This is a list of countries by rail usage. Usage of rail transport may be measured in tonne-kilometres (tkm) or passenger-kilometres (pkm) travelled for freight and passenger transport respectively. This is the number of tonnes or passengers multiplied by the average distance of their journeys in kilometres.

Map of the world with rail density (length of rail network divided by area of country) highlighted. This does not necessarily reflect actual rail use.

Overview

Almost 10,000 billion freight tonne-kilometres are travelled around the world each year. Roughly one quarter of these are travelled in the United States, another quarter in China, and a third in India.

Of the 3,000 bn passenger-kilometres travelled across the world each year, 1,346 bn are travelled in China and 1,150 bn in India. Thus China and India together contribute almost half of world's passenger travel.

The average Swiss person travels 2,430 km by train each year (the highest in the world), almost 500 more than the average Japanese person (the second highest).

In 2014, there were around 1 million kilometres of railway in the world (a decrease of 3% compared to 2013). Of this,

  • 350,000 km were in Europe and mainly used for passenger service,
  • 370,000 km were in North America and mainly used for freight, and
  • 230,000 km were in Asia and used for both freight and passenger service.[1]

In America and Europe, there are many low cost airlines and motorways which compete with rail for passenger traffic, while Asia has seen a large growth in high-speed rail, with 257bn pkm representing 72% of total world high-speed rail passenger traffic.[1]

Passenger rail

These figures do not include metro railway systems; see Lists of rapid transit systems for metro rail statistics.

Passenger-kilometres of rail transport per year

Countries with more than five billion passenger-kilometres (pkm) travelled per year. Unless otherwise specified, data come from the Railway Statistics 2015 Report by the International Union of Railways (UIC).

More information Rank, Country/Region ...
Rank Country/Region Passenger-kilometres
(billions)
Data year
1  China 1,550[2] 2019
2  India 1,157[3] 2019
3  Japan 446.7[4] 2019
4  Russia 133.6[4] 2019
5  France 112.6[4] 2019
6  Germany 100[4] 2019
7  South Korea 93.9[4] 2019
8  United Kingdom 80.5[4] 2018
9  Italy 56.6[4] 2019
10  United States 32.5[4] 2019
11  Ukraine 28.4 2019
12  Spain 27.3[4] 2019
13  Netherlands 22.6[4] 2018
14  Poland 22.1[4] 2019
15   Switzerland 21.7[5] 2019
16  Pakistan 20.3 2015
17  Taiwan 19.8 2015
18  Indonesia 18.5 2015
19  Kazakhstan 18.5[4] 2018
20  Australia 17.6[4] 2018
21  Iran 16.3 2014
22  Sweden 14.6[4] 2019
23  Turkey 14.3[4] 2019
24  Bangladesh 14.3[6] 2019
25  Austria 13.4[4] 2019
26  Czech Republic 10.9[4] 2019
27  Belgium 10.2[4] 2017
28  Argentina 8.4[4] 2017
29  Hungary 7.8[4] 2019
30  Thailand 7.5 2011
31  Denmark 6.6[4] 2018
32  Belarus 6.3[4] 2019
33  Romania 5.9[4] 2019
34  Portugal 5[4] 2019
35  Finland 4.9[4] 2019
 World 2,954 2014
 European Union 416 2019
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Passengers carried in rail transport per year

Countries with more than 20 million passengers per year. Unless otherwise specified, data come from the Railway Statistics 2019 Report by the International Union of Railways.

As mentioned in the notes, many of these figures are very incomplete, as they exclude metro/rapid transport rail services.

More information Rank, Country ...
Rank Country Million
passengers
Data year Notes
1 Japan Japan 24,598.4 2019 Includes all public and private rail services. For only the JR group rail companies, the figure in 2016 was 9.39 billion passengers.
2 India India 8,439 2019 Includes Indian Railways suburban and intercity traffic only, excludes the passengers carried by rapid transit systems. The Delhi Metro alone transported 1.73 billion passengers in 2018.
3 China China 3,660 2019[7] Excludes rapid transit networks, which handled 23.71 billion passengers in 2019.[8]
4 Germany Germany 2,938 2019[9]
5  Brazil 2,480 2023[10] Includes all public and private rail services. Down 24% from the 3.26 billion passengers carried in 2019
6 France France 1,880 2019[11]
7 United Kingdom United Kingdom 1,836.8 2019[9] The London Underground ("The Tube") had an additional 1.34 billion passengers in 2015-16[12]
8  Russia 1,157.2 2018 Moscow Metro alone had 2.45 billion passengers in 2014[13]
9  Australia 1,064.2 2018–19 Combined Urban and Non-Urban Rail Passenger Traffic [14]
10 Italy Italy 883.3 2019[9]
11  Spain 636 2019[15] Madrid Metro alone had 657.2 million passengers in 2018.[16]
12  United States 535 2019 Amtrak had 32.5 million passengers in Fiscal Year 2019 (ending September 30).[17] Among regional systems that report to the American Public Transportation Association, there were 502.5 million commuter rail riders in calendar year 2019.[18]
13   Switzerland 519.3 2019[9]
14  Netherlands 474.5 2019
15  Ukraine 440.9 2016[19]
16  Indonesia 429.2 2019[20]
17  Argentina 426.2 2018 423,202,522 Buenos Aires commuter[21]
2,036,792 regional[22]
1,009,357 long distance
18  Poland 324.1 2019[9] Passengers carried by all rail passenger transport companies in Poland.[23]
19  Taiwan 291.84 2018
20  Austria 278 2019[9] Vienna U-Bahn alone had 463.1 million passengers in 2018.[24]
21  Egypt 270 2019[25]
22  South Africa 269 2017–18[26]
23  Sweden 264.6 2019[9] Stockholm metro alone had 353 million passengers in 2017.[27]
24  Belgium 246.94 2018
25  Denmark 206.6 2019[9]
26  Czech Republic 193.5 2019[9] Prague Metro alone had 435.6 million passengers in 2017.[28]
27  Portugal 175.5 2019[9] Lisbon Metro alone had 169 million passengers in 2018.[29]
28  Turkey 164.7 2019[9] Istanbul Metro alone had 469.7 million passengers in 2018.[30]
29  Sri Lanka 138.66 2017 [31]
30  South Korea 127.84 2018
31  Hungary 119 2018 Budapest Metro alone had 409.3 million passengers in 2017.[32]
32  Canada 106.9 2019[33] Via Rail, Canada's main intercity rail provider, transported 5 million passengers in 2019. Commuter railway systems in and around Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver transported an additional 101.9 million passengers in 2019.
33  Finland 92.8 2019[34] 14.9 million / year long-distance
77.9 million / year in Helsinki commuter traffic
34  Bangladesh 92.71 2019[6] Includes only Bangladesh Railway figures.
35  Norway 80.402 2019[35] Oslo Metro alone had 122 million passengers in 2018.[36]
36  Slovakia 80 2019[9]
37  Belarus 79.86 2018 Minsk Metro alone had 293.7 million passengers in 2019.[37]
38  Romania 67.9 2019[9] Bucharest Metro alone had 178.9 million passengers in 2017.[38]
39  Israel 64.6 2017 The Jerusalem Light Rail carried an additional 42.5 million passengers in 2017.[39]
40  Mexico 57 2018 Tren Suburbano statistics only[40]
41  Pakistan 52.39 2018
42  Ireland 50.06 2019[9]
43  Thailand 50 2017[41] Bangkok MRT alone had 113.7 million passengers in 2018.[42]
44  Myanmar 48 2017[43]
45  Chile 47 2018[44] Santiago Metro alone had 721 million passengers in 2018.[45]
46  Malaysia 44.51 2018
47  Tunisia 41 2017
48  Algeria 39 2018 Algiers Metro alone had 40 million passengers in 2018.[46]
49  Morocco 35 2018
50  New Zealand 35 2019[47]
51  Iran 28.09 2018 Tehran Metro alone had 721 million passengers in 2016.[48]
52  Luxembourg 25 2019[9]
53  Kazakhstan 22.9 2018
54  Philippines 21.84 2018
55  Uzbekistan 21.59 2018 Tashkent Metro alone had 71.2 million passengers in 2019.[37]
56  Bulgaria 21.3 2019[9] Sofia Metro alone had 93.1 million passengers in 2018.[49]
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Passenger modal share for rail

The modal share of railway transport (excluding tram & metro) as compared to other modes of transport, based on Passenger-km.

More information Rank, Country ...
Rank Country Modal share (%) year
1  Japan32.92016[50][51]
2  China 32 2021[52]
3  Russia 24.4 2018[53]
4   Switzerland20.02019[54]
5  India 20.0 2018[55]
6  Austria12.92019[54]
7  Netherlands11.32019[54]
8  Sweden10.52019[54]
9  France10.42019[54]
10  Slovakia10.22019[54]
11  Czech Republic9.92019[54]
12  Germany9.42019[54]
13  United Kingdom8.52019[54]
14  Belgium8.42019[54]
15  Hungary8.32019[54]
16  Denmark8.22019[54]
17  Poland7.32019[54]
18  Spain7.12019[54]
19  Indonesia6.32005[56]
20  Italy6.32019[54]
21  Finland6.22019[54]
22  Norway4.92019[54]
23  Luxembourg4.82019[54]
24  Portugal4.62019[54]
25  Romania4.22019[54]
26  Latvia3.42019[54]
27  Ireland3.32019[54]
28  Turkey3.32019[54]
29  Croatia2.42019[54]
30  Bulgaria2.22019[54]
31  Estonia2.22019[54]
32  Slovenia1.82019[54]
33  Montenegro1.22019[54]
34  Greece1.02019[54]
35  Lithuania1.02019[54]
36  Serbia0.72019[54]
37  North Macedonia0.62019[54]
38  United States0.32004[57]
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Passenger rail by passenger-kilometres per capita

Countries with more than five billion passenger-kilometres travelled per year.

More information Country, Kilometers/year ...
Country Kilometers/year Year
  Switzerland 1,637 2021[58]
 France 1,040 2021[58]
 Austria 950 2021[58]
 Sweden 768 2021[58]
 Denmark 722 2021[58]
 Germany 697 2021[58]
 Belgium 653 2021[58]
 Czech Republic 637 2021[58]
 Netherlands 570 2021[58]
 Hungary 552 2021[58]
 United Kingdom 460 2021[58]
 Italy 457 2021[58]
 Poland 417 2021[58]
 Spain 348 2021[58]
 Romania 220 2021[58]
 Croatia 139 2021[58]
 Japan 3,400 2016[50]
 Russia 1,220
 India 1,178 2017[59]
 Ukraine 1,150
 Belarus 1,030
 China 1,019 2019
 Kazakhstan 880
 South Korea 650
 Egypt 550
 Taiwan 410
 Iran 180
 Argentina 170
 Pakistan 160
 Thailand 150
 Indonesia 110
 Bangladesh 86.6 2019
 Turkey 80
 United States 80
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Freight rail

Tonne-kilometres of rail transport per year

Thumb
Tonne-km of selected carriers in the European Union, 2003

Countries with more than one billion tonne-kilometres (tkm) travelled per year. Unless otherwise specified, data come from the Railway Statistics 2014 Report by the International Union of Railways.

More information Rank, Country ...
Rank Country Billion tkm Data year
1 China 3,018[2] 2019
2 Russia 2,596[60] 2018
3 United States 2,105[61] 2020
4  India 1,418[3] 2022
5 Australia 413[62] 2016
6 Brazil 389[63] 2023
7 Canada 352 2011
 European Union 261 2014
8 Ukraine 237 2011
9 Kazakhstan 236 2012
10 South Africa 135 2014
11 Mexico 126.9[64] 2017
12 Germany 113[65] 2019
13 Poland 53.8[65] 2019
14 Belarus 45 2014
15 France 31.8[65] 2019
16 United Kingdom 24.4[66] 2014
17 Uzbekistan 22 2012
18 Iran 22 2013
19 Austria 21.7[65] 2019
20 Sweden 21.1[67] 2014
21 Japan 21[68] 2014
22 Italy 21[65] 2019
23 Lithuania 16.2[65] 2019
24 Czech Republic 16.2[65] 2019
25 Latvia 15[65] 2019
26 Turkey 14.7[65] 2019
27 Argentina 12 2010
28 Turkmenistan 12 2012
29 Colombia 12 2009
30  Switzerland 11[65] 2019
31 Spain 10.3[65] 2019
32 South Korea 10 2013
33 Romania 10 2014
34 Finland 9.6[1] 2014
35 Azerbaijan 8 2014
36 Mauritania 8 2010
37 Indonesia 7 2010
38 Netherlands 6[69] 2013
39 Morocco 6 2011
40 Belgium 5 2014
41 Norway 4[69] 2013
42 Chile 4 2009
43 Vietnam 4 2012
44 Malaysia 3 2011
45 Serbia 3 2014
46 Thailand 3 2011
47 Estonia 2.2[65] 2019
48 Gabon 2 2014
49 Croatia 3.279 2020
50 Denmark 2[69] 2013
51 Tunisia 2 2010
52 Egypt 2 2010
53 Kenya 1.7 2014[70]
54  Bangladesh 1.5 2019[6]
54 Israel 1.4 2016[71]
55 Algeria 1 2012
56 Cameroon 1 2011
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Tonnes carried in rail transport per year

Countries with more than ten million tonnes carried per year. Unless otherwise specified, data come from the Railway Statistics 2014 Report by the International Union of Railways.

More information Rank, Country ...
Rank Country Million tonnes Data year
1 China 4,389[2] 2019
2 United States 1,600 2022
3 India 1,512 2022
4 Australia 1,347[72] 2016
5 Russia 1,218[73] 2015
6 Brazil 531[63] 2023
7 Ukraine 457 2011
8 Canada 310 2011
9 Kazakhstan 295 2012
10 Poland 225 [74] 2015
11 Germany 221 2014
12 South Africa 197 2011
13 Belarus 141 2014
14 Mexico 128 2018
15 United Kingdom 110.1[75] 2014
16 Uzbekistan 82 2014
17 Austria 74 2014
18 Sweden 65 [76] 2015
19 France 63 2011
20 Colombia 59 2014
21 Czech Republic 57 2014
22 Latvia 57 2014
23  Switzerland 50[1] 2014
24 Lithuania 49 2014
25 Romania 44 2014
25 Netherlands 42.6[77] 2021
26 South Korea 40 2013
27 Italy 38 2014
28 Finland 37 2014
29 Belgium 37 2009
30 Slovakia 36 2014
31 Morocco 37 2011
32 Iran 33 2013
33 Japan 31 2010
34 Turkmenistan 27 2012
35 Turkey 26 2014
36 Estonia 26 2012
37 Spain 25 2014
38 Chile 25 2013
39 Argentina 24 2010
40 Azerbaijan 23 2012
41 Georgia 20 1917
42 Indonesia 20 2010
43 Mongolia 18 2011
44 Slovenia 17 2014
45 Bosnia and Herzegovina 13 2014
46 Malaysia 12 2011
47 Bulgaria 12 2014
48 Taiwan 11 2012
49 Thailand 11 2011
50 Croatia 10 2014
51 Tunisia 10 2012
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Freight modal share for rail

The modal share carried by rail of all freight in a given country.

More information Rank, Country ...
Rank Country Modal share (%) Data year
1  Canada 68[78] 2009
2  Latvia 61[79] 2012
3  Australia 60[80] 2016
4  Russia 59[78] 2010
5  Estonia 47[79] 2012
6   Switzerland 46[81] 2012
7  United States 44[78] 2008
8  Austria 41[79] 2012
9  Sweden 40[79] 2012
10  Lithuania 38[79] 2012
11  India 33[82] 2016
12  Finland 27[79] 2012
13  Brazil 27[83] 2024
14  Romania 24[79] 2012
15  Germany 23[79] 2012
16  Czech Republic 22[79] 2012
17  Hungary 21[79] 2012
18  Slovakia 20[79] 2012
19  Poland 18[79] 2012
20  Belgium 18[79] 2012
21  China 15[84] 2019
22  France 15[79] 2012
23  Italy 14[79] 2012
24  United Kingdom 12[79] 2012
25  Bulgaria 9[79] 2012
26  Japan 6.2[78] 2010
27  Netherlands 5[79] -
28  Ireland 0.7[85] 2007
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Freight rail by tonne-kilometres per capita

More information Rank, Country ...
Rank Country Tonne-kilometre per capita Data year
1  Russia 12,599
2  Canada 10,517
3  United States 9,165
4  Australia 2,308
5  China 2,150 2019
6  Brazil 1,861 2023
7   Switzerland 1,480[81][86] 2013
8  Germany 1,060
   European Union 782
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Brief railway statistics by country

More information Country, Area (million km2) ...
Country Area
(million km2)
Pop.
(million)
Rail
company
Net Double track Electrified HSR Passenger-km
(billion)
Freight
tonne-km
(billion)
HSVol
(pass. km)
Pass. Freight Pass/ pop % Elec %
(thousands of km) (modal %)
 Austria 0.08 8.57 ÖBB 9.8[87] 4.9[87] 3.5[87] 0.28 11.2[87] 32.9[87] 12.1[88] 41[79] 71.9[89]
 Brazil 8.54 209 29 0.5 232
 China 9.6 1,397[90] CR 141[2] 83 100 36 1470 3018 200 41.6 31 71.9
 Egypt 1 93 ENR 5 1.5 0.07 41 4 6.1
 France 0.55 68 SNCF 29 16 14 1.8 81 40 48 16.8 58.2[89]
 Germany 0.36 80.68 DB 34 18 20 1.2 74 91 22 10 17 22.4 60
 India 3.28 1,326 IR 67.3 17.4 52.3 696 481 5.5 82
 Iran 1.6 80.04 RAJA 7 1 0.15 0.25 13 21 0 4 7 0.3 1
 Italy 0.3 59 FS 16 7 12 0.82 45 21 9 71.6[89]
 Japan 0.38 126 JR 20 8 12 2.5 253 23 79 29 69.6 100
 Kazakhstan 2.72 17 KTZ 14 5 4 14 191
 Morocco 0.44 34 ONCFM 2 0.6 1 4 6 0.8 89
 Netherlands 0.04 17 NS 3.2 2.0 2.3 0.1 17.8 6 8.8 5 70.7[89]
 Pakistan 0.796 192 PR 7 0.3 26 6
 Poland 0.31 38 PKP 19 9 12 63.7[89]
 Russia 17.09 143 RZD 128 36 48 1.3 173 2090 14 42 67 9.1 80
 Slovakia 0.049 5.45 ŽSR 3.627[91] 1.587[91] 0 3.815[92] 6.729[92] 0
 South Africa 1.22 54 SAR 24 2 8 14 109 11
 South Korea 0.1 50 KNR 3 1 2 0.32 32 11 10 20.4 20
 Spain 0.51 46 Renfe 15 5 9 3.7 21 11 4 63.8[89]
  Switzerland 0.041 8.38 SBB 4 2 3 15 13 40.9 100[89]
 Taiwan 0.036 23 TRA 1 0.67 0.69 0.33 9 1
 Turkey 0.78 79 TCDD 9 04 1.9 0.25 6 10 47[89]
 United Kingdom 0.24 65 NR 16 5 0.3 48 21 65
 United States 9.6 324 AMTK 227 2820 42 1
 World 149 7,432 900 250 240 35.44 2468 9486 178 10 20 50
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See also

References

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