Productivity matters. It is a major driver of growth and value – and rail is no different. Expenditure on the operational railway is more than £25 billion per year, with nearly half of this government funded, so even small percentage changes in productivity can make a big difference in value for passengers, freight users and taxpayers.
Rail industry productivity has recently improved as more trains are run and costs reduce
Our 2025 productivity report highlights the post-pandemic recovery in the rail industry, with improvements across all productivity measures from the low levels seen in 2020-21. Rail industry productivity, as measured by passenger and freight train kilometres per thousand pounds of industry expenditure, has shown a 7 percent year-on-year improvement in 2023-24 as train distance travelled continues to increase following the pandemic.
However, despite recent increases, rail industry productivity remains below the level seen nearly a decade ago. Overall, rail industry productivity is 25 percent lower than in 2014-15, as measured by train kilometres per pound of rail industry spend.
Passenger and freight operator productivity has lagged behind the wider economy
We also track productivity using a measure of ‘gross value added’ which allows us to compare rail with the wider economy. At the start of the pandemic the drop in passengers travelling hit train operator income. Both passenger operators (down 66 percent in GVA per employee in 2020-21) and freight operators (down 40 percent) were more impacted by the pandemic than the wider economy (down 36 percent in GVA per employee in 2020-21). Whereas passenger and freight GVA per employee remain below 2014-15 levels, Network Rail’s GVA per employee has more closely followed that of the wider economy – both of which are broadly comparable to 2014-15 levels.
Looking ahead
As we look ahead to rail reform, an important part of the benefits will come from a more integrated system bringing together a large number of train operators and bringing together track and train. This could help drive future productivity growth.
As the creation of Great British Railways is a couple of years away, our analysis provides a useful baseline for how we might identify future productivity changes. Until then, we will continue to refine our analysis and welcome comments on this year’s report.
