LNER, which operates most services on the East Coast Main Line, saw its revenue pass the £1bn mark as it cut the number of trains it cancelled during its latest financial year.
The business, which is owned by the Department for Transport, has seen its revenue increase from £866.5m in the year to 31 March, 2025, new accounts filed with Companies House show.
LNER’s passenger revenue increased from £764.7m to £859.7m while the subsidy it received from DfT grew from £36m to £88.8m.
The business said the government subsidy increased because of a reduction in incentive payments received from Network Rail, the impact of pay rises, indexation and rate changes on large contracts as well as higher energy costs.
The impact on LNER’s revenue from industrial action also fell from £23.4m to £8.3m
The train company’s pre-tax profit nudged up from £6.6m to £6.7m while the number of journeys taken rose by 8.8 per cent to 26.4m.
The percentage of trains on time in the year dipped from 56.6 per cent to 56.4 per cent.
The proportion of trains which arrived within three minutes of the schedule rose from 72.2 per cent to 72.7 per cent while those arriving within 15 minutes increased from 92.3 per cent to 92.8 per cent.
The percentage of trains cancelled was also cut from 4.8 per cent to 3.8 per cent.
A dividend of £20m was paid to the DfT in the year, the same amount of in the prior 12 months.
York-headquartered LNER said: “The first half of the year was overshadowed by the continued uncertainty caused by strike action relating to the industrial disputes with trade unions.
“LNER was pleased to see a deal reached between the rail industry and the ASLEF union.
“Whilst LNER looked to operate as many services as possible on stroke dates, the conclusion of industrial action has reduced the level of disruption and uncertainty to our passengers, exacerbated by strike action on other days from connecting operators.
“Operationally we have been relieved that the winder of 2024/25 saw a significant reduction in the number of weather events.”
Northern: Cancellations rise as train company’s profit grows
Northern Trains, which is also owned by DfT, cancelled more trains during the same financial year as its profit grew.
The number of trains cancelled by the business increased from 7.2 per cent to eight per cent in the 12 months to 31 March, 2025, new accounts filed with Companies House show.
The rise in cancellations came as the firm’s pre-tax profit also increased from £8.7m to £10.8m.
Its total revenue grew from £1.07bn to £1.1bn while its passenger revenue rose from £359.7m to £395.5m.
The amount Northern received from the Department for Transport also went up in the year from £648.4m to £672.5m
York-headquartered Northern said its government subsidy had increased because of the impact of pay rises, indexation and higher energy costs.
The percentage of trains arriving within three minutes of when they should fell by 0.4 per cent to 78.7 per cent while the proportion of trains arriving within 15 minutes nudged up by 0.1 per cent to 97.7 per cent.
TransPennine Express profit dips
LNER’s results have also been filed at the same time as fellow DfT-owned TransPennine Express.
The Manchester-headquartered company’s total revenue increased from £387.8m to £465.5m in the year to 31 March, 2025, while its passenger revenue also rose from £198.2m to £283.7m.
During the first full year under DfT ownership, its subsidy from the government fell from £174.5m to £165.2m while its pre-tax profit also decreased from £2.9m to £1.9m.
The percentage of trains arriving within three minutes of when they should increased by 0.9 per cent to 68.8 per cent.
The proportion of trains arriving within 15 minutes also rose by 0.8 per cent to 95.2 per cent while cancellations dipped from 4.8 per cent to 4.2 per cent.