09.11.2024 | 15:15

Record number of passengers on Spanish trains due to increased service

13 March, 2024

In 2023, Spanish train travel reached a new record compared to 2022 and also compared to the figures of another historic year, 2019, says data from the INE. Long Distance and High-Speed services also surpassed both the previous year’s records and those of before the pandemic. In the background, railway liberalisation was the most significant factor.

Specifically, rail transport set a record of 653.7 million passengers last year, 20.7 % more than in the previous year and 4 % higher than the previous high of 627.1 million in 2019 before the pandemic.

The volume of train passengers in 2023 as a whole is some 112 million higher than in the previous year and some 26.6 million higher than in the previous historical year of 2019, according to INE data. In fact, between October and December last year, the number of passengers grew by 7.9% year-on-year to 171.1 million, breaking the barrier of 170 million in a quarter for the first time.