Go-Ahead sees ‘strong growth’ in rail division

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Transport operator Go-Ahead has seen ‘strong growth’ in its rail division but announced a 12.9% fall it its profit for the first half of the year.

Go-Ahead operates the London Midland, Southeastern and Southern rail franchises, and said pre-tax profit fell to £39.2m from £45m.

However, London Midland saw record passenger growth of 11% during the period and revenue across the group was up 5.9% to £1.2bn.

The operator said their fall in profits was down to costs associated with a new bus contract and ‘one-off’ £9m benefit in the previous year’s accounts.

David Brown, Group Chief Executive said:

“In bus, our strategic focus of operating in more vibrant urban areas combined with local management and marketing has continued to deliver passenger growth. Passengers are also embracing our smartcard, the key, which is helping to make travel cheaper and more convenient. On rail, we have seen good passenger growth in all three of our franchises.

“We have also been focused on preparations for the Olympics, getting ready to run buses in London and Weymouth, as well as preparing to operate the Olympic Javelin shuttle services using our high speed Southeastern trains.”

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