Summer travellers lean toward railways

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Car Rental News - 17/10/2011

 

A recent report has shown that more people opted to travel by rail over the summer.

The news comes via the Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc), which said that some 314.3 million passengers travelled by train between 26 June and 17 September, marking a rise of 5.3 per cent from the same time in 2010. Additional figures from the report include a rise of 5.8 per cent in passenger journeys in south-east England including the capital.

Officials from Atoc cited rising petrol costs as the biggest contributor to the trend and added that total passenger figures for 2011 would likely reach 1.3 billion, which would make it the biggest train travel year in the UK in nine decades. The organisation also reported that rail trips were becoming more popular than taking to the road for daytrips and short breaks and added that cheap advance tickets were being snatched up faster than ever before.

Michael Roberts, chief executive of Atoc noted that in addition to playing a bigger role in holidays that train travel was becoming increasingly vital for businesses and for supporting jobs. He said this is why continued investments into railways were key for the promotion of sustainable economic growth in the long term.

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