GNER began operating East Coast services in April 1996.

The firm, which is paying �1bn to run the East Coast Mainline for the next decade, said it was an increase of 34% since it took over the service in 1996.

The route links London, the East of England, East Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside, the North-East of England and Scotland.

GNER said it expected passenger numbers to rise by 30% over the next ten years.

Chief executive Christopher Garnett said: "We are delighted that record numbers of passengers chose to travel with us last year.

Spare capacity

"We have introduced significant improvements, such as wireless internet on rebuilt trains and new, permanently low fares, to make travelling by train more comfortable and affordable."

The firm said it planned to run more services between London and West Yorkshire and would continue to encourage more people to travel on off-peak trains where there was spare capacity.

But the cost of the new contract has sparked fears of job cuts and fare rises as, at �100m a year, GNER will pay up to five times as much as it currently does to run the service.