Passenger numbers on all tram and light rail systems in the UK have bounced back to their highest levels since before the pandemic but are still a long way short of numbers which were carried in 2019/20 according to the latest statistics released by the Department for Transport. Coming some two months later than usual the stats show passenger journeys on each system along with various other statistics such as concessionary passenger journeys and average length of journeys.
These figures cover the period up until March 2022 and the overall figures show that passenger journeys have more than doubled when compared to those up until March 2021 (possibly not exactly a surprise). 171.5 million journeys were recorded across England with all eight systems under review seeing rises. Top of the pops here is the Blackpool Tramway which saw a 281.8% increase in passenger numbers – showing how tourism bounced back quicker than commuters returning to the office most probably – whilst down at the other end is the West Midlands Metro which only saw a 38.8% increase (its fair to say none of these numbers are a surprise with the Metro having seen long periods of no or reduced service).
Once again the bulk of journeys are carried within London – the Docklands Light Railway alone accounts for over 50% of the total journeys within the country. Outside of London, Manchester Metrolink is unsurprisingly the system with the most journeys (and a 152.4% increase). Away from Blackpool with its tourism skewed figures the normal system with the highest increase is Nottingham Express Transit which saw a 167.6% rise.
Although the statistics are mainly for English systems, Edinburgh Trams is also included as a comparison. This shows that although it has increased passenger numbers during the 2021/22 period it is still only around 40% of pre-pandemic levels. With more restrictions continuing for longer in Scotland this can probably account for some of this reduction.
Passenger journeys by system over the past fours years are given below (2018/9 was the last full “normal” year):
Blackpool Tramway
2021/22 – 4.2 million
2020/21 – 1.1 million
2019/20 – 4.8 million
2018/19 – 5.2 million
Docklands Light Railway
2021/22 – 77.2 million
2020/21 – 39.7 million
2019/20 – 116.8 million
2018/19 – 121.8 million
Edinburgh Trams
2021/22 – 2.8 million
2020/21 – 0.9 million
2019/20 – 7.1 million
2018/19 – 7.5 million
London Tramlink
2021/22 – 19.1 million
2020/21 – 11.6 million
2019/20 – 27.2 million
2018/19 – 28.7 million
Manchester Metrolink
2021/22 – 26.0 million
2020/21 – 10.3 million
2019/20 – 44.3 million
2018/19 – 43.7 million
Nottingham Express Transit
2021/22 – 9.1 million
2020/21 – 3.4 million
2019/20 – 18.7 million
2018/19 – 18.8 million
Stagecoach Supertram
2021/22 – 6.9 million
2020/21 – 2.8 million
2019/20 – 10.5 million
2018/19 – 11.9 million
Tyne and Wear Metro
2021/22 – 24.3 million
2020/21 – 9.4 million
2019/20 – 33.1 million
2018/19 – 36.4 million
West Midlands Metro
2021/22 – 4.7 million
2020/21 – 3.4 million
2019/20 – 8.0 million
2018/19 – 8.3 million
UK total
2021/22 – 174.3 million
2020/21 – 82.6 million
2019/20 – 270.6 million
2018/19 – 282.3 million
- The full statistics are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/light-rail-and-tram-statistics-lrt