Berlin: Rail passenger travel in the European Union reached 457 billion passenger-kilometres in 2025, according to Eurostat figures published on 30 October 2026. The total is up from 445 billion in 2024, an increase of 2.6%. It is the highest figure for major railway operators since the statistics began in 2004, which makes 2025 a 21-year high.

Germany carried the most passengers by a wide margin, at 2,954 million. France followed with 1,312 million and Italy with 844 million. At the other end, Lithuania carried 5 million passengers, Estonia 8 million and Greece 14 million.

Population size explains part of that ranking, so Eurostat also reports trips per inhabitant. Luxembourg leads with 46.1, followed by Hungary with 35.9 and Denmark with 35.6. Greece records 1.4 trips per inhabitant, Lithuania 1.9, and Bulgaria and Romania 3.3 each.

Distance tells a slightly different story. Measured in passenger-kilometres per inhabitant, Hungary leads with 1,692, France follows with 1,606 and Austria with 1,588. The lowest values are in Greece with 69, Lithuania with 164 and Bulgaria with 226. Frequent short trips probably lift Luxembourg’s count of journeys, while longer services help explain the distance figures in France and Austria.

The new rail passenger travel total shows a market that keeps growing. The 2.6% annual rise is modest, yet it is steady, and it arrives while governments promote rail as a lower-emission alternative to flying and driving. The gap between leading and lagging countries is large, so the average hides very different national experiences.

Germany’s total of 2,954 million passengers is more than twice France’s 1,312 million, and Italy’s 844 million is smaller still, so the three largest networks carry very different volumes of journeys. Hungary appears in both per-inhabitant rankings, with 35.9 trips and 1,692 kilometres for each resident, which shows that rail passenger travel there combines frequent short journeys with long ones.

Policy makers can read the data in two ways. In the leading countries, the task is to keep capacity and punctuality ahead of demand. In the lagging countries, such as Greece, Lithuania and Bulgaria, the figures point to limited networks or limited services, and investment decisions there will decide whether the numbers move.

Eurostat compiles the rail passenger travel figures from major railway operators, so the 2025 series follows a consistent method back to 2004. That consistency allows analysts to compare years with confidence, and it supports the claim that 2025 sets a record.

Rail passenger travel now stands at the highest point in more than two decades. The next Eurostat release will show whether 2026 extends the climb or whether growth slows in the biggest rail markets of Germany, France and Italy.