Length of railway lines by maximum permitted speed in United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Length of railway lines by maximum permitted speed was 16,189 Kilometre in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
16,189 Kilometre
Change on year
down 1.5%
World rank
7th
of 39 countries
All-time high
17,020 Kilometre
in 2002
All-time low
15,795 Kilometre
in 2006
Years of data
35
1990–2024

Length of railway lines by maximum permitted speed in United Kingdom, 1990–2024

05.0k10.0k15.0k1990200720241990: 16.9k Kilometre1991: 16.9k Kilometre1992: 16.8k Kilometre1993: 16.9k Kilometre1994: 16.9k Kilometre1995: 17.0k Kilometre1996: 17.0k Kilometre1997: 17.0k Kilometre1998: 17.0k Kilometre1999: 17.0k Kilometre2000: 17.0k Kilometre2001: 17.0k Kilometre2002: 17.0k Kilometre2003: 16.9k Kilometre2004: 16.5k Kilometre2005: 15.8k Kilometre2006: 15.8k Kilometre2007: 15.8k Kilometre2008: 16.2k Kilometre2009: 16.1k Kilometre2010: 16.2k Kilometre2011: 16.2k Kilometre2012: 16.2k Kilometre2013: 16.2k Kilometre2014: 16.2k Kilometre2015: 16.2k Kilometre2016: 16.3k Kilometre2017: 16.3k Kilometre2018: 16.3k Kilometre2019: 16.5k Kilometre2020: 16.5k Kilometre2021: 16.5k Kilometre2022: 16.4k Kilometre2023: 16.4k Kilometre2024: 16.2k Kilometre

Source: Eurostat. Measured in Kilometre.

Analysis

United Kingdom recorded 16,189 Kilometre for length of railway lines by maximum permitted speed in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.5% on the previous year and down 0.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, length of railway lines by maximum permitted speed in United Kingdom peaked at 17,020 Kilometre in 2002 and was at its lowest, 15,795 Kilometre, in 2006.

That places United Kingdom 7th out of 39 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 16,937 Kilometre 16,843 Kilometre 17,001 Kilometre 10
2000s 16,413 Kilometre 15,795 Kilometre 17,020 Kilometre 10
2010s 16,261 Kilometre 16,195 Kilometre 16,480 Kilometre 10
2020s 16,406 Kilometre 16,189 Kilometre 16,519 Kilometre 5

Countries ranked near United Kingdom

  1. 4 Poland 19,625 Kilometre compare
  2. 5 Italy 16,879 Kilometre compare
  3. 6 Spain 16,257 Kilometre compare
  4. 8 Türkiye 11,417 Kilometre compare
  5. 9 Sweden 10,902 Kilometre compare
  6. 10 Romania 10,611 Kilometre compare

See the full ranking of 40 places →

More reference data data for United Kingdom

All data for United Kingdom →

Frequently asked questions

What is length of railway lines by maximum permitted speed in United Kingdom?
Length of railway lines by maximum permitted speed in United Kingdom was 16,189 Kilometre in 2024, according to Eurostat.
What is the highest length of railway lines by maximum permitted speed recorded in United Kingdom?
The highest recorded value was 17,020 Kilometre in 2002.
What is the lowest length of railway lines by maximum permitted speed recorded in United Kingdom?
The lowest recorded value was 15,795 Kilometre in 2006.
How does United Kingdom rank for length of railway lines by maximum permitted speed?
United Kingdom ranks 7th out of 39 countries with data for 2024.
Is length of railway lines by maximum permitted speed rising or falling in United Kingdom?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this United Kingdom data come from?
The figures come from Eurostat, published as part of Length of railway lines by maximum permitted speed. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 35 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Eurostat).

About this data

Indicator
Length of railway lines by maximum permitted speed
Unit
Kilometre
Source
Eurostat
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Eurostat)
Coverage
40 places, 1,281 data points, 1990–2024
Last refreshed