As the EU moves to simplify cross-border rail travel, which countries' passengers travel the most?

Published on 19/05/2026 - 10:09 GMT+2

People successful the EU took 8.7 cardinal obstruction trips successful 2024, amounting to a full of 444.5 cardinal passenger-kilometres, marking the highest level successful years, according to the latest Eurostat figures.

Germany and France were the largest wide contributors to obstruction rider transport performance, with 109.1 and 107.3 cardinal passenger-kilometres, respectively.

They were followed by Italy with 55.9 cardinal passenger-kilometres.

In contrast, six EU countries recorded less than 1 cardinal passenger-kilometres successful 2024, with Lithuania and Estonia having the lowest numbers, each astatine 0.4 cardinal passenger-kilometres.

National bid question wrong a state is ascendant successful each subordinate states, accounting for much than 90% of the full obstruction rider transport crossed 25 EU countries successful 2024.

The lone exceptions were Luxembourg and Czechia, whose nationalist transport represented 63.5% and 82.1%, respectively.

How well-connected are obstruction networks successful Europe?

The EU has 1 of the densest railway networks successful the world, according to the European Council.

However, Eurostat information shows that the full magnitude of the railway web successful the EU betwixt 1990 and 2024 shrank by 7.9%.

In contrast, Spain saw the biggest summation successful the magnitude of its railway web by 12.2%, chiefly owed to the operation of dedicated high-speed lines.

The countries with the highest railway web density tin beryllium recovered successful the centre of bluish Europe, reflecting some their precocious colonisation density and comparatively precocious freight transport volumes.

On the different hand, little densities are reported connected the outskirts of the EU, with Greece, with its galore islands, having the lowest railway web density.

Low values were besides recorded successful the Nordic countries, the Baltic countries, the Iberian Peninsula, and Ireland.

Simplify obstruction question crossed borders

These stats travel arsenic the European Commission launches a strategy to simplify cross-border obstruction question astir the bloc.

The recently announced rider bundle volition let travellers to marque single-ticket bookings crossed aggregate obstruction operators successful 1 transaction.

This inaugural volition besides summation rider rights, ensuring extortion if a transportation is missed, adjacent if antithetic railway companies run the services.

"With integer tools and integrated mobility services, Europeans volition beryllium capable astatine the click of 1 fastener to plan, comparison and acquisition multimodal journeys crossed borders, portion benefiting from stronger obstruction rider rights, greater transparency and amended extortion each measurement of the way," Apostolos Tzitzikostas, commissioner for sustainable transport and tourism, said successful a statement.