Trainline passes £5bn ticket sales driven by strong demand in UK and Europe

Trainline’s pre-tax profits soared to £48million

Trainline has smashed through the £5billion barrier in ticket sales, marking a milestone as UK rail travel bounces back and European markets surge.

The London-listed firm’s pre-tax profits soared to £48million for the year ending February 29, thanks to fewer rail strikes and a robust recovery in passenger revenues. UK ticket sales contributed £3.5billion to the total, with the overall British rail market rebounding to an estimated £10.6billion in passenger revenues, up from £8.9billion the previous year.

The company’s success story didn’t end in the UK; Trainline also saw its sales in Spain and Italy jump by 43%, as it deepened its footprint in these markets. For the first time ever, Trainline’s international ticket sales crossed the £1billion mark, underlining the company’s aggressive expansion strategy in Spain and Italy, where there’s a fierce competition among rail operators.

Jody Ford, chief executive of Trainline, hailed the transformative impact of new carrier competition in Europe, saying: “New entrant carrier competition is revolutionising rail in Europe as more customers benefit from greater choice, lower prices and the opportunity to choose greener travel.”

“We are becoming the aggregator of choice in the UK and internationally and are delivering strong growth, particularly in those markets liberalising fastest such as Spain.”

Trainline has announced that there’s “considerable headroom for growth” within the UK market, noting that tickets still purchased offline amount to around £3billion of the total British ticket sales from last year, with a significant portion likely attributed to short-distance and commute journeys.

The rail booking platform is enhancing its mobile app to cater more effectively to commuters, including an expansion of its digital season ticket offering. Additionally, Trainline has introduced a “best price guarantee” where customers will be refunded the difference if they find a cheaper same-day ticket elsewhere.

These strategic moves have resulted in Trainline increasing its commuter customer base to 23%, a significant rise from the 10% seen before the pandemic.