Archive:Rail transport statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1
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- Data from January 2009. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.
This article belongs to a set of statistical articles which analyse the structure, development and characteristics of the various economic activities in the European Union (EU). According to the statistical classification of economic activities in the EU (NACE Rev 1.1), the present article covers rail transport statistics, corresponding to NACE Group 60.1, which is part of the transport and storage sector. The activities covered in this article are the transport by railways of:
- passengers;
- goods.
This article does not cover:
- activities relating to the operation of the rail infrastructure, which are classified as auxiliary transport activities and are covered by the article on Warehousing and transport logistics statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1;
- urban and suburban rail transport of passengers, which is included in the article on Road and other land transport statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1.
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Main statistical findings
Structural profile
Value added in the EU-27's rail transport (NACE Group 60.1) sector reached EUR 31.9 billion in 2005, equivalent to 8.4 % of the transport services (NACE Divisions 60 to 63) total. In the EU-27, there were 0.8 thousand enterprises in this sector with a total of 880.7 thousand persons employed (2005), equivalent to 10.1 % of the EU-27's transport services workforce. Although data availability among the Member States is weak in this sector, it is clear that the rail transport sector is particularly important in Hungary and Luxembourg, as this sector accounted for 2.0 % and 1.8 % respectively of national non-financial business economy value added in 2006, more than three times the 0.6 % (2005) share for the EU-27 as a whole.
Transport of goods and passengers
The development of EU-27 goods and passenger rail transport between 1990 and 2006 shows a significant change: passenger transport volumes reached a low in 1994, after which average growth was 1.0 % per year; goods transport volumes stabilised in 1993 after which average growth was 1.2 % per year. Growth was particularly strong in the last three years for which data are available, passenger transport increasing by an average of 2.3 % per year between 2003 and 2006, and goods transport by an average of 3.6 % over the same period.
Expenditure and productivity
Personnel costs accounted for 38.6 % of rail transport operating expenditure in the EU-27 in 2005, the highest share among transport services activities (among the transport and storage sub-sectors) and more than double the average share for the non-financial business economy. Average personnel costs reached EUR 30.4 thousand per employee in 2005, in line with the transport services average, while apparent labour productivity of EUR 36.2 thousand per person employed was well below the average. The resulting wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio in the EU-27 was 118.9 % for the rail transport sector in 2005, some way below the 141.9 % average for all transport services in the same year.
Data sources and availability
Eurostat, ITF, UIC, national statistics, estimates, in EU energy and transport in figures statistical pocketbook 2007/2008, European Commission, Directorate-General for Energy and Transport.
Structural change – rail transport services and infrastructure
In structural business statistics (SBS), enterprises are classified according to their principal activity. An enterprise that is simultaneously a rail service operator and a rail infrastructure operator would often be classified in the rail transport activity (NACE Group 60.1), assuming that the rail service operation part is the larger of the two activities. If such an enterprise is split into two separate enterprises (as has happened in some countries), only the rail transport enterprise would stay classified to NACE Group 60.1, and the rail infrastructure operator would be classified to supporting land transport activities (NACE Class 63.21) – this in part explains some of the large changes in employment in the rail transport sector seen in recent years.
Context
The transport and storage sector focuses on transport services provided to clients for hire and reward. When analysing transport traffic volumes (for example, tonnes of freight) as presented in this article, it is important to bear in mind that these include own account transport as well as transport services for hire and reward. This is particularly important in road transport where, for example, a manufacturer might collect materials or deliver own output, rather than contracting a transport service enterprise to do this. Equally, the use of own vehicles (typically passenger cars) accounts for a very large part of passenger transport. Such own account transport does not contribute towards the statistics on the transport services sector.
EU transport policy is based upon the 2001 White paper ‘European transport policy for 2010: time to decide’ and the 2006 mid-term review in the European Commission's communication (COM(2006) 314)‘Keep Europe moving – sustainable mobility for our continent’. In 2007 the European Commission adopted a communication (COM(2007) 606) on ‘Keeping freight moving’, to make rail freight more competitive, facilitate modernisation of ports, and review progress in the development of sea shipping.
Environmental issues remain of great importance to this sector, as transport is a major source of emissions and noise. In 2008 the European Commission put forward a package of measures related to road and rail transport referred to as ‘Greening Transport’. This included a communication (COM(2008) 433) summarising the packages and initiatives planned for 2009, a strategy to internalise the cost of transport externalities, a proposal for a Directive on road tolls for lorries, and a communication on rail noise. The overall thrust of the package is to try to move towards more sustainable transport.
Considerable legislative efforts have been made to open up and revitalise the rail transport sector, motivated in part by the wish to take advantage of lower emissions from rail transport, and to reduce road congestion. Both national and international rail freight networks have been open since the beginning of 2007, and international passenger transport will be open from January 2010. Further legislative measures since 2001 have concerned improving network interoperability and safety, and laying down passenger rights and obligations. In December 2008 the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (COM(2008) 852) to support a competitive freight network, essentially to increase the speed of rail freight.
See also
- Freight transport statistics - modal split
- Railway equipment production statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1
- Railway freight transport statistics
- Railway passenger transport statistics - quarterly and annual data
Further Eurostat information
Publications
- European Business: Facts and figures - 2009 edition
Main tables
Database
Dedicated section
Other information
- COM(2006) 314 of 22 June 2006 on Keep Europe moving - Sustainable mobility for our continent
- COM(2007) 606 of 18 October 2007 on The EU's freight transport agenda: Boosting the efficiency, integration and sustainability of freight transport in Europe
- COM(2008) 433 of 8 July 2008 on Greening Transport
- COM(2008) 852 of 11 December 2008 concerning a European rail network for competitive freight