Railways, passengers carried in European Union

European Union: Railways, passengers carried was 2,912 million passenger-km in 2021. ▼ Falling

Latest (2021)
2,912 million passenger-km
Change on year
down 24.1%
Rank
1st
of 2 regions
All-time high
6,639 million passenger-km
in 2008
All-time low
2,912 million passenger-km
in 2021
Years of data
27
1995–2021

Railways, passengers carried in European Union, 1995–2021

02.0k4.0k6.0k1995200820211995: 5.8k million passenger-km1996: 5.9k million passenger-km1997: 6.4k million passenger-km1998: 6.1k million passenger-km1999: 6.0k million passenger-km2000: 6.4k million passenger-km2001: 6.5k million passenger-km2002: 6.2k million passenger-km2003: 6.2k million passenger-km2004: 6.3k million passenger-km2005: 6.4k million passenger-km2006: 6.6k million passenger-km2007: 6.6k million passenger-km2008: 6.6k million passenger-km2009: 6.2k million passenger-km2010: 6.0k million passenger-km2011: 5.9k million passenger-km2012: 5.8k million passenger-km2013: 5.7k million passenger-km2014: 5.9k million passenger-km2015: 6.0k million passenger-km2016: 5.8k million passenger-km2017: 6.1k million passenger-km2018: 6.1k million passenger-km2019: 5.9k million passenger-km2020: 3.8k million passenger-km2021: 2.9k million passenger-km

Source: Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC). Measured in million passenger-km.

Analysis

In 2021, railways, passengers carried in European Union stood at 2,912 million passenger-km. That is the lowest value across all 27 years on record.

That represents a change of down 24.1% on the previous year and down 50.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, railways, passengers carried in European Union peaked at 6,639 million passenger-km in 2008 and was at its lowest, 2,912 million passenger-km, in 2021.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 27 years of available data.

Railways, passengers carried in European Union, year by year

Annual values for Railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km) in European Union, 1995 to 2021.
Year million passenger-km Change
1995 5,813 million passenger-km
1996 5,926 million passenger-km +2.0%
1997 6,433 million passenger-km +8.5%
1998 6,090 million passenger-km -5.3%
1999 6,035 million passenger-km -0.9%
2000 6,418 million passenger-km +6.4%
2001 6,510 million passenger-km +1.4%
2002 6,176 million passenger-km -5.1%
2003 6,206 million passenger-km +0.5%
2004 6,332 million passenger-km +2.0%
2005 6,402 million passenger-km +1.1%
2006 6,598 million passenger-km +3.1%
2007 6,626 million passenger-km +0.4%
2008 6,639 million passenger-km +0.2%
2009 6,248 million passenger-km -5.9%
2010 6,008 million passenger-km -3.8%
2011 5,894 million passenger-km -1.9%
2012 5,796 million passenger-km -1.7%
2013 5,744 million passenger-km -0.9%
2014 5,892 million passenger-km +2.6%
2015 5,978 million passenger-km +1.5%
2016 5,820 million passenger-km -2.6%
2017 6,143 million passenger-km +5.5%
2018 6,068 million passenger-km -1.2%
2019 5,906 million passenger-km -2.7%
2020 3,837 million passenger-km -35.0%
2021 2,912 million passenger-km -24.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 6,060 million passenger-km 5,813 million passenger-km 6,433 million passenger-km 5
2000s 6,415 million passenger-km 6,176 million passenger-km 6,639 million passenger-km 10
2010s 5,925 million passenger-km 5,744 million passenger-km 6,143 million passenger-km 10
2020s 3,375 million passenger-km 2,912 million passenger-km 3,837 million passenger-km 2

Countries ranked near European Union

  1. 1 China (People’s Republic of) 946,499 million passenger-km compare
  2. 2 Japan 263,211 million passenger-km compare
  3. 3 India 231,126 million passenger-km compare
  4. 4 Russia 103,447 million passenger-km compare

See the full ranking of 128 places →

More infrastructure data for European Union

All data for European Union →

Frequently asked questions

What is railways, passengers carried in European Union?
Railways, passengers carried in European Union was 2,912 million passenger-km in 2021, according to Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC).
What is the highest railways, passengers carried recorded in European Union?
The highest recorded value was 6,639 million passenger-km in 2008.
What is the lowest railways, passengers carried recorded in European Union?
The lowest recorded value was 2,912 million passenger-km in 2021.
How does European Union rank for railways, passengers carried?
European Union ranks 1st out of 2 regions with data for 2021.
Is railways, passengers carried rising or falling in European Union?
Over the last ten years it is down 50.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this European Union data come from?
The figures come from Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC), published as part of Railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Railways, passengers carried in European Union. Statizoid, drawing on Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC). Retrieved 23 August 2026, from https://infrastructure.statizoid.com/stat/railways-passengers-carried-million-passenger-km/european-union/

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About this data

Indicator
Railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km)
Unit
million passenger-km
Source
Railisa Database (UIC), International Union of Railways (UIC)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
128 places, 2,650 data points, 1995–2021
Last refreshed

Passengers carried by railway are the number of passengers transported by rail multiplied by kilometers traveled.