The restrictive measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and change in travel preferences significantly affected the travel sector, including rail travel.
In the first quarter of 2021, the number of rail passengers remained significantly below those in the same quarter a year ago, when COVID-19 did not yet have a tangible impact on the EU countries. The largest decrease was observed in Ireland (-85%, -8.4 million passengers compared with the first quarter of 2020).
Ireland was followed by Greece (-66%, -2.6 million passengers), Slovakia (-60%, -9.8 million passengers), the Netherlands (-59%, -46.9 million passengers) and Denmark (-53%, -22 million).
Slovenia (-11%, -0.3 million passengers), Bulgaria (-19%, -0.9 million passengers) and Romania (-19%, -2.8 million passengers) recorded the smallest passenger decreases during the same period.
Source dataset: rail_pa_quartal
For more information:
- Eurostat website section dedicated to transport statistics
- Eurostat database on transport, more specifically rail passengers and goods transport
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