Bumper year for coaches and buses puts National Express on right road

The transport company that was behind the East Coast mainline’s first franchise failure in 2009 has bounced back with its best-ever results.

National Express, which turned its back on UK rail services, has had a bumper year in its businesses in the US and Spain.

Chief executive Dean Finch said: “We have moved deliberately away from a business model where our prosperity was significantly determined by the instabilities of UK rail.”

The East Coast mainline has been beset by problems over the years and the latest operator, Virgin Trains, will hand back the franchise early due to falling passenger numbers.

National Express revenues climbed by 6.1% to £2.3 billion and pre-tax profits accelerated by 11.1% to £200 million.

Its combined UK coach and bus operations performed well.

The group has invested heavily in technology and “sophisticated pricing” saw profits up 5.3%, on revenues up 0.6%.

It said it is targeting new business in charter coaches in North America and contracts in Moroccan and German rail. It raised its dividend by 10%.