What exactly are the determinants of Rail Passenger demand?

One determinant of rail passenger demand is price, because the price of the transport mode affects the consumption of other goods. If consumers have to spend more on rail, then they’re less to purchase other goods that they actually want, since demand for travel is derived. This means consumers don’t actually want travel, but realise they have to consume it, if they want to consume other goods. If prices for rail become too expensive, it will take a higher proportion of the consumer’s income, therefore they’ll switch to another transport mode such as Car travel, example of the substitution effect.

Another important determinant of rail passenger demand is speed of travel as this directly affects the duration of the journey. Especially in this day and age, people are very time conscience, as time spent travelling could be used instead for leisure activities. As a result of this consumers want the fastest mode of transport within their budget. If rail journeys are too lengthy, then consumers will switch to other alternative modes.

The availability of alternatives is a major determinant of demand for rail. The more substitutes there is, the more elastic the price elasticity of demand will be. This is because consumers will be more sensitive to price changes as they can just use other types of transport, again the substitution effect. Why would people take rail, if they could easily take their car, which allows them more flexibility and space?

The quality of the rail service has to correspond to consumer preferences. For example if the trains are unhygienic, this makes people more susceptible to unwanted diseases. Therefore I’d expect demand to fall. If trains ware reliably clean then demand will be high as this factor is important to consumers.