Rail use on domestic air routes has risen by almost 60 per cent in just seven years.
A study of the ten busiest air routes within Britain found a substantial passenger shift towards rail travel due to train companies' use of airline-style pricing and railcard discounts.
Rail's market share increased from 29 to 46 per cent between 2006 and 2012, reported the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC).
During the same period, domestic air travel plummeted by 26 per cent to just over nine million passenger journeys.
The number of rail passenger journeys, on the other hand, rose by 49 per cent to more than 7.7 million.
However, the use of railcards, which provide a third off most fares, jumped by 93 per cent, while sales of cheap advance fares, available up to 12 weeks ahead of travel, rose by 103 per cent.
Train operators also attribute the rise in market share to significant investment in and improvements to services.
Since privatisation, the number of services across the rail network per day has risen by 4,000, or 20 per cent, and passenger satisfaction as measured by independent watchdog Passenger Focus has risen from 76 per cent in 1999 to 85 per cent today.
Michael Roberts, chief executive of ATOC, said: “Train companies have been winning market share from airlines by competing head-to-head and adopting airline-style discounting.
“Significant investment and an industry focused on attracting passengers are creating a virtuous circle where growing revenue is sustaining funding for faster and better services, in turn encouraging more rail travel.”
Report by Graham Smith
