Customers spent £6.3 billion on rail and coach tickets through Trainline in the year to 28 February 2026, net of refunds. Trainline recorded £453 million of revenue.
That gap is the story. So how does Trainline make money from tickets it sells as an agent? We read its results, trading statement and regulatory announcements to map the Trainline business model and see where it is under pressure.
What Is Trainline and How Does It Work?
Trainline is a London-listed platform that sells rail and coach tickets on behalf of carriers, working with hundreds of rail and coach companies across more than 40 countries.
Trainline had 27 million active customers across the UK and Europe in FY2026, including 18 million in the UK. The company defines active customers as those who completed at least one transaction in the preceding 12 months.
The accounting matters here.
Trainline defines net ticket sales as the gross value of tickets sold less refunds and says it acts as an agent or technology provider, so those sales are not its revenue. So where does its income come from, if the ticket price is not its revenue?
How Does Trainline Make Money?
Trainline makes money from commission and fees on ticket sales, advertising and ancillary services such as travel insurance, and technology fees charged to business partners.
The table below shows how that £6.3 billion in net ticket sales translates into £453 million of revenue across the group’s three segments.
Most of the £189 million in the B2B segment is an internal fee charged to the consumer businesses for using Platform One.
They report revenue after that fee, so the figures add up to the group total. Next come commission, booking fees and the B2B arm.
Commission on Ticket Sales: The Core Revenue Stream
Trainline earns a commission on each ticket it sells for carriers, and the headline UK rate for online sales fell from 5% to 4.5% on 1 April 2025.
Announced in 2022 under an agreement with the Rail Delivery Group, the change has a net effect Trainline puts at about 0.25%, because some central industry costs also fell away. UK Consumer revenue fell 2% to £204 million, driven primarily by the rate change.
Without it, Trainline says, revenue would have grown 7%.
Trainline Booking Fees: What Passengers Pay and Why
Trainline booking fees on UK journeys range from 59p to £2.79, with no fee for in-app bookings made on the day of travel.
The amount depends on the journey, ticket price and booking time.
Website customers also pay £1.00 to collect tickets at the station or £2.75 for second-class post. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) observed fees of 59p to £2.79 on train tickets and £1.50 on coach bookings, as reported by City AM.
Trainline’s results do not break out booking fee income, so we cannot say how much of the £453 million it provides.
We set the fees against a split-ticketing rival in the Trainline vs Split My Fare section below.
Trainline Solutions: The B2B Side of the Business
Trainline Solutions is the group’s business-to-business arm, selling ticketing technology, a rail booking API and a corporate booking portal to carriers, travel management companies and employers.
Its net ticket sales grew 15% to £1.08 billion in FY2026, with business travel more than half. B2B distribution, which lets travel management companies such as Amex GBT, Navan, Perk and Havas sell rail through one connection, grew 36%. Trainline Business, the branded portal, passed 35,000 active clients, up 47%.
White-label booking sites for train operators are where it is losing ground, with the CrossCountry and ScotRail contracts rolling off.
Advertising and Ancillary Revenue
Beyond commission and fees, Trainline makes money from hotel bookings, travel insurance and advertising, though its results do not say how much each contributes.
In the UK, hotel bookings and insurance sales both grew by double digits in FY2026.
It is moving from fixed ad slots to adverts built into the booking journey, and in South-East France carriers can pay for more prominent search placement. In the first half of FY2027, growth in insurance and advertising partly offset lower refund fee revenue after the industry changed its refund rules in April 2026.
Trainline vs Split My Fare
Trainline charges a booking fee on most UK journeys, while Split My Fare says it charges none and takes a small percentage of any saving it finds.
Those fee claims come from Split My Fare’s own website, so treat them as the company’s description. Trainline has offered its own split-ticketing feature, SplitSave, since January 2020.
Which costs less depends on the route, date and tickets available, and we found no independent, current comparison that settles it, so we would check both before buying.
Risks to the Model: Regulation, Fee Scrutiny and Rail Reform
The main risks to Trainline’s model are a CMA investigation into fee presentation, state-backed Great British Railways (GBR) retail, and train operators favouring their own apps.
The CMA opened its investigation on 19 August 2026, examining whether all mandatory fees appeared in the upfront price of train and coach tickets on Trainline’s app and website.
It has reached no conclusions.
Trainline says the investigation is at an early stage and it cannot yet quantify any financial impact.
On rail reform, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) published a draft Retail Code of Practice on 9 October 2026, which would require GBR to give independent retailers fair, transparent and non-discriminatory access to fares and systems.
The consultation closes on 11 December 2026, with the final code expected in spring 2027.
Trainline also cites operators favouring their own retail channels and TfL’s Project Oval contactless expansion, which it says puts about £150 million of annualised UK net ticket sales at risk. In the six months to 31 August 2026, group net ticket sales were flat at £3.3 billion and underlying revenue fell 1% to £233 million.
Half-year results are due on 4 November 2026.
What Trainline’s Model Teaches Founders
A marketplace can process £6.3 billion of sales and still keep a thin margin: Trainline’s FY2026 adjusted EBITDA was £177 million, or 2.8% of net ticket sales.
We think the Trainline business model offers three lessons for founders building marketplaces.
1. Terms set by others move your revenue: A commission rate agreed with the industry in 2022 was the main reason UK Consumer revenue fell 2% when it took effect in 2025.
2. One platform can serve two customer groups: Platform One powers Trainline’s own apps and its B2B clients, so one technology investment earns in two places.
3. Cash timing shapes the balance sheet: Trainline’s accounts describe a negative working capital cycle, as ticket money arrives before carriers are paid.
FAQs
1. Why does Trainline charge a booking fee?
Trainline says its booking fee helps fund its products and services, and fees form part of its stated revenue model alongside commission. The CMA is investigating whether mandatory fees appear in the upfront price and has reached no conclusions.
2. What is Trainline Solutions?
It is Trainline’s business-to-business arm, which sells ticketing technology, a rail booking API and the Trainline Business portal to carriers, travel management companies and employers. Its net ticket sales reached £1.08 billion in FY2026.
3. Is Trainline cheaper or more expensive than Split My Fare?
It depends on the route, date and tickets available, and we found no independent, current comparison that settles it. Trainline charges a booking fee on most UK journeys, while Split My Fare says it takes a percentage of any saving, so compare both.
Sources: Trainline plc results, trading statement, help pages and group website; Split My Fare website; the CMA (as reported by City AM); the Office of Rail and Road. Figures reflect the latest data available on 28 October 2026.
The EP+ Editorial Desk covers UK startups, founder stories, and venture capital. All editorial content is independently produced and human-reviewed before publication.
