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Trainline PLC on Wednesday raised its outlook while investors also kept a watchful eye on the government’s Railways Bill and the possible impact on ticketing operators. The London-based digital rail and coach ticketing platform said pretax profit rose 42% to £66.2 million in the six months to August 31 from £46.5 million a year prior. Revenue improved 2.5% to £234.7 million from £229.1 million, while Trainline expects annual revenue to be between flat on the year prior or up 3% from £442 million. Net ticket sales increased 8.3% to £3.25 billion from £3.00 billion with a total active customer base of 27 million. For the full-year, Trainline expects net ticket sales growth of between 6% and 9% year-on-year. The firm raised its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation outlook to growth between 10% and 13%, from its prior outlook of 6% to 9% growth, and from £159 million in the financial year to February 2025. In the first half of financial 2026, adjusted Ebitda increased 14% to £93 million from £82 million. ‘We are already Europe’s number one most downloaded rail App and now we are expanding our business travel sales too, with Trainline Solutions Distribution business growing 55% in Europe. Each of our businesses are leaders in their respective markets with significant scope for future growth as we innovate to make travel simpler, better value and more sustainable for millions of people. Given the strength of our first half performance, we are again raising our Ebitda guidance for the full year,’ Chief Executive Jody Ford said. Shares in Trainline rose 5.3% to 268.00 pence each in London on Wednesday morning. They had earlier traded as high as 283.80p. Also on Wednesday, the UK Government published its Railways Bill in which it said ‘customers and taxpayers are getting a bad deal for the fares they pay and the billions they invest’. The bill will create Great British Railways a new publicly owned company, which will bring together the management of passenger services and rail infrastructure. The bill noted the UK’s ticketing system is ‘difficult to navigate’ and said the ‘current landscape of fares and ticketing is overly complex and has lost the trust of passengers.’ The bill pointed to changes already made such as the rollout of pay-as-you-go ticketing but pledged to do more. ‘Once GBR is established, we will be able to go further and faster. GBR will consolidate the 14 existing operator websites into a single online platform that will compete alongside independent retailers,’ the bill said. In its statement on Wednesday, Trainline said it has been taking an ‘increasingly assertive stance’ with the Government to deliver on its commitment to fairness as the market operates today and in the future. The firm pointed to train operating companies deploying features where third party retailers like Trainline are effectively locked out and restrictions on its ability to advertise in stations and on trains, as well as not having parity of access to promotional fares. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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