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1. Introduction
1.1 This chapter provides information on rail services, such as the numbers of passenger journeys, passenger receipts, the amount of freight lifted by origin, destination and commodity, lines open for traffic, number of stations, railway accidents, and some statistics about the Glasgow Underground.
1.2 Several changes have been made to the tables in this chapter.
Table 8.2 Passenger Services Supported by Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive - this is a new table: such information has not previously appeared in "Scottish Transport Statistics".
Table 8.3 Freight Traffic Lifted in Scotland, by Destination and Commodity
Table 8.4 Freight Traffic with a Destination in Scotland by Origin and by Commodity
- these tables replace the former three tables on rail freight traffic. What appears in these tables is determined by the kinds of information about rail freight traffic that are now available. The tables include statistics of freight moved, measured in tonne-kilometres, which have not previously appeared in "Scottish Transport Statistics".
Finally, as indicated in the previous edition, the former table on "Parcels Forwarded" has been dropped, because such information has not been available for some years.
1.3 Unfortunately, detailed information on passenger journeys and receipts for recent years could not be obtained in time for this edition. It is hoped that it will be included in the next edition of "Scottish Transport Statistics".
2. Main Points
2.1 Between 1987-88 and 1996-97, the number of passenger journeys originating in Scotland fluctuated, remaining between 50 and 55 million per year. However, there appear to have been increases in the latest three years for which estimates are available, and it is estimated that the total number of passenger journeys in 1997-98 was nearly 58 million, 6% more than in the previous year. (Table 8.1)
2.2 The total number of passenger journeys on services which were supported by the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive rose and fell between 1987-88 and 1995-96, remaining between 34 and 38 million per year. However, there have been increases in the latest three years, and the total reached almost 41 million in 1997-98, 5% more than in the previous year. The number of passenger-miles travelled on such services rose to 412 million in 1997-98, but passenger receipts remained unchanged (in cash terms) at £ 42.2 million, and therefore fell slightly in real terms. (Table 8.2)
2.3 The amount of freight traffic lifted in Scotland was about 10 million tonnes per year in the late 1980s, declining to around 5 million tonnes per year in the mid-1990s. It rose to 7.1 million tonnes in 1997-98, principally due to an increase in the amount of coal carried to other parts of the UK. In 1997-98, 4.8 million tonnes of coal and other minerals, and 2.4 million tonnes of other traffic, were lifted in Scotland. About 3.2 million tonnes of the total freight lifted in Scotland was taken to destinations within Scotland, 3.0 million tonnes was delivered elsewhere in the UK, and 0.9 million tonnes went outwith the UK (the last figure includes freight for export which was delivered to a port in Britain, as well as Channel Tunnel traffic). Dividing the number of tonne-kilometres by the number of tonnes gives an average length of haul of 76 kilometres for traffic remaining in Scotland, 438 kilometres for traffic to other parts of the UK, and 691 kilometres for traffic destined for outwith the UK. (Table 8.3)
2.4 A total of 1.2 million tonnes of freight lifted elsewhere in the UK was delivered in Scotland in 1997-98, along with 1.2 million tonnes of freight from outwith the UK (the latter figure includes imported freight which was lifted at port in England or Wales). (Table 8.4)
2.5 The total route length of the railway network in Scotland has remained at around 2,700 kilometres throughout the past ten years. (Table 8.5)
2.6 The number of passenger stations has increased from 299 in 1988-89 to 333 in 1998-99. (Table 8.6)
2.7 On the Glasgow Underground, over the past ten years, the number of passenger journeys has remained between 13.4 million and 14.7 million. In 1997-98, it rose by 3% to 14.1 million. Passenger receipts were £ 8.2 million, slightly less in real terms than in the previous year. (Table 8.7)
2.8 There were 150 railway accidents in 1998-99, 24% more than in the previous year. However, the number of deaths as a result of railway accidents, 19, was the same as in the previous year, and 42% less than the 33 in 1988-89. Due principally to the inclusion in the statistics of a much larger number of injuries caused by accidents on railway premises, the 383 injuries recorded in 1998-99 was more than three times the 105 reported for 1988-89. (Table 8.8)
3. Notes and Definitions
3.1 Passenger journeys: the statistics cover passenger journeys originating in Scotland on both local services and long-distance (including cross-border) services. The figures for 1993-94 and subsequent years have been estimated by The Scottish Executive using information supplied by ScotRail and an allowance for the passenger numbers for the other operators. It is hoped to obtain definitive figures for future editions.
3.2 Freight traffic: the figures for 1996-97 onwards were prepared from information supplied by the rail freight companies. The numbers of tonne-kilometres in those years relate to the whole distance that the freight is carried on the companies' trains, not just to that part of the journey which is within Scotland.
3.3 Origins and destinations of freight traffic: three points should be noted about the figures which have been provided by the rail companies for 1996-97 onwards:
(i) "lifted within Scotland" includes freight from abroad which arrives at a Scottish port (eg Hunterston) and is lifted there by rail;
(ii) "lifted outwith UK" includes freight from abroad which was imported via ports in England and Wales (eg Teesside) and was then brought from there into Scotland by rail;
(iii) "lifted within Scotland, delivered outwith UK" includes freight which is delivered to a Scottish port (eg Leith) or to an English port (eg Southampton) for export.
It follows that the figures in the tables for freight lifted or delivered "outwith the UK" cover much more than just rail traffic which goes through the Channel Tunnel.
There are no statistics available for freight lifted or delivered "outwith UK" in the years prior to 1996-97. In the figures that were produced for those years, traffic delivered by rail to ports for export was counted on the basis of the location of the port, and so was counted under either "Scotland" or "elsewhere in the UK". Similarly, freight which was imported, and picked up by rail at a port, was counted on the basis of the location of the port. However, the figures that were produced for those years excluded any international freight traffic through the Channel Tunnel (for which freight services commenced in June 1994).
4. Sources
4.1 Table 8.1: the figures for 1993-94 and subsequent years have been estimated by The Scottish Executive using information supplied by ScotRail and an allowance for the passenger numbers for the other operators.
4.2 Tables 8.2 and 8.7: these statistics were provided by Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive.
4.3 Tables 8.3 and 8.4: the figures for 1996-97 and later years were prepared from information supplied by the rail freight companies.
4.4 Table 8.5 and 8.6: this information was supplied by Railtrack Scotland.
4.7 Table 8.8: the Health and Safety Executive supplied these statistics.
5. Further Information
5.1 Further information on GB rail statistics can be found in the annual DETR publication "Transport Statistics Great Britain" and in DETR’s quarterly "Rail Statistics" bulletins.
5.2 For further statistics of rail traffic in Great Britain as a whole, contact Amereek Hothi, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (tel: 0171 890 3089).
5.3 For further information about services supported by Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive, contact Gordon Hannah, SPTE (tel: 0141 333 3229)
5.4 For further information on railway accidents, contact Mr Paul Wilkinson, Health and Safety Executive (tel: 0171 717 6000
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