Franchised train operators are required by the Department to undertake passenger counts on their services as part of their franchise agreements. The Department for Transport (DFT) holds passenger count data for services between London and Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester collected by the train operators that operate on these routes. However, this data is held by DFT on a commercially confidential basis and so cannot be released. The train operators that operate services on these routes, namely Virgin Trains, London Midland, Chiltern Railways and East Coast may be able to provide more information.