More than a million journeys have been made so far this calendar year on NSW TrainLink’s long-distance regional train services, with patronage now around three per cent higher than before the COVID period.
Patronage on all routes has steadily increased overall with around 107,000 journeys now made each month on regional trains including the XPTs and XPLORERS, compared to an average of around 42,000 in 2021.
In addition, more than 440,000 coach journeys have been made in 2023, with an average patronage of around 40,000 per month, or double the 2021 figure.
The sharpest increase in demand has been on the Melbourne to Sydney train route, with a 250 per cent increase in average monthly patronage compared to 2021 and a 47 per cent increase compared to 2022.
This included a spike in bookings in September around the AFL grand final, prompting NSW TrainLink to add a sixth carriage on Melbourne services for several weeks in September.
NSW TrainLink attributes the uplift in demand to factors including an advertising campaign which has generated more than 14,000 bookings in under two months. Travellers have also responded to rail’s value for money price in the face of cost of living pressures, including the high cost of fuel and airfares.
The NSW TrainLink campaign includes a television advertisement that highlights more than 365 destinations in NSW. The video features beautiful and inspirational scenery – from the red outback to rolling green hills, which passengers can see out the window as they travel across NSW and interstate.
As a result of the campaign, there has been a rise in the number of people paying full fare.
Demand during the cooler months was also strong this year, with all regional train journeys seeing an average 33 per cent increase during winter when compared to 2022.
On the Sydney and Melbourne XPTs, there were 90,000 passenger journeys combined for June, July and August this year, compared to 60,000 for 2022.
Find more at transportnsw.info/online-saver-fares