More passengers let train take the strain in 2017

More people used France's railway network in 2017 even though more trains ran behind schedule, figures show.

An additional 8million passengers travelled on TGV services in the past 12 months, with 2million extra taking advantage of low-cost Ouigo highspeed trains, according to data received by francetvinfo. In total, TGV operations served 110million people in 2017, a 10% increase on 2016.

Even traditionally struggling Intercité services saw an 8% increase in traffic last year, following five years of declining passenger numbers. A total 26.6million travellers used Intercité trains - 2million more than 2016.

TER services carried 336million passengers, 6million more than the previous 12 months, while Transilien trains were used by 1.2billion passengers - 64million more than in 2016, marking a 3.2% rise on 2016's figures.

TGV, Transilien and Intercité operations all recorded worse punctuality figures. In 2017, 88.7% of TGV services arrived at their destination on time, down 1% from the previous year. A total 88.4% of Transilien services ran on time, while 13% of Intercité trains were behind schedule. Both figures are about 1% down on 2016 punctuality rates.