Trainline LON: TRN executives used the company’s results presentation to highlight growth across its three business units, progress on U.K. regulatory issues, and an expanding focus on artificial intelligence as a product and operational capability.
CEO Jody Ford said Trainline remains “Europe’s number 1 rail app,” positioning the company around its purpose of enabling “greener travel choices.” CFO Pete Wood reported “robust” net ticket sales growth and double-digit EBITDA growth, while also flagging near-term headwinds tied to U.K. industry dynamics and international uncertainty.
Financial performance and outlook
Wood said group net ticket sales rose 7% to GBP 6.3 billion, while revenue increased 2% to GBP 453 million, which he attributed to a reduction in the U.K. commission rate. Gross profit increased 6% to GBP 374 million, aided by lower cost of sales from “step reductions in U.K. industry costs” and efficiency savings in customer service and payment processing.
Trainline’s cost-to-income ratio fell 4 points to 70%, which Wood said reflected operating leverage and ongoing cost discipline. Adjusted EBITDA grew 11% to GBP 177 million, landing within what management described as a previously upgraded guidance range.
On capital returns, Wood said the company has repurchased GBP 294 million of shares since September 2023, equivalent to 23% of issued share capital. Upon completion of the current GBP 150 million buyback program, Trainline expects to have returned GBP 350 million to shareholders over three years. Wood also said EPS has “more than quadrupled over the past 3 years” with a compound annual growth rate of 62%, helped by earnings growth and buybacks.
Looking ahead, management guided to net ticket sales of around GBP 6.2 billion to GBP 6.45 billion, revenue of around GBP 440 million to GBP 455 million, and EBITDA of around 2.9% of net ticket sales, which Wood said implies a 10-basis-point uplift driven by international consumer reaching break-even.
Business unit results: U.K. consumer, international, and partner solutions
In U.K. consumer, Wood reported net ticket sales grew 6% to GBP 4.1 billion, supported by commuter market recovery in the first half and leisure growth. He said growth slowed in the second half due to the impact of Project Oval and train operators “self-preferencing their own retail channels,” including features such as one-click Delay Repay.
In international, net ticket sales increased 3% to GBP 1.1 billion, with strong momentum on newly aggregated routes in Southeast France. Wood said Spain growth moderated due to a “more balanced approach to growth and profitability” and “a series of tragic rail accidents,” the impact of which he said was ongoing. Foreign travel growth re-accelerated to 5% in the second half as Trainline lapped changes to Google search results that had reduced organic visibility and increased paid ads, a shift Wood said had disproportionately affected foreign travel’s web acquisition.
Wood said Spain and Southeast France together represented 22% of international net ticket sales and grew 9%, while the rest of France and Italy (around two-thirds of international net ticket sales) grew 2%. Germany and the rest of Europe declined 6% as Trainline prioritized core markets. Wood said international benefits from higher-margin foreign travel, ancillary growth, and disciplined marketing, noting the unit broke even on a pre-transaction fee basis two years ago and is expected to break even on a “headline post-transaction fee basis” in the year ahead.
In Trainline Partner Solutions, net ticket sales grew 14% to GBP 1.1 billion. Growth was led by B2B distribution, up 36%, driven by new and expanding travel management company partnerships. In Europe, B2B sales via the Global API rose 58%. Wood said growth was partly offset by the loss of the CrossCountry U.K. white-label contract and that the company expects the loss of its ScotRail contract as ScotRail seeks a different partnership to align online and offline sales.
U.K. regulatory backdrop and retail competition
Ford focused heavily on the U.K. government’s plan to launch GBR online retail and the future structure of the retail market. He said the government published the output of its consultation in November, including plans for a code of practice owned and managed by the independent regulator ORR to codify how GBR should interact with third-party retailers.
In December, Ford said the government released pre-tender documentation for GBR online retail, with a stated aim to award a contract by January 2027, though the tender process has not yet begun. Ford said Trainline will engage with the processes while maintaining an “assertive stance” on the government’s commitment to a fair, open, and competitive market.
Ford said Trainline has made progress on issues where operators self-preference their own channels. He cited confirmation of Trainline’s access to all temporary fares and the ability to advertise in stations and on trains. He also highlighted a March announcement that once GBR is established, passengers will be able to claim Delay Repay compensation from wherever they buy their ticket, including Trainline—though he noted it will take time to come into effect and remains a customer pain point. Ford added Trainline is still unable to offer access to train operator loyalty schemes.
Trainline is also trialing Digital Pay-As-You-Go technology with East Midlands Railway. Ford said the technology is “performing strongly” and has received “excellent customer feedback,” with the trial due to end in the summer. In Q&A, he suggested it “would continue” as government evaluates expansion, but said Trainline would update after the trial completes.
Strategy and AI: product, distribution, and operations
Ford said the app accounts for over 90% of U.K. customer transactions and described a “customer flywheel” aimed at solving needs, building loyalty, and increasing engagement. He highlighted AI-powered disruption features including Travel Forecast, the Trainline Assistant, and Delay Repay notifications. Ford also said Trainline has 2.7 million digital railcard users, up 16%, and that its share of the 16-30 railcard segment has increased to 45%, with railcard users transacting four times more often than non-railcard holders.
Beyond ticketing, Ford said the company delivered “strong double-digit growth” in hotel bookings and insurance sales, and is testing adjacent services like car hire. He also said Trainline is shifting toward integrated, targeted, contextual advertising within the app journey.
Internationally, Ford said Trainline deployed its aggregation playbook in Southeast France following Trenitalia’s expansion, including Sponsored Search and features like TopCombo, which combines different carriers for return and multi-leg journeys. He said brand awareness in Paris, Lyon, and Marseille rose to 50%, contributing to 26% net ticket sales growth in the region. In Spain, Ford said Trainline is balancing growth and profitability and that Spain’s EBITDA made “a big step towards break even in the second half” before recent rail disruption.
Ford described a “second wave” of carrier competition expected from late 2027, including SNCF’s entry into Italy and new entrants launching in France from 2028, naming Velvet, Le Train, Ilisto, Trenitalia, and Virgin Trains on the London-Paris corridor. He also cited “news flow last week” suggesting Italo may plan to launch high-speed services in Germany from 2028, though he cautioned it remains “helpful speculation.”
On AI distribution, Ford said Trainline is seeing early traction in generative engine optimization (GEO), contributing around 3% of new foreign travel customers, though GEO overall represents less than 1% of new international customers. He said Trainline has integrated the app within ChatGPT, enabling users to search and compare routes in a conversational interface before completing booking with Trainline.
Operationally, Ford said software teams are increasingly using AI to code and support documentation and testing. In marketing, he said AI agents generate around 20% of in-house studio content and have increased performance marketing ad output to 19 times previous levels. In customer service, he said Trainline will roll out voice AI with ElevenLabs and has introduced Zendesk as a new CRM with AI tools and translation.
Key Q&A themes: guidance headwinds, contracts, and working capital
Several analysts questioned guidance and the magnitude of U.K. self-preferencing. Wood said near-term headwinds “unwind over time,” including the eventual cessation of Oval expansion, the impact of a rail fares freeze (which he said Trainline assumes will not extend beyond March 2027), and resolution of self-preferencing issues, which he linked in part to the government’s direction on Delay Repay. He also said the future shutdown of existing apps and websites as GBR launches could create a customer acquisition opportunity for Trainline.
Asked about international break-even sustainability, Ford said the company expects to stay above break-even under the current setup, but would invest more if “a new opportunity comes in France.” On Spain, Ford said he would expect “a full recovery” in demand “probably by the end of the year,” while noting uncertainty. Wood described the coming year as “a transitional year” between the first and second waves of aggregation.
On white-label contracts, Wood reiterated the CrossCountry contract loss and said ScotRail is seeking a different partnership model. He said his base case is that such contracts run until the government turns off operator websites and apps. Ford added that international white label is “not a focus” currently, emphasizing instead strong demand in the broader solutions distribution business.
On costs, Wood said there are additional expenses associated with engaging on the “once in a generation shift” to GBR, with some costs incurred last year and again this year, which he said should drop away over time. Regarding working capital, Ford said the outflow was driven by timing effects, noting the year ended on a Saturday, affecting credit card creditors.
About Trainline LON: TRN
Trainline's ambition is to bring together rail, coach and other travel services into one simple mobile experience so travellers can easily find the best prices for their journey and access smart, real-time travel information on the go. By making rail and coach travel easier, our aim is to encourage people all over the world to make more environmentally sustainable travel choices.
As most rail and coach tickets continue to be sold offline at the station, and as customers and governments commit to more environmentally friendly modes of travel, we see significant growth opportunities for Trainline over the long term.
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