LNER Leads The Way With Post-pandemic Passenger Recovery

London North Eastern Railway (LNER) is leading the way with post-pandemic passenger recovery. Results published today by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) show that LNER saw the most customers return to its services when compared with pre-pandemic usage than any other franchised operator, topping the table for a record fifth consecutive quarter.  

 Data from LNER shows that more than 15 million passengers have travelled across its network so far this year, more than double than for the same period last year. LNER passenger numbers have now exceeded pre-Covid levels with LNER becoming the first franchised train company in the country to reach this milestone, according to the ORR data. 

David Horne, Managing Director at LNER, said: “At LNER we are proud to lead the industry when it comes to welcoming people back to rail. For the past five consecutive quarters we have seen more and more passengers returning to our services. We believe our customer service and digital innovations are a key part of that success, offering people first-class customer service, greater choice and flexibility and that work continues. The LNER app and website make it simpler for people to plan their journeys and sign up for live journey updates. We were the first to introduce at-seat ordering with Let’s Eat At Your Seat in Standard, where customers can use a QR code to order refreshments directly to their seat.”  

LNER also achieved European success this week, being named Travel Partner of the Year in the Rail Operator category of the Business Travel Awards Europe 2022 for the second year in a row.  

The prestigious awards, hosted by the Business Travel News Group, recognise and celebrate industry leadership, partnership and innovation across the travel sector. LNER was praised by the judges for its innovative approach in championing rail and raising the profile of the industry as well as its ‘excellent customer service’, innovation in onboard catering and its popular loyalty scheme LNER Perks, now with 500,000 members. 

It has also been revealed that LNER’s award-winning catering team has been shortlisted in two categories of The Caterer’s Foodservice Catey’s Awards 2022. LNER is among the finalists in the Best Use of Technology category for at-seat service ‘Let’s Eat at Your Seat’, as well as the Retail and Leisure Caterer of the Year Award. The ceremony is due to take place later this month.