Source: The World Bank.

Percent of Rail Passenger Traffic to Total Rail Traffic, 2000

Important differences in the use of rail transportation are noted among countries. Rail freight dominates in the United States and Canada while passengers are a residual function. This is mainly related to the geographical scale of their respective rail systems along with a preference on road and air transportation for inter-urban passenger movements. This confer an advantage for the flow of rail freight as it is uninterrupted by passenger flows. Western Europe and Japan have a reverse situation where rail transportation tends to be dominated by passengers. As a result, rail freight flows are often marginalized and constrained to use the system during the night. This is reflected in the performance of rail freight operations in Europe where the average speed is about 18 km/hour and only half of international combined freight trains are running on time.

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