Long-distance passenger rail transport performance, Germany
Long-distance passenger rail transport performance, Germany stood at 49 billion passenger-km in 2025, according to Bundesnetzagentur. It is one of the indicators in the Rail and public transport market table (Value · Annual), with a complete series running from 2019 to 2025. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Rail and public transport market table
| Indicator | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transport performance | ||||||||
| Long-distance passenger rail | 49 | 47 | 48 | 43 | 26 | 24 | 45 | |
| Rail freight | 127 | 134 | 137 | 150 | 149 | 131 | 138 |
Understanding long-distance passenger rail transport performance, Germany
Centred on commercial intercity and high-speed corridors, this indicator logs cumulative passenger-kilometres completed by travelers across Germany. The calculation combines passenger headcounts with individual journey lengths on commercial routes, isolating long-distance rail travel from regional transit concessions and rail freight. Whereas the corresponding operating performance series monitors train-path distance regardless of seat occupancy, this metric tracks realized transport output, rising or falling as traveller volumes and trip lengths fluctuate across intercity rail networks.
Full-year figures integrate seasonal swings in leisure journeys and business travel into a unified annual total. Revisions to early figures occur as cross-border ticket revenue sharing, operator ticket returns, and international passenger allocations are concluded. Evaluating trends year-on-year gives an undistorted view of long-distance passenger rail demand and competitive shifts against road or air travel. Users must not equate passenger-kilometres directly with seat occupancy rates or profitability, because passenger volume growth across longer average trip distances can occur alongside empty seats on intermediate route segments.
Frequently asked questions
- How are passengers on cross-border high-speed trains counted in this indicator?
- Only the distance travelled within German territory is credited to national passenger-kilometres.
- Does a passenger travelling with a discounted ticket count equally in transport performance?
- Yes, the metric measures physical passenger distance travelled regardless of fare class or ticket price.
- Why can transport performance change while long-distance train-path kilometres stay flat?
- Train timetables can operate on regular schedules while passenger numbers on board rise or fall independently.