Railway operators up and down the country have seen their passenger numbers drop due to Covid - but one operator has stood out in latest figures as they recover.
LNER, which operates services between the North East, Yorkshire, Scotland and London, has been named top when it comes to latest figures from the Office of Rail and Road across the UK.
The operator is leading the way when it comes to post-pandemic passenger recovery with the most returning when compared with pre-pandemic passenger levels.
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According to the figures, this is more than any other franchised operator and tops the table for a record-breaking fifth consecutive quarter.
Figures reveal that LNER has seen a 53.4 percentage point increase, the highest, with other operators in the North East following behind.
They include Northern Trains at 31.9, TransPennine Express at 32.7 and CrossCountry at 33.7.
This year, more than 15 million passengers have travelled on LNER trains across its network.
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This is more than double than for the same period last year, and LNER has said that passenger numbers have subsequently exceeded pre-Covid levels.
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.”
It comes as 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.
That was for the second year in a row.
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