Trainline surpassed £5 billion in ticket sales for the first time, as the aggregator enjoyed a recovery in rail travel in Britain and sharp growth across Europe.
The London-listed company’s pre-tax profit more than doubled to £48m in the year ended February 29, driven by an easing of rail strikes, which fell from 30 to 25 days in the previous 12 months.
Trainline ticket sales grew 22% year-on-year, driven mainly by £3.5 billion worth of tickets in the UK. The overall British rail market recovered to around £10.6 billion in passenger revenue during the period under review, up from £8.9 billion the previous year.
The excellent year was further driven by sales in Spain and Italy, which grew a combined 43%, as Trainline further penetrated both international markets.
Thanks to its European growth, Trainline also surpassed £1 billion in international ticket sales for the first time.
The company has pursued an aggressive growth plan in both countries in recent years, where competition from rail operators is stronger than in its other markets such as France and Germany, leading to greater demand for its model as a price aggregator. .
Jody Ford, CEO of Trainline, said: “Competition from new carriers is revolutionizing rail transport in Europe as more customers benefit from greater choice, lower prices and the opportunity to choose greener journeys.
“We are becoming the aggregator of choice in the UK and internationally and are delivering strong growth, especially in markets that liberalize more quickly, such as Spain.”
Trainline said there is still “considerable room for growth” in the UK, with tickets bought offline accounting for around £3 billion of total British ticket sales last year. It is estimated that the majority of these are short-distance, commuting trips.
The company said it will continue to adapt its mobile app to better serve passengers, in part by expanding its digital season ticket feature.
Trainline has also launched a “best price guarantee” feature where it will refund the difference if a customer finds a cheaper same-day ticket elsewhere.
The changes saw Trainline increase its share of commuter customers to 23%, up from 10% pre-pandemic.
