Number of rail journeys between Scotland and England rises to 9.6 million

The number of journeys between Scotland and England is on the rise. PA Photo: Owen Humphreys

In 2017/18 there was a 6.3% increase in the number of cross-border journeys compared to 2016-17, figures from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) showed.

Journeys between Scotland and London, which rose by 12.1%, accounted for nearly half (48%) of the increase, with the rise attributed to the completion of improvements projects and electrification works in 2017-18.

There was a small drop in the number of passengers travelling between Scotland and Wales with 39,000 passengers making the journey in 2017/18, down 0.3% on the previous year.

Scotland saw the highest level of growth out of any region in 2017/18.

Passengers made 102 million journeys, a 3.2% increase on the previous year.

The majority of journeys started or ended in south western Scotland (including Glasgow) or the east of the country.

The ORR report said: “Cross-border services to/from eastern Scotland (which includes Edinburgh) and south western Scotland (which includes Glasgow), together account for 96% of journeys to/from Scotland and increased by 7.4% and 5.8% respectively in 2017-18.

“Journeys within Scotland rose by 2.9% in 2017-18, to 92.3 million.

“Journeys starting or ending in South Western Scotland (which includes Glasgow), accounted for 68% of journeys within Scotland and increased by 3.0%.”

The figures come after a Transport Scotland report published on Wednesday found that train and car use in Scotland increased but the number of bus journeys fell in 2017/18.