HC Deb 14 July 1986 vol 101 c402W
Mr. Greenway

asked the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers were carried by British Rail in 1965, 1975 and 1985; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. David Mitchell

The number of passenger journeys made was as follows:

Number millions
1965 865
1975 730
1985 794

Because more passengers are able to buy through tickets, which are convenient and popular, fewer tickets are now needed for many journeys. A better indicator of passenger usage is passenger kilometres, which have remained constant at about 30 billion a year since the early 1960s.