MORE PEOPLE ARE using Irish Rail and the Luas, according to statistics from the National Transport Authority (NTA).
The figures compare passenger numbers, revenue and distance covered in 2015 to previous years.
Over the past two years growth in passenger journeys on Iarnród Éireann and the Luas exceeded 10%, with an additional seven million passenger journeys in 2015 compared to 2013.
The Luas has seen annual passenger journeys rise each year from 2010 to 2015, with the largest increase of around two million passenger journeys in both 2014 and 2015 when compared to the previous year.
There were almost 40 million Irish Rail passenger journeys and over 34 million Luas journeys in 2015.
This NTA notes that the growth in Luas passenger journeys of about 25% between 2010 and 2015 coincided with the opening of three Luas line extensions between December 2009 and July 2011 and the economic recovery.
While the Luas experienced passenger journey growth in excess of 6% in 2014 and 2015, Iarnród Éireann passenger journeys have seen more modest growth of 2.9% in 2014 and 4.9% in 2015. Passenger journeys fell on Irish Rail services each year between 2008 and 2013.
In 2010 Iarnród Éireann had over 10 million more passenger journeys than the Luas but, over the past six years, the Luas has seen passenger journeys grow rapidly each year - narrowing the gap to around five million passenger journeys.
Revenue
Iarnród Éireann made €184 million from passenger revenue (Dart, Commuter and Intercity) in 2015 (up 5.5% from 2014), while the Luas brought in €54 million (up 7.35% from 2014).
The NTA says passenger revenue growth is a result of both increased fares and increased passenger journeys.
Irish Rail journeys in 2015 covered almost 16 million km, while Luas journeys covered 3.6 million km, in line with previous years.
The full report can be read here.
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