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London North Eastern Railway: Passengers

Asked by Andrew RosindellReform UKDepartment for TransportTabled Answered 11 October 2024UIN 5549

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the percentage seat utilisation per mile is on London and North Eastern Railway services to (a) York, (b) Leeds and (c) Newcastle.

Answered by Simon Lightwood

LNER services have a high rate of seat utilisation which is comparable to or better than other inter-city long distance franchised operators. However, seat utilisation varies throughout the day as LNER make effective use of track capacity by running longer trains which delivers more capacity during the peaks, which can lead to excess capacity on return legs where demand may be lower. Timetable obligations and fixed train sets means that there is sufficient capacity to meet demand, though is not possible to alter capacity in these quieter times to improve seat utilisation rates on these services.

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