From transport hub to mobility hub

Rail and rail stations can work much harder for local communities by becoming integrated mobility hubs

Transport hubs facilitate the transfer of passengers from one mode of transport to another. Train stations are typical examples, where passengers can switch from local trains to regional and national rail services, buses and, increasingly, tram and cycle hire. Transport hubs are typically where passengers shift between higher and lower capacity modes to reach their final destination. Across Europe, transport hubs are going beyond connecting major transport modes and focusing on integration to create a seamless, user-friendly, and sustainable mobility experience. Rail stations are at the heart of this transformation.

Join expert speakers from Network Rail, Places for London, Chiltern Railways, Rail Delivery Group, GBRTT and more to hear about these developments and more at Rail Stations and Property 2025, March 11, London

In the UK, 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.

But rail and rail stations can work much harder for local communities. 

European rail-based mobility hubs

In Switzerland, a two-year project run by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and ETHZ aimed to transform existing railway stations into mobility hubs. SBB wished to integrate its railway stations with centres of local commerce, inner-city traffic carriers and all other urban connections. This project produced two key outputs, both supported by similar studies in Spain and Italy: firstly that context is king and there are no one size fits all solutions, and secondly that providing a range of mobility solutions via mobility hubs does induce intermodal travel, but its influence is currently limited due to the lack of supporting infrastructure.

In the UK, several local authorities are already developing rail-based mobility hubs. Calderdale Council is working with South Western Railway and Co-cars / Co-bikes to gradually upgrade new sites to integrated mobility hubs. Mobility hubs are being developed at the rail stations in Todmoden, Mytholmroyd and Sowerby Bridge to link to local car clubs and provide enhanced cycle storage. Hampshire County Council

has four mobility hubs in development in the area – a town centre hub funded by DfT Transforming Cities Fund and three hubs at railway stations (one funded by DfT Transforming Cities Fund and the other two by National Highways Travel Demand Management).

An Integrated National Transport Strategy

In November 2024, Government outlined its vision for a new Integrated National Transport Strategy, the first in a quarter of a century – which set out a ‘people first approach’ to getting people around the country.

The then Transport Secretary said: "Integrated transport in this country is lagging behind our European counterparts, and for too long our fragmented transport networks have stunted economic growth and made it harder for people to get around. Today, I’m launching a new national vision of transport that seamlessly joins all modes of transport together, and puts people at the heart of our transport system."

On the day that a new mandate for rail and rail stations across the UK is launched - in the form of a consultation on plans for a landmark bill to rewire Britain’s railways and establish Great British Railways (GBR), a new body delivering reliable services for passengers and catalysing growth across the country – let's hope that the spirit of integration embodied in the Ministerial words "joins all modes of transport together, and puts people at the heart of our transport system" is placed front and centre stage.