history of rail transport in Great Britain 1995 to date
This article is part of a series on the History of rail transport in Great Britain. The period from 1995 covers the history of rail transport in Great Britain following the privatisation of British Rail. During this period, passenger volumes have grown rapidly, safety has improved, and subsidies per journey have fallen. However, there is debate as to whether this is due to privatisation or to better government regulation. During this period, High Speed 1 and the West Coast Main Line upgrade were completed and more construction projects are currently under way. In this period the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic occurred which caused a precipitous fall off in rail travel demand. Overall rail subsidies have risen, as shown in the graph, although spend per journey has decreased. Rail subsidies have increased from £2.9bn in 1992–93 to £3.8bn in 2015–16 (in current prices), although subsidy per journey has fallen from £3.85 to £2.19. However, this masks great regional variation: for instance, in 2014–15 funding varied from "£1.41 per passenger journey in England to £6.51 per journey in Scotland and £8.34 per journey in Wales. "Due to the increase in passenger numbers and the prospect of high speed rail both within Great Britain and connecting to Europe, this period has been called the start of a new Golden Age of rail travel. However quickly increasing passenger numbers have meant many trains (as many as 1 in 6 in some places) are very crowded at peak times. Peak-time fares have increased by over 200% (since privatisation) to deter.
History of British rail transport since 1995
aspect of history