Losses would have totalled more than £600m at train operator Northern had it not received Government support during its latest financial year.
The company, which is owned by the Department for Transport, would have fallen to a pre-tax loss of £623m without the Service Agreement subsidy of £632.6m, newly-filed documents have revealed.
The subsidy is slightly higher than the company's losses to ensure it makes a 1% margin in line with the agreement, which is invested back into the business.
