2025 was a great year for Northern, with almost 100 million journeys made, making it the strongest year since the pandemic.

Passenger numbers increased 10% from 2024, equating to an additional 8.8 million journeys.

Journeys into city centres saw significant growth, with journeys into Liverpool increasing by 19% and into Newcastle by 27%.

Newcastle likely saw its increase thanks to the Northumberland line opening, which saw 1 million journeys celebrated in early January, and a station was crowned winner in the World Cup of Stations in October.

December stood out for growth, seeing 8 million journeys, recording the highest December total since the pandemic and was up 12% from the previous year.

“2025 was a landmark year for Northern in terms of customer growth. Nearly 100 million journeys in a year shows just how important our services are to the economic and social life of the North, and the strong growth we continue to see is further evidence we are moving in the right direction.

“It is reassuring to see the considerable increases in demand from commuters and on services into our major city centres, alongside the success of new routes like the Northumberland Line. That tells us people want frequent, affordable and reliable rail.

“We’re focused on building on this momentum by continuing to improve the experience for our customers, but we’re not complacent. We’re working harder than ever to deliver the performance that customers rightly expect, and there will be even more enhancements coming to our network throughout 2026”.

Alex Hornby, Commercial and Customer Director at Northern