Rail, coach, and bus company National Express has seen profits rise by 80 percent in the first half of the year, mostly on a rise in the number of passengers it carries, it announced on Thursday.

The company, which operates thirty percent of the passenger trains in the UK, said that its rail division’s profits were £27.1 million in the period ending June 30.

Profits were only £15 million last year at the same time. The number of passengers served rose by 4 percent.

The company’s coach division also saw good performance from its coach division, where operating profits rose from £2 million a year ago to £4.1 million in the first half of this year. Its bus division, however, saw profits fall from £19.6 million to £18.2.

Overall, pre-tax profits were £58.1 million, an increase of 47.5 percent from the first half of 2004, and it said that it expects its full-year pre-tax earnings to total £130 million.

Despite the rise in profits, National Express saw share prices fall 15.5p to 878.5p in the wake of the announcement.

Not everyone saw the news as a good thing, as the general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport union called the profits “obscene” and said that the company’s profits were an example of a company more interested in making money for its shareholders than in providing good service for passengers.