News

• With many workers set to return to offices this autumn, new research highlights how a significant reduction in commuting by train could damage city centres and high streets
• Train commuting is currently just 33% of pre-pandemic levels, latest industry figures show, while car journeys have reached pre-pandemic levels
• New research finds a 20% shift from rail to road would lead to 300 million extra hours of traffic congestion, enough to watch everything on Netflix 8,000 times
• Data shows train commuters are vital to city centres and high streets, spending a total of £30 billion per year

• National Rail breaks new ground in travel information with the launch of Alert Me by WhatsApp service for all UK rail passengers
• Service uses AI and prediction technology developed by Zipabout and integrated with WhatsApp to generate real-time personalised journey updates for passengers before they head to the station
• Passengers can also opt-in to receive free coffees and newspapers as part of a retail pilot that rewards customers for travelling by train

• Train ticket sales to seaside destinations for bank holiday weekend surpass pre-pandemic levels
• Extra train travellers will boost recovering seaside towns as research shows, on average, leisure passengers spend £116 per trip on shopping, eating out, hotels and other activities
• Train operators providing alerts about busy services, along with effective ventilation and continuing increased cleaning

• Rail industry campaign will raise awareness about what constitutes sexual harassment, encouraging reporting and helping to make sure there is no unsafe space on the railway
• Research shows people don’t realise that behaviours like wolf whistling, leering/staring or deliberately invading personal space are forms of sexual harassment

• Rail industry launches first major national marketing campaign since pandemic to encourage people back to trains 
• Latest figures show leisure journeys recovering quickly – but revenue still half of pre-pandemic levels 
• Campaign will help boost local businesses, with research showing leisure travellers by train spend £107 per trip on average 

• New research shows how train travel will be vital this summer to help local businesses hit hardest by the pandemic
• Research shows people travelling by train for days out and holidays spend on average £107 per trip on shopping, eating out, hotels and other activities
• Retail, hospitality and leisure businesses are concerned about traffic congestion, difficulty receiving deliveries and worse parking if rail passengers switch to cars

The Department for Transport is today (Wednesday 28th of July) unveiling a range of initiatives to remove barriers and improve confidence for disabled people as they return to trains, buses, and taxis after the pandemic. 

• New research reveals that on average Brits skipped four days of annual leave last year due to the pandemic – amounting to over 124 million missed days as a nation, according to new research by the rail industry  
• Approximately half (47%) of working adults in the UK have worked additional hours during the pandemic 
• This work/life balance creep has left Britain at a tipping point, says psychologist Dr. Sarah Vohra, with two in five (40%) of those that have worked longer hours stating they’re experiencing feelings of burn out
• Ahead of restrictions lifting next week, rail advocate and British adventurer Ben Fogle is supporting the rail industry’s ‘Life is back on track campaign’, by highlighting the importance of taking a day off to rediscover Britain by train and offering people the chance to win a year of free rail travel  

In response to the government's publication of the Transport Decarbonisation Plan to decarbonise all modes of domestic transport by 2050, Andy Bagnall, Director General of the Rail Delivery Group, said:

Statement following an announcement by the Prime Minister that restrictions will be eased from Monday 19 July.