Trainline shares tumble as it warns on competition with government superapp – UKTN

Trainline shares sunk as much as 15% in early London trade as the travel e-commerce firm warned it would have to compete with a new government superapp.

The London-based business pointed to a clarification made by the government in its rail industry consultation published last month, in which it said it planned to combine the ticket booking apps of all the different UK railway operators into a single retail app.

That would allow consumers to find and buy the best tickets all on a single app regardless of the route, eroding a key advantage enjoyed by current Trainline users.

Trainline stressed that the new service was unlikely to appear before 2027, adding that it would seek to ensure that the app would be able to compete fairly with its own app.

“The Government is unequivocal in its commitment to a fair, open and competitive market, recognising the central role independent retailers play,” Trainline said.

“As part of the industry consultation, the Government is engaging with Trainline and other independent retailers to assess various safeguards typically observed in regulated markets. This is to ensure [the new app] is not treated favourably versus other retailers, which is in line with competition law principles.”

The proposed government app is part of new plans to nationalise British railways, combining a multitude of private operators for different routes and services into a single government-owned company, known as Great British Railways.

In December 2024, the government said the first three train operating companies to be brought into public ownership would be South Western Railway (May 2025), c2c (July 2025) and Greater Anglia (Autumn 2025).

It comes as Trainline today said it had seen record ticket sales for the third consecutive year as it posted a rise in revenues.

As much as £5.9bn worth of tickets were sold in the UK in Europe in the twelve months to the end of February, a 12% rise on the previous year, of which £3.9bn related to the UK. Total turnover rose 11% to £442m during the year.

“There is still so much to be achieved in the UK and Europe with the critical foundation being open, fair and competitive markets,” CEO Jody Ford said.

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