Team size: 20 

Key team members: James Hanratty, General Counsel; Martin McIntyre, Company Secretary; Samantha Bristow, Head of Legal – Global Strategic Initiatives; Kate McGregor, Head of Legal -Trainline Partner Solutions & Operations; Usmaan Amin, Head of Legal – UK Regulatory, Tech & Consumer 

What significant projects or deals has the legal team worked on in the past year? Can you provide examples of successful outcomes or major accomplishments? 

At Trainline, our purpose is to empower greener travel choices. As Europe’s number one most downloaded rail travel app, we provide travellers with innovative journey planning and ticketing for over 270 rail and coach operators. The work of the legal team has both regulatory and commercial impact, often beyond Trainline and to the benefit of the broader industry and consumer. 

Regulatory Impact: Trainline Legal has fundamentally changed the competition landscape for third party rail ticket distribution in Europe. The team has contributed to increased scrutiny by national and EU competition authorities, including direct support for the commitments agreed earlier this year between Spain’s national rail carrier Renfe and the European Commission to provide third parties with parity of access to fares, features and functionality the German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) finding that Europe’s largest rail operator, Deutsche Bahn, was in violation of antitrust law and abusing its dominant position. Trainline was one of two named third parties in this landmark decision, and a key driver in the unprecedented victory for all platforms in rail ticket distribution. 

Commercial Impact: In the last year, the Legal Team has negotiated several significant deals which raise brand awareness, improved customer experience and contributed to Trainline’s ambitious goals to grow in markets outside of the UK. 

In January, the team successfully negotiated a very last-minute contract securing television rights for our commercial to air on American in-airport tv networks during the Super Bowl (including New York, California, Texas and Florida). Here the team was able to optimise for speed by convincing the counterparty to accept Trainline’s standard MSFA, avoiding a lengthy negotiation and securing the contract just in time for the match.  

Recently announced partnership with Real Betis in Spain, one of the top 3 most sustainable football clubs in the world. Negotiation time was estimated to be trimmed from three months to two weeks using smart risk taking, commercial thinking and tactical efficiencies. 

Can you sum up the team culture/ethos in one sentence? 

The legal team’s vision statement is “Power and Protect”, reflecting the mutual responsibility to both enable new opportunities and protect the business from risks. 

At Trainline, the legal team is not seen as a support or compliance function but a true business partner spearheading delivery of the company’s ambitious goals. That means the team is expected to be thought leaders and solution oriented – understanding what the business is attempting to achieve, spotting challenges to that goal and proactively creating pathways to meet or exceed those opportunities. However, that does not stop the team from its mission first role of protecting the business in a regulatory and commercial environment that is undergoing rapid change (including change influenced by Trainline). Trainline leaders cite the legal team’s pragmatism to risk based decision making as a key to its success in building open and collaborative cross functional relationships. This approach is not only great for the business but also the technical and commercial development of the lawyers on the team – breadth plus depth equals innovation. 

Apart from legal matters, has the team worked on other company initiatives? (E.g. compliance, diversity, ethics, corporate social responsibility etc.) 

Driving modal shift to get more people on trains is critical to achieving a sustainable future for the planet. A 30% increase in rail travel is needed in the UK by 2035 to help reach the net zero targets set by the UK Climate Change Committee. Increasingly, there are a number of regulatory considerations and industry criteria that must be navigated when communicating with customers on sustainability issues, particularly on emissions. Over the last year, the team has driven several wins for the company, including: 

Market: Secured addition to FTSE4Good UK Index, comprised of companies who have met the ESG criteria. One of the first 100 UK companies to have our net zero targets approved by Science Based Targets Initiative, a climate action organisation that develops standards for companies to set reduction targets in line with achieving net zero by 2050. 

Product: Advised on the launch of Super Routes – Trainline’s new in app feature that identifies cheaper/faster/more sustainable routes; in the past year, Trainline customers saved approximately £48 million by travelling on Super Routes 

Industry: Key stakeholder in finalising the partnership between Trainline, a green NGO and a UK university to create a model highlighting the potential of rail to replace car journeys and contribute to upcoming local transport plans. Legal also facilitating drafting of Trainline’s recommendations for a sustainability white paper – a coalition effort across industry, government and tech to tackle sustainability challenges and create an open source “Reasonable by Rail” database.