A new study has discovered that in the last quarter of 2023, there was a 40% increase of passenger journeys on the Elizabeth Line.

The research, by West Somerset Railway, analysed newly released data from the Office of Rail and Road ‘Passenger rail usage, October to December 2023’ report.

The Elizabeth Line saw the largest rise of passenger journeys in Great Britain, serving 58.5 million rail users in the last quarter, that’s a 40% increase from the same time a year prior.

The latest figures come as UK and Ireland train supplier Altsom announced on X that they are in discussions to bring more trains onto the Elizabeth Line to keep up with passenger demand.

The post read: “We are now in a period of intense discussions with the UK Government and Transport for London about a potential train order for the Elizabeth line, given the levels of passenger demand.”

The supplier concluded their tweet by saying: “All parties have agreed to conclude discussions as soon as possible – and no later than the end of May. We will be making no further comment at this time.”

Elsewhere in London, West Somerset Railway found, from the data, that the London Overground saw a 20% rise in passenger rail usage, with 46.7 million journeys recorded in the last quarter of 2023. Heathrow Express saw the smallest increase in Great Britain with 5% and 1.2 million journeys recorded.

Looking at the country altogether, the data shows that 417 million rail passenger journeys were recorded in Great Britain between October to December 2023, a 20% growth from the same period the previous year, which saw 348 million journeys.