10 June 2025
RMT Press Office:
Rail union, RMT today condemned First Group’s huge profits and its ongoing exploitation of Britain’s fragmented railway system through open access operations.
The company announced a surge in operating profits of £222 million, a boosted final dividend, and a fresh £50 million share buyback.
First Group’s open access arm, which operates Hull Trains and Lumo, generated £106 million in revenue and £34 million in operating profit - a margin of 32%.
In 2023 it reported an operating profit margin of 28% from its two open access operations, as it continues to siphon money out of the railway network without contributing fairly to its upkeep.
Eddie Dempsey, RMT general secretary said: "First Group is cashing in off the back of a broken system where they are allowed to cherry-pick profitable routes, draining revenue from public services, and dodging proper infrastructure costs.
“This is continued privatisation by the back door. It undermines Labour’s commitment to a publicly owned railway and keeps the gravy train running for shareholders.
"It is time to close the loopholes, stop the profiteering, and bring all rail services into a single, publicly owned, integrated system that puts passengers and workers before private profit.
"We want an immediate moratorium on new open access approvals and a phased integration of existing open access services into the publicly owned Great British Railways (GBR)."
RMT also demands guarantees that open access staff will be protected and brought into the new national operator on decent terms and conditions.
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