Rising fares help Arriva Trains to a £27m profit
ARRIVA Trains has made record profits of more than £27m in its final full year running the Wales and Borders franchise – partly thanks to rising fares.
The company’s annual report for the year ending December 2017 also shows that the firm paid a dividend of £20 million to its parent company Arriva UK Trains Ltd, which is ultimately owned by Deutsche Bahn (DB), the state-owned national railway operator of Germany.
Arriva’s existing Welsh rail franchise comes to an end on October 14 this year, after which existing services will be taken over by another consortium, KeolisAmey.
A strategic report issued by Arriva Trains Wales as part of its annual report says: “The company continues to be in an excellent position to continually develop and improve the rail services in Wales. During 2017 the company continued to secure investment in stations, fleet, retail systems and services through partnerships and liaison with its stakeholders.”
Explaining the profit increase to £27.5 mil- lion from £24.3 million in 2016, the report says it “was due to an increase in passenger revenue as a result of increase in passenger numbers and pricing growth, offset by an increase in maintenance and staff costs”.
Commuters on the Valleys lines into Cardiff have in recent years been highly critical of the company’s services, repeatedly complaining about laterunning and overcrowded trains.
The Welsh Government has promised that services would improve once the new franchise is in operation, with increased frequency and better rolling stock.
But defending the company’s performance, Arriva Train Wales’ annual report states: “Throughout most of the year the company has maintained train punctuality and reliability. The moving annual average of the Public Performance Measure has been consistent throughout the year and finished the year at 92.3% (2016: 91.3%), an improvement on the prior year despite the challenge of extensive Network Rail re-signaling works.
“Positive passenger journeys growth has been achieved throughout 2017, aided by successful marketing campaigns, yield management activity and continued investment in revenue protection initiatives.”
Figures in the report show that passenger income rose from £138.6m in 2016 to £144.5m in 2017.
In the same period, franchise payments – in other words the public subsidy received by the company – declined slightly from £114.2m to £113.9m.
In 2017 the company’s monthly average number of employees was 2,155 – up from 2.123 in 2016.
The total is made up of 638 drivers, 251 engineering staff and 1,266 employed in administration and operations.
The report also reveals the highest paid director’s remuneration was £187,000, a decrease from the previous year.