The number of people taking journeys by train have increased to 1.4 billion in 2014/15, new figures show.
The Office of Rail and Road found that rail trips across England, Scotland and Wales had more than doubled since 1995.
The main driver of the increase around Greater Manchester was First Transpennine Express, which added additional services between Leeds and Manchester in May 2014.
The report found that the majority of journeys between the North West and other regions start or end in Greater Manchester.
Journeys between Greater Manchester and other regions increased for the tenth year in succession, rising 4.5% in 2014/5.
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Northern Rail saw its passengers travel 600 million kilometers in 2014/15, while FTPE saw 6.6% increase to 500 million kilometres.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “More people than ever are choosing to travel by train, and we are responding to that demand by investing record amounts in the UK’s railways.
“We’re making massive improvements through franchising – such as removing Pacer trains from the North of England and introducing new state-of-the-art trains on the East Coast, Great Western and Thameslink lines.
“By the end of 2019, there will be more than 3,700 extra carriages on the network compared to 2010.”
