State transport group CIÉ will shortly report an operating surplus of €24.4 million for 2006 after a 5 per cent increase in its public subvention to €298.7 million. The group also received €284 million from the Government for capital expenditure.

While the surplus was up from €15.1 million in 2005, this does not take into account the impact of accounting standard FRS 17 on "retirement benefits". The surplus after FRS 17 was €22 million, down from €25.8 million in 2005.

However, the bottom-line figures were boosted by once-off profits of €29.6 million on the disposal of property and other non-core assets.

With passenger journeys on the rise to a record 281.7 million last year from 275.9 million, executive chairman Dr John Lynch will say in CIÉ's annual report that customer revenues rose by €41.9 million to €746.4 million.

The national bus service, Bus Éireann, accounted for €23.8 million of the increase. Dublin Bus revenues rose €7.8 million and revenues at Irish Rail rose €5.4 million. Revenues in the CIÉ holding company, which co-ordinates the group's activities, rose by €4.9 million.

"The increase in revenue arises from increased service levels being provided by the operating companies and fare revisions," the report will say.

Payroll and related costs rose by €24.4 million to €558.4 million, mainly due to pay increases under the Sustaining Progress social partnership agreement.

Other operating costs of €503.4 million included €30 million for "exceptional" operating costs in Irish Rail and Bus Éireann.

In a year in which hourly services were introduced on the Dublin-Cork rail route, Irish Rail saw passenger journeys rise to 43.3 million from 37.7 million.

The Dart commuter rail service took the benefit of investment in longer trains to deliver a 22 per cent increase in the last two years in passengers during peak periods and a 34 per cent rise in off-peak periods.

Passenger journeys on Dublin Bus were static at 146 million, but down from a high of 149.9 million in 2004. This suggests it has brought a halt to the decline in passengers that followed the introduction of the Luas service.

Dublin Bus stands to receive 100 new buses under the Government's Transport 21 plan. Delivery began last November.

Excluding school transport, passengers on Bus Éireann rose to 49.7 million from 49 million.