The line graph illustrates the total number of passenger railway journeys made in Great Britain from 1950 to 2004/05, including the national rail network, the London Underground and light rail and metro systems.
Overall, it is clear that the national rail network and the London Underground accounted for the majority of journeys throughout the period while light rail and metro systems remained far less popular. Both major systems experienced fluctuations before increasing towards the end of the period.
To begin with, the national rail network stood at around 1,000 million journeys in 1950 and rose slightly to reach a peak of approximately 1,100 million in 1960. It then declined gradually to about 700 million in 1980 before increasing again and ending at just over 1,000 million in 2004/05. Similarly, the London Underground started at roughly 700 million and remained relatively stable until the mid at 1970s. After that, it fell to its lowest point of around 500 million in the early 1980s before recovering significantly to nearly 1,000 million by the end of the period.
Additionally, the figures for light rail and metro systems were relatively low at the beginning, remaining stable at under 50 million until around 1980. However, the number then increased steadily, reaching around 100 million in the early 1990s. Despite some minor fluctuations, it continued to rise, finally reaching approximately 200 million in 2004/05.