Passenger rail traffic across Europe will increase by 21 per cent by 2020, according to new research by Amadeus Rail.
Long-distance passengers volumes will reach more than 1.36 billion by 2020.
The study shows that the UK will play a big part in the increase, contributing 70 million passengers to the total European market growth of 238 million passengers between 2011 and 2020.
Key factors are expected to include the liberalisation of European markets, completion of high-speed lines and relative cost of the railway.
Thomas Drexler, director of Amadeus Rail, said: “The Rail Journey to 2020 aims to inform the debate on how seamless cross-border rail services across Europe can become a reality.
“Building standards for data exchange, booking and ticketing services will fundamentally change the way the traveller will view rail travel, and move even closer towards the EC’s proposals for rail in its road map to a single European transport area.
“It will make rail travel more accessible, and improve the perception that rail is the way to travel across Europe. This will in turn encourage the idea that through-ticketing is a must for this to be successful.”
It’s great that Europe is waking up to the potential of rail as a rival to airlines, and it will be fascinating to see how Thomas Drexlar’s assertion that “building standards for data exchange, booking and ticketing services” becomes a reality while the politics of rail remain such a contentious issue.