Rail and coach ticket platform Trainline saw its ticket sales rise by 68 per cent to £2.5billion during the last financial year, despite the Omicron variant impacting travel in the fourth quarter.
In the 12 months to 28 February, the firm’s revenue also made a recovery, rising 181 per cent from the previous year at £189 million.
As global travel restrictions – with the exception of a brief hiccup caused by Omicron – domestic and international markets started returning to growth, while an accelerated shift to online and digital ticket sales also helped boost business.
Rail and coach ticket platform Trainline saw its ticket sales rise by 68% to £2.5billion during the last financial year, despite the Omicron variant impacting travel in the fourth quarter
Commenting on the results, Trainline CEO Jody Ford said: ‘I am pleased with our performance this year, which was in line with our expectations despite the short-term impact of Omicron in the fourth quarter.
‘Playing a leading role in the wider industry recovery, we encouraged people back onto trains and increasingly towards digital ticketing.
‘In the UK we ran brand-led leisure travel campaigns, launched new features for commuters and scaled our digital railcards. In Europe we embraced rail market liberalisation, making it easy for customers to benefit from the increased choice available.
‘In France we became the only platform to offer all rail carriers following the addition of Trenitalia France, while in Italy we launched our first major national ad campaign, highlighting Trainline as having all the trains and all the fares in one app.’
Within its UK operations, the company saw an 89 per cent increase from 2020 in customers using Trainline to buy tickets two or more times a month, with sales coming in at £1.8 billion.
International net ticket sales were £418million, 85 per cent of the same period in 2020.
Net ticket sales improved throughout the year and, in the third quarter, were at 99 per cent of levels during the same period two years ago.
This was despite travel restrictions continuing to impede the return of inbound customers to Europe.
In the fourth quarter, international net ticket sales reached 106 per cent of 2020 levels, although this was lapping a quarter of French rail strikes and the onset of Covid-19 in Europe.
The full-year results for Trainline’s financial 2022 will be released on 5 May.
