In the last year the U.K. government has spent £7.7 billion supporting the Rail network because of the pandemic.
In the third quarter of the 20-21 financial year 140 million journeys were made. This compares to the 463 million journeys that were made in the same quarter a year earlier.
Now, what I’ve done is multiplied the above passenger figures by 4 to get a rough annual figure -
560 million journeys currently compared to 1.85 billion before the pandemic.
Maybe this is a rather simplistic point of view but..
£7.7 billion divided by 560 million (approx current annual useage) is 13.75.
So, if the average ticket prices is £13.75 the railway could break even with fewer passengers.
With previous passenger useage the average ticket price needed to be only £4.20.
Are these figures achievable ?
One could argue that, without privatisation/ franchises etc, £4.20 in previous years could easily be maintained by a nationalised industry.
In the third quarter of the 20-21 financial year 140 million journeys were made. This compares to the 463 million journeys that were made in the same quarter a year earlier.
Now, what I’ve done is multiplied the above passenger figures by 4 to get a rough annual figure -
560 million journeys currently compared to 1.85 billion before the pandemic.
Maybe this is a rather simplistic point of view but..
£7.7 billion divided by 560 million (approx current annual useage) is 13.75.
So, if the average ticket prices is £13.75 the railway could break even with fewer passengers.
With previous passenger useage the average ticket price needed to be only £4.20.
Are these figures achievable ?
One could argue that, without privatisation/ franchises etc, £4.20 in previous years could easily be maintained by a nationalised industry.