Northern reports near-record passenger numbers on Leeds and city routes

The train operator says demand across the North continued to grow in 2025. Commuter and city-centre services saw the biggest increases.

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00:00Train operator Northern says passenger demand has reached its strongest level since the pandemic.

00:07Nearly 100 million journeys were made across its network during 2025. The company recorded 98.6

00:15million trips, up 10% on the previous year. Commuting drove growth, with season ticket

00:22journeys also rising by 10%. Services into major city centres saw the biggest increases,

00:28with Manchester journeys rising by 12% and Leeds 7%. December was particularly strong with more than

00:368 million journeys made, which is the highest December total since before the pandemic,

00:42according to figures released by the operator.