Almost 695,000 trips have been made on the new Borders railway in its first six months of operation, exceeding the anticipated number of journeys by 22%.
While travel chiefs had forecast 568,023 journeys on the new line, a total of 694,373 trips have been made between September 6 2015 and March 6 this year, according to Transport Scotland.
The Queen officially opened the railway line, which runs from Edinburgh to Tweedbank in the Borders, last September on the day she became Britain's longest-serving monarch.
She and the Duke of Edinburgh were accompanied by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on a steam train journey along the £294 million line.
Transport minister Humza Yousaf and Phil Verster, managing director of train operators ScotRail Alliance, teamed up to announce the figures at the capital's Waverley Station
Mr Yousaf said: "These figures are fantastic news for the region, further justifying the decision to bring a railway line back to the Borders for the first time in over 40 years.
"The reintroduction of a rail service to the Borders is opening up communities in the south-east of Scotland as new places to live, work and visit.
"Far from resting on our laurels, the Scottish Government is now continuing our work with stakeholders, through the Borders Blueprint, to ensure that we build upon this positive start to support new opportunities, such as housing, commercial and leisure development along the Borders railway corridor."
Mr Verster said: "We are incredibly proud to operate services on the Borders railway - a route which, as the numbers show, is hugely popular with our customers.
"The extremely positive first six months is a wonderful start and gives us a solid foundation on which to continue to attract new visitors to and from the Borders.
"We are committed to ensuring the lasting legacy of the Borders railway."
When the railway line opened last year it restored train services to the Borders for the first time since 1969.
The project involved 30 miles of new railway being built, along with seven new stations, providing a half-hourly service on weekdays and Saturdays.
Environmental campaigners welcomed the figures, with WWF Scotland director Lang Banks saying: "That the railway is proving massively popular with commuters and tourists is great news for the environment and the Borders' economy.
"Road transport is one of the biggest sources of carbon emissions, so if we're serious about meeting our climate change targets then we need to see a significant shift from road to rail and other forms of sustainable transport."
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