Costs and revenues of franchised passenger train operators in the UK

'Costs and revenues of franchised passenger train operators in the UK' compares for the first time the expenditure of the 19 franchised Train Operating Companies (TOCs), detailing how their costs and revenues have changed over time, how costs vary across franchises, and an examination of the drivers of costs. Operator costs accounted for 48% of total rail industry costs in 2010-11, and are therefore an important element in improving the overall efficiency of the industry.

The study shows that there has there has been a strong growth in railway use - a 45% increase in passenger kilometres over the period - and that excluding the impact of subsidies to Network Rail, TOCs' revenue now broadly matches their direct costs.

Also shown are differences in the costs incurred by each TOC, which also vary when measured in a range of ways (e.g. cost per passenger kilometre, per vehicle kilometre, per train kilometre and per train hour).

Alongside this, 'European Benchmarking of the costs, performance and revenues of GB TOCs' provides analysis undertaken by the economic consultancy firm Civity comparing TOCs in Great Britain to those in other European countries. This provides an assessment of the variation in revenues and costs across operators in different countries.