Rail use up almost 100 per cent in six years

PASSENGER numbers travelling by train between Londonderry and Coleraine increased by almost 100 per cent over the past six years.

By The Newsroom

Published 1st Mar 2010, 18:10 BST

Updated 2nd Mar 2010, 12:38 BST

The amount of people using the Translink service grew every single year since 2003/4 when just 156,637 passengers were carried.

This grew from 215,259 in 2004/5, 223,914 in 2005/06, 249,187 in 2006/7, 264,934 in 2007/8 and 279,904 in 2008/9.

Rail Minister Conor Murphy outlined the details in response to a query from DUP MLA Gregory Campbell.

He explained that Translink do not have statistics prior to 2003/04, when the Merit reporting system was introduced.

He also stated that the statistics relate to ticket types reported on Merit but exclude Commuter Travelcards and School Passes.