ILR Finds Passenger Rail Traffic Exceeds Pre-COVID Levels, Freight Continues to Decline

On Monday 1 December 2025, the Luxembourg Regulatory Institute (ILR) published its annual report outlining the key figures that bring together all national statistical data for the railway sector in 2024.

The report provides a detailed overview of developments from 2019 (before COVID-19) to 2024 relating to the rail network infrastructure, national railway traffic indicators for passengers and freight, and selected financial indicators.

The key figures in the report cover the total distances travelled by trains, passengers and freight for both national and international traffic, along with several other indicators. The report also includes financial data such as the turnover of railway companies and the investments and operating costs of the network manager.

Among the main trends observed in 2024, the ILR noted a strong increase in passenger rail traffic in Luxembourg, while freight traffic continued to decline. Passenger traffic dropped significantly during the health crisis but both national and international travel now exceed the pre-COVID-19 levels recorded in 2019.

The total distance travelled by trains reached 8.24 million train-kilometres, with an annual increase of 6.41%. Passenger services accounted for 7.86 million train-kilometres, up 7.14% on the previous year and representing more than 95% of total traffic. Freight activity decreased by 6.55%, reaching 0.38 million train-kilometres in 2024.

Rail network usage intensity in 2024, measured as the average number of trains running per day per kilometre of line in the Grand Duchy, reached 83.22. This high level reflects the overall volume of rail traffic.

Passenger transport again recorded a significant annual increase in total distance travelled, up 9.99%. Total passenger travel reached 555.52 million passenger-kilometres in 2024, up from 505.05 million in 2023. Freight transport declined to 217.05 million tonne-kilometres, a 5.75% decrease compared to the previous year.

The mission of the ILR is to ensure and supervise, in the interest of consumers, the proper functioning of markets based on effective and sustainable competition while guaranteeing a basic universal service.

The ILR is a member of the European network of independent rail regulators (IRG-Rail), which will publish its fourteenth annual market monitoring report in the second quarter of 2026, providing a broad overview based on a wide range of indicators for rail networks across Europe.

EO