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. Most dramatic reduction has taken place in Croatia, where according to available statistics passenger traffic has halved over the last 5 years. The divergence in growth rates in Member States reflects the impacts of a broad range of exogenous and endogenous factors. For example, increased access to car ownership and higher car use in EU13 Member States has suppressed rail demand in these countries. Conversely, the opening of new infrastructure or services, such as the West Coast Main Line upgrade works in the United Kingdom (2008) have supported rail demand and encouraged modal shift. Congestion on roads is also a strong factor supporting demand for rail services, in particular if facilitated by a suitable service offer and appropriate public policies (such as scarcity charge). Figure 11 – Passenger traffic volumes by Member State (p-km, 2014), proportion of international traffic (%) and average annual change of volumes since 2009 (%) Source: RMMS, except EL, ES, IE a mixture of Eurostat data and estimates is used Note: FR – drop in international traffic between 2012 and 2013 is due to a break in time series In Eastern Europe, upgrading rail infrastructure and rolling and thus enhancing service quality appears of being the lever to support modal shift towards rail.