An official report by the Office of Road and Rail (OOR) has found that, for the second year running, passenger numbers are up 12% on the previous year across both West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway, with 67.7 million journeys made combined over both regions last year.

The increase in passenger numbers has been put down to several factors. New trains, introduced by both train companies, offer faster journeys. This has enabled London Northwestern Railway to add more services, consisting of longer trains running to and from London, which commenced in December 2024.

The introduction of contactless payment at more stations at the southern end of the West Coast Main Line has also seen a rise in numbers. Plus, there has been a gradual increase in passengers returning to work in London instead of working from home.

Leisure travel is also up, especially mid-week at off-peak times and at weekends, due to cheap travel offers on both rail networks, with single tickets costing just £9 between Birmingham and Euston when using a £5.95 railcard, and from Liverpool to Euston costing £14 using a £9.30 railcard.

The most recent offer is the Festive Fiver ticket scheme currently in operation on the WMR network, where passengers can make any return journey in a zonal area for £5 between the cities in the West Midlands.

This growth in passenger numbers has put both railway companies into the top five railway operators that have seen the highest increase in passengers over the last year.

Looking at forecasts for passenger numbers into 2026, the number of passenger journeys is expected to rise to approximately 80 million across both combined regions. Five new stations are due to open across the West Midlands Railway region within the next year, which will bring an increase in passenger numbers.

Despite not running direct services between London Euston and Manchester, one in ten passengers use London Northwestern Railway to make part of their journey when travelling between the two cities.

The London Northwestern Railway are planning to run trains to Manchester Airport next year, offering a transport alternative for passengers who live in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stoke-On-Trent, giving these areas south of Manchester faster and direct routes to the airport. There will also be a continued introduction of more five-car class 730/2 trains.

“Demand for travel on our services has sky-rocketed over the past year, particularly on our longer-distance routes to and from London Euston where we are attracting new customers to rail.

Following the pandemic we saw a slow but steady return to rail but in the last 12 months we have seen record increases on some routes as even more customers take advantage of our excellent value fares and additional services. A thriving railway is good for passengers and taxpayers alike.

With our recently-introduced new electric train fleet now providing 20% more capacity to and from London Euston, we look forward to continuing this trend and welcoming even more passengers on board in 2026.”

Ian McConnell, WMR and LNR managing director