Why rail and rail stations are mission-critical for the UK

Across the UK, transport operators – especially rail – and property development professionals are working together to deliver the Government's missions

Rail and rail stations have a massive role to play in the delivery of the Government’s key missions for the UK – growth and delivering on net zero commitments. Rail’s unique ability to connect people to places, amenities and opportunity in a sustainable way enables it to support both growth and decarbonisation. 

Rail will play a critical part in an integrated transport solution that’s about improving access for all, promoting social mobility and tackling regional inequality. Investment in rail and rail stations will support the government's key missions – to kickstart economic growth and productivity, and to better integrate the country’s transport networks.

Rail stations are well-placed to be the focus of wider investment in housing, local regeneration and the growth of commercial activity. Stations are the natural focus for densification of housing across grey, brown and greenbelt sites, boosting villages and peri-urban and suburban towns where growing populations can sustain high streets and help local business to thrive.

A critical shift in thinking

In transport planning, a subtle shift towards vision-led local regeneration is taking place, and transport priorities are a critical part of the regeneration agenda. Improvements and updates to the national transport appraisal system will open the door to increased public transport investment and funding opportunities.

The government has committed to publish a land use framework for England. Given the numerous completing claims on how we use the land, a new approach is sorely needed. The new strategy must ensure transport infrastructure expansion is always weighed against the cost to nature and the opportunity cost of delivering other national priorities, such as housing, clean energy, food production and natural carbon sequestration, says Stephen Frost, IPPR.

Others agree. 

"If we want to halt and reverse motor traffic growth, the transport appraisal process needs to assume we will succeed in doing so. That would immediately increase the value-for-money of public transport and active travel schemes - making them more likely to get built," says Roger Geffen, transport campaigner. He's right, and rail is in a great position to deliver. 

Rail's contribution to social value is already very high. Data from: Beyond the tracks: Rail’s contribution to the UK: A WPI Economics Report for Rail Delivery Group suggests that the value of the railways to the economy, the environment and society is £26bn in benefits delivered each year, derived from:

• The total benefits to passengers are worth £14bn each year

• The total value of decreased congestion is worth £8bn to people and businesses each year

• £4bn additional benefits from environmental and social benefits and wider economic impacts

Wider economic benefits include:

• The direct employment contribution of the rail sector is over 103,000 jobs

• Passengers surveyed reported they spend on average £80 per complete journey

• Based on the 1.23 billion passenger journeys taken in 2022/23, this means that rail customers could be contributing £98bn annually to local economies

• 57% would like to see a greater presence of independent businesses in and around stations

• 73% see their local station as important to helping the local economy and businesses to thrive

Seizing the opportunity

Transport for London (TfL) is one of London's largest landowners. It currently owns 5,475 acres of freehold land and a further 404 acres leasehold, which equates to 1.5% of London’s landmass.

The estate includes land and properties with huge potential for creating the homes and jobs that the capital needs. Its landholdings, it says, can play a vital role in meeting the Mayor's priorities to build affordable homes, while generating revenue to re-invest in improving our transport network. Places for London - Transport for London's (TfL) wholly-owned commercial property company - seeks to deliver homes and spaces across the Capital.

Graeme Craig, Director and Chief Executive of Places for London, set out the clear principles that will help guide the organisation in its future decision-making. Places for London is helping to solve some of the capital's biggest challenges and meeting its wider needs, including building new affordable housing, delivering new workspaces, and becoming more sustainable, with operating profits from recurring revenues being returned to TfL as a dividend to reinvest into the transport network.

Meanwhile Network Rail is reportedly making progress on merger to bolster its own land development opportunities. Network Rail has long been working on a merger with a government placemaking firm that would enhance opportunities to develop properties on its estate.

Recently released Network Rail board minutes from May 2024 have a section titled ‘DevCo’, the proposed name of its new development company, note that “progress had been made on the merger of LCR and Network Rail Property”.

LCR says it has been working with Network Rail “for over 10 years to unlock development opportunities at key sites across the UK”.

It continues: “In 2018, we entered into a formal Collaboration Agreement to create maximum value from Network Rail’s portfolio of 2,500 UK railway stations and surrounding land, with a primary focus on the 1,900 stations within England.

“Our purpose is to free up land for residential development, and realise the full potential of the UK’s railway assets and enhance passenger experience through connectivity and integration.”

Network Rail board minutes from February 2023, when the proposal to merge the two companies was first raised, state: “A key factor in the success of DevCo, and its ability to deliver value would be to develop a single, nationwide agenda. That overarching agenda would facilitate the Regions being empowered to deliver individual projects.”

Earlier in the year, a partnership between Network Rail, blocwork (a NR and bloc group joint venture) and Citra Living, was agreed and plans to build over 2,000 new homes across Great Britain.

In the partnership, Network Rail Property (NRP) will draw potential sites from its extensive rail side property portfolio with bloc acting as developer, and Citra Living managing and operating these high quality built-to-rent homes, with an option to acquire some of the sites. The trend continues: at Northern Rail, Robert Ellams has joined the company as the train operator’s new head of property on a secondment from Network Rail.

Explore these opportunities at Rail Stations & Property 2025 

Rail Stations & Property 2025, 11 March in London, is uniquely focused on the role rail and rail lands have to play in the delivery of the Government’s UK missions for the UK. The event will bring together rail and property professionals to share best practice and insights about the role of rail and rail stations in creating sustained growth. The Department for Transport has outlined its strategic priorities, of which four out of five apply to rail:

• improving performance on the railways and driving forward rail reform

• transforming infrastructure to work for the whole country, promoting social mobility and tackling regional inequality

• delivering greener transport

• better integrating transport networks

Yes as Frost from the IPPR importantly notes: "Responsibility for success cannot rest with the DfT alone. This must be a cross-government endeavour with the Treasury as the key partner. Not only will the chancellor provide the investment required to deliver it, she will also need to implement supportive fiscal policies – including taxes that support the shift to more sustainable travel behaviours and greater devolution of funding and powers to local areas."