Average Train Journey Length, 19/20 Q2, UK

The Office of Rail and Road produce quarterly statistical releases reporting on passenger rail use in the United Kingdom. Thought these are very comprehensive, they do not include the average distance covered per journey on the rail network.

This statistic may be useful for people trying to work out their (or other people’s) rough carbon footprint. A person will usually be more likely to remember the number of journeys they have made by train (per week, month etc.), than to remember the exact distance covered. Calculating a ballpark figure of your train related carbon emissions is then made easier by multiplying the average journey distance with the going [kg CO2eq / km] rate.

Furthermore, this statistic may by indicative of the distance that people travel to work, given that the majority of train journeys are commuter journeys.

Using the published Passenger journeys by sector and Passenger kilometers by train operating company tables, we can quickly find the average number of kilometers per passenger journey.

a = total passenger journeys   fy19/20 q2 = 449,046,083.258
b = total passenger kilometers fy19/20 q2 = 17,704,157,332.700 km

b/a = 39.426 km

For context, the distance between Bristol Temple Meads and Bath Spa is about 18.5 km by rail - less than half the average passenger journey length.

Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (2019). Greenhouse gas reporting: conversion factors 2019. London: gov.uk.

Office of Rail and Road (2019). Passenger Rail Usage 2019-20 Q2 Statistical Release. Office of Rail and Road.

Sam