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LNER now carrying more passengers than pre-pandemic

[1] (LNER) is welcoming increasing numbers of passengers back to rail travel, according to the latest figures from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR)[2].

The publicly run operator has seen a greater increase in passenger number than other franchised operators over the last two years, and the newly-released data follows similarly encouraging figures for the previous quarter[3].

The newly-published data show that over the period January-March 2023, LNER recorded six million passenger journeys, which represents increases of:

  • 111 per cent on the same period in 2019
  • 22 per cent on the same period in 2022.

LNER's own data shows that:

  • Fridays and Sundays are still  the most popular days for people to travel as demand for leisure journeys continues to thrive
  • more than 23 million passenger journeys were made on its services in the year to May 2023
  • journeys between [4] and [5], [6], [7], [8] and [9] are the most popular on the LNER route.

LNER runs more than one hundred and sixty daily services along its 956-mile East Coast route. In response to changing travel trends shown by the data, LNER is considering increasing capacity on Sundays by adding services on its [10] King's Cross and [11] route.

The wider rail industry is running trials of carrying out engineering work during the week to minimise [12] during the popular weekend period.

LNER continued to operate services throughout the Covid pandemic. Since the pandemic, it has become the most popular way to travel between [13] and London.

Its fully-electric Azuma fleet carries more passengers between the two cities than air, as more people choose to travel in an environmentally-friendly way. Azuma trains can operate in bi-mode power, which means that services can often keep running when engineering works take place on electrified routes.

LNER Azuma at Lincoln // Credit: LNER LNER Azuma at Lincoln // Credit: LNER

The operator also boasts that it leads the industry in allowing passengers to book their journeys many months in advance. Tickets are now available for many journeys up to and including 8 December 2023.

LNER is extending its provision of fares based on single rather than return journeys from this Sunday, 11 June 2023, after a trial of these options[14] proved successful. It has also launched Deal Finder on its app, where passengers can look for ideas for travel and cheaper fares.

LNER Azuma train just north of Dalwhinnie on the Highland Mainline. LNER Azuma train just north of Dalwhinnie on the Highland Mainline // Credit: LNER

David Horne, Managing Director at LNER, said: “We are delighted that for two years running LNER has topped the table for franchised operators seeing record numbers of customers return to our services. We've seen a huge demand in leisure travel, with business travel continuing to grow. In the 2022-23 financial year, we carried one million more passengers than we than we did in 2018-19.

“We are continuously working to improve our customer experience, from our world-class Azuma trains and award-winning app, to extending our booking horizon, simplifying tickets and investing in our stations. We are also working with our wider industry partners to deliver transformational upgrades to the railway network to enable even smoother, greener and more comfortable journeys, as we encourage even more people to travel by rail.”

References

  1. ^ (www.railadvent.co.uk)
  2. ^ latest figures from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) (dataportal.orr.gov.uk)
  3. ^ figures for the previous quarter (www.railadvent.co.uk)
  4. ^ (www.railadvent.co.uk)
  5. ^ (www.railadvent.co.uk)
  6. ^ (www.railadvent.co.uk)
  7. ^ (www.railadvent.co.uk)
  8. ^ (www.railadvent.co.uk)
  9. ^ (www.railadvent.co.uk)
  10. ^ (www.railadvent.co.uk)
  11. ^ (www.railadvent.co.uk)
  12. ^ (www.railadvent.co.uk)
  13. ^ (www.railadvent.co.uk)
  14. ^ trial of these options (www.railadvent.co.uk)

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