A significant increase in train punctuality has also helped improve passenger growth after the end of regular disruptive weekend engineering work as part of the West Coast mainline upgrade.
Overall, Stagecoach reported a 7% jump in its rail revenues for the quarter.
Passenger revenues at its bus division also improved by 2% on a like-for-like basis.
In North America, where the company has a fleet of 2,800 coaches, revenues were ahead 6.9% in the three months to the end of July.
Stagecoach, which recently reported a 24% drop in annual profits, said that the positive trends in rail and in North America had continued, although it admitted this was subject to uncertainty.
It added: “While the effect of the change in the UK Government and the sustainability and pace of economic recovery remain uncertain, we believe that, on balance, the outlook for the group is positive.”
