York-based London North Eastern Railway (LNER) says it continues to lead the way when it comes to welcoming people back to rail, topping the table for franchised operators for two years running.

LNER operates more than 160 daily services carrying millions of people across its 956-mile East Coast route.

Between January and March 2023, passenger journeys were at 111 per cent when compared with the same period for 2019, according to new data published today by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).

For the quarter, LNER recorded 6.0 million passenger journeys, an increase of 22 per cent on the same period in 2022.

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Data shows that Fridays and Sundays are still proving to be the most popular days for people to travel as demand for leisure journeys continues to thrive.

As a result of changing travel trends, LNER is looking to increase capacity on Sundays, with proposals for additional Sunday services on its London King’s Cross and Leeds route.

The wider industry is also trialling carrying out essential engineering works during the week to keep customers on the move during the popular weekend period.

Post pandemic, LNER says it is the most popular way to travel between Edinburgh and London, with its fully electric fleet of Azuma trains continuing to transport more customers between the two cities than air, as people increasingly look to travel in a more sustainable way.

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The ability of Azuma trains to operate in bi[1]mode power ensures services can often continue to run when engineering works take place on electrified routes.

David Horne, Managing Director at LNER, said: “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.”