In this section: Public services
NI Railways (Translink): subsidy, passengers and punctuality
Last updated . Figures refresh every night. How each figure is worked out.
£62m for NI Railways (Translink) in 2024-25, +8.7% on a year earlier after inflation.
Figure as of 25 November 2025. Source: Office of Rail and Road.
Key figures
- £62m2024-25, cash +13.2% on a year earlier
- 45.4%Fares as a share of operating costs, 2024-25
- 92.8 £ millionStaff costs, 2024-25
Source: Office of Rail and Road.
Over time: cash, real terms and per resident
Real terms use HM Treasury’s GDP deflator, 2025-26 prices. Breaks in the series: 2015-16: Network Rail was reclassified to central government in September 2014; its spending counts in the railway line and the Department for Transport’s budget from 2015-16, which is why rail spending jumps that year. ORR’s operator subsidy also changes source that year. 2020-21: From March 2020 emergency agreements moved train operators’ revenue risk to the government, and bus operators received pandemic grants: support rose sharply in 2020-21 and 2021-22 while fares fell.
The numbers behind this chart
| Year | Real terms (2025-26 prices) | Cash |
|---|---|---|
2015-16Details for 2015-16 | £26.5m | £19.1m |
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2016-17Details for 2016-17 | £24.6m | £18.1m |
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2017-18Details for 2017-18 | £24.6m | £18.3m |
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2018-19Details for 2018-19 | £22.3m | £17.0m |
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2019-20Details for 2019-20 | £25.7m | £20.1m |
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2020-21Details for 2020-21 | £92.5m | £76.1m |
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2021-22Details for 2021-22 | £66.3m | £54.7m |
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2022-23Details for 2022-23 | £18.6m | £16.4m |
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2023-24Details for 2023-24 | £58.8m | £54.6m |
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2024-25Details for 2024-25 | £63.9m | £61.8m |
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Figure as of 25 November 2025. Source: Office of Rail and Road.
Source: Office of Rail and Road, Table 7260: Northern Ireland Railways finances, published 25 November 2025.
Income and costs
From the operator’s accounts as ORR publishes them (table 7260), rebased with HM Treasury’s GDP deflator. The gap between costs and income is met mostly by government; from 2020-21 the government took the fares and paid the operator’s costs. ORR notes that operators divide costs between categories differently.
The numbers behind this chart
| Year | Fare income | Total expenditure | Staff costs |
|---|---|---|---|
2015-16Details for 2015-16 | £63m | £91m | £56m |
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2016-17Details for 2016-17 | £65m | £88m | £58m |
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2017-18Details for 2017-18 | £66m | £98m | £57m |
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2018-19Details for 2018-19 | £72m | £101m | £61m |
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2019-20Details for 2019-20 | £66m | £114m | £63m |
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2020-21Details for 2020-21 | £16m | £107m | £62m |
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2021-22Details for 2021-22 | £39m | £110m | £60m |
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2022-23Details for 2022-23 | £55m | £109m | £67m |
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2023-24Details for 2023-24 | £60m | £120m | £83m |
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2024-25Details for 2024-25 | £63m | £139m | £93m |
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Figure as of 25 November 2025. Source: Office of Rail and Road.
Where it sits, and what is below it
- UK total
- Nation
- Department or service body
- Local body (this level)
- Spending category not published
- Line or transaction not published
NI Railways (Translink)
Government funding for NI Railways, part of Translink, from its accounts as ORR publishes them, converted back to cash.
£62m in 2024-25 (cash); £64m in 2025-26 prices; +13.2% on a year earlier in cash, +8.7% in real terms.
Spending category: not published. Government funding is one line in NI Railways’ accounts; its costs (staff and other operating costs) are shown on its page.
Cash is as published. Real terms are in 2025-26 prices, using HM Treasury’s GDP deflator. Per resident divides by ONS mid-year population for the area the body serves. Changes compare the same body in consecutive years.
What is recorded alongside the money
These figures are published beside the funding, not as its result. Demand, geography, recording practice and many other things differ between areas and change over time; none of these charts shows cause and effect.
| Measure | NI Railways (Translink) | Period |
|---|---|---|
Fares as a share of operating costsDetails for Fares as a share of operating costs | 45.4% | 2024-25 |
| ||
Staff costsDetails for Staff costs | 92.8 £ million | 2024-25 |
| ||
Fare income as a share of the operator’s operating expenditure (staff, rolling stock, track access and other costs), from its management accounts (ORR table 7226).
The numbers behind this chart
| Year | NI Railways (Translink) |
|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 69.3% |
| 2016-17 | 73.6% |
| 2017-18 | 68.0% |
| 2018-19 | 71.4% |
| 2019-20 | 57.7% |
| 2020-21 | 14.8% |
| 2021-22 | 35.4% |
| 2022-23 | 50.7% |
| 2023-24 | 49.7% |
| 2024-25 | 45.4% |
Figure as of 25 November 2025. Source: Office of Rail and Road.
The operator’s staff costs in 2025-26 prices (ORR table 7226). ORR does not publish the number of staff by operator.
The numbers behind this chart
| Year | NI Railways (Translink) |
|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 55.5 |
| 2016-17 | 58.2 |
| 2017-18 | 57.1 |
| 2018-19 | 61.3 |
| 2019-20 | 62.7 |
| 2020-21 | 61.8 |
| 2021-22 | 60.4 |
| 2022-23 | 67.3 |
| 2023-24 | 82.9 |
| 2024-25 | 92.8 |
Figure as of 25 November 2025. Source: Office of Rail and Road.
What these figures do and don't show
- Subsidy is a net figure. Government payments to the operator less any premium it paid; ORR publishes it from the operator’s accounts from 2015-16, and before that from the government’s payment records, so there is a break in 2015-16.
- From March 2020 the government took the fares. Emergency agreements and then national rail contracts moved revenue risk to the government, so subsidy rose as fares fell; years before and after are not like for like.
- Per journey and per kilometre are worked out here from ORR’s subsidy and usage tables. Long-distance operators carry passengers further, so per kilometre is the fairer comparison between them and commuter operators.
- Punctuality is not only the operator’s doing. Delays caused by Network Rail, other operators and outside events count against the operator whose train was late.
- Nothing here shows cause and effect. Subsidy, punctuality and passenger numbers are shown side by side.
Where this sits: United Kingdom → Northern Ireland → Railways, Northern Ireland → NI Railways (Translink). Figures from data/services/transport.json, generated 29 September 2026.
Use this data
The figures belong to the bodies that published them and are used under their terms, listed in Sources for this page; most are Crown copyright under the Open Government Licence. Only our own words, analysis, charts and derived calculations are ours, published under CC BY 4.0: reuse them, including commercially, if you credit Tekstak Ltd and link back to this page.
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Sources for this page
| Source | Publisher | Figures as of | Updated | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Table 7260: Northern Ireland Railways finances | Office of Rail and Road | 25 November 2025 | annual | Open Government Licence v3.0 |
Each source's figures are used under the licence shown. Our own words, analysis, charts and derived calculations are ours, under CC BY 4.0.