Trainline earnings surge on passenger demand rebound

Online ticket-selling platform Trainline on Thursday reported a sharp rise in interim earnings as rail travel recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic, driven by visitors from the US cashing in on the stronger dollar.

Revenues for the six months to August 31 more than doubled to £2.16bn, while adjusted earnings were £30m higher at £45m.

UK rail passenger volumes had now recovered to around 85%, with Trainline domestic sales coming in at £1.4bn.

International sales rose 152% to £452m, with tickets purchased by US travellers up 89%.

"On high speed routes throughout the Continent, where rail carriers are now competing on the same lines, we give customers the broadest range of options and help them find the cheapest journey. This is accelerating our growth, including on the Madrid to Barcelona route where tickets sold are now seven times higher than pre-Covid,” said chief executive Jody Ford.

"Overall, the business continues to build momentum and we reaffirm guidance for the full year."

Trainline also noted that plans by the UK government, under now-deposed prime minister Boris Johnson, to create a new centralised online ticket retailer had yet to materialise “with no firm visibility on future timings”.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com