All aboard for economic growth: Rail travel contributes over £9bn each year to independent businesses

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Rail travel supports local businesses and UK high streets, with train passengers contributing £9bn to independent businesses every year and over £23bn to UK high streets;


Around half of passengers agree that rail contributes more to local businesses than other modes of transport;


Overwhelming majority (70%) agree that having a train station helps their local economy and local businesses thrive;


48 stations will battle it out to be crowned the ‘Station with the Best Local Businesses’ in the World Cup of Stations 2024 - the public will be able to vote for their favourite railway station from 14 October. 
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Rail travel supports local businesses and UK high streets, with train passengers contributing £9bn to independent businesses every year and over £23bn to UK high streets;


Around half of passengers agree that rail contributes more to local businesses than other modes of transport;


Overwhelming majority (70%) agree that having a train station helps their local economy and local businesses thrive;


48 stations will battle it out to be crowned the ‘Station with the Best Local Businesses’ in the World Cup of Stations 2024 - the public will be able to vote for their favourite railway station from 14 October. 
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Rail travel supports local businesses and UK high streets, with train passengers contributing £9bn to independent businesses every year and over £23bn to UK high streets;


Around half of passengers agree that rail contributes more to local businesses than other modes of transport;


Overwhelming majority (70%) agree that having a train station helps their local economy and local businesses thrive;


48 stations will battle it out to be crowned the ‘Station with the Best Local Businesses’ in the World Cup of Stations 2024 - the public will be able to vote for their favourite railway station from 14 October. 
" /> <meta name="twitter:url" content="https://gloo.to/FOOF" /> <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://cdn.prgloo.com/media/d78cd3cd131f41029e434ab641b44899.jpg?width=968&height=1452" /> <style type="text/css"> :root{--link-colour:#1c355e;--link-hover-colour:#046b99;--quote-accent-colour:#1c355e;--button-bg:#1c355e;--button-hover-bg:#24457a;--thumbnail-accent-colour:#1c355e;--nav-accent-colour:#1c355e}:root{--focus-colour:#1c355e;--card-title-hover-colour:#046b99}.main-content[aria-label*="His Royal Highness The Prince Philip"] .grid--resources{display:none} </style> </head> <body class="pg-news"> <div class="frame"> <noscript><iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-KQNTNW7" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <header class="header" role="banner"> <div class="wrapper"> <a class="skip-link" href='#body-content'>Skip to content</a> <div class="header__logo"> <a class="header__logo-link" href="https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/"> <img class="header__logo-image" src="https://cdn.prgloo.com/web/RDG/RailDeliveryGroupLogo.png" alt="Rail Delivery Group"> </a> </div> </div> <button class="menu-btn" aria-label="Navigation Menu" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false"> <span></span> </button> </header> <nav class="navbar" role="navigation"> <div class="wrapper"> <div class="navigation"> <ul class="navigation__list"> <li class="navigation__item "> <a class="navigation__link" href="/" > <span class="navigation__text"> Home </span> </a> </li> <li class="navigation__item selected"> <a class="navigation__link" href="/news" aria-current=page> <span class="navigation__text"> News </span> </a> </li> <li class="navigation__item "> <a class="navigation__link" href="/resources" > <span class="navigation__text"> Resources </span> </a> </li> <li class="navigation__item "> <a class="navigation__link" href="/contact-us" > <span class="navigation__text"> Contact Us </span> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <main id="body-content" class="main-content" role="main" aria-label="All aboard for economic growth: Rail travel contributes over £9bn each year to independent businesses | Rail Delivery Group News page main content area"> <div class="wrapper wrapper--content wrapper--article">  <article class="article" role="region" aria-label="All aboard for economic growth: Rail travel contributes over £9bn each year to independent businesses content"> <section class="card story"> <figure class="story__hero"> <img class="story__hero-image" src="https://cdn.prgloo.com/media/d78cd3cd131f41029e434ab641b44899.jpg?width=968&height=1452" alt="concourse-birmingham-new-st" /> </figure> <div class="card__body card__body--story"> <time class="story__date" datetime="2024-10-09 00:01">09 Oct 2024</time> <h1 class="story__title">All aboard for economic growth: Rail travel contributes over £9bn each year to independent businesses</h1> <div class="story__summary"> <ul> <li>Rail travel supports local businesses and UK high streets, with train passengers contributing £9bn to independent businesses every year and over £23bn to UK high streets;</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Around half of passengers agree that rail contributes more to local businesses than other modes of transport;</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Overwhelming majority (70%) agree that having a train station helps their local economy and local businesses thrive;</li> </ul> <ul> <li>48 stations will battle it out to be crowned the ‘Station with the Best Local Businesses’ in the World Cup of Stations 2024 - the public will be able to vote for their favourite railway station from 14 October. </li> </ul> </div> <div class="story__body"> <p style="text-align: justify">A new report from WPI Economics, commissioned by <a href="https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/">Rail Delivery Group</a>, found that travelling by rail contributes over £9bn each year to independent businesses and in the region of £23bn to high streets across the country. </p> <p style="text-align: justify">The overwhelming majority of people (70%) say that having a train station helps their local businesses thrive. </p> <p style="text-align: justify">Four in five passengers across the country support businesses in and around train stations and on local high streets when travelling by rail. That equates to an estimated 3.4m rail passengers shopping at local businesses each day.   </p> <p style="text-align: justify">The report also found that local high streets benefit more when people travel by rail than by other modes of transport, with rail passengers in the UK spending an average of £32 in the towns and cities they depart from. </p> <p style="text-align: justify">Travelling by train also supports independent businesses: with people grabbing a coffee, getting a haircut, or purchasing a gift before they head out on their train journey, local businesses across the UK see an average of £7 spent by each rail passenger on every departure.  </p> <p style="text-align: justify">As well as rail being a supporter of the local economy, local amenities are also a driver of people travelling by rail. For a third of respondents (34%), the ability to go shopping in and around the station was one of the main reasons they choose to travel by train. </p> <blockquote> <p style="text-align: justify"><strong>Jacqueline Starr, Chief Executive Officer of Rail Delivery Group, said:</strong> “Rail is at the heart of local economies. Up and down the country, we’re seeing networks of small and medium businesses and independent companies thriving in and around train stations.  </p> <p style="text-align: justify">“For our customers, travelling by train is more than getting from A to B. It is a ticket to explore our towns and cities and support the businesses on their local high streets. If more people choose to travel by train in the future, we can only expect to see a stronger ripple effect, giving a further boost to local economies.” </p> </blockquote> <p style="text-align: justify">This positive impact is not only being recognised but also celebrated in the upcoming World Cup of Stations 2024, which will take place from October 14 to October 18, 2024.  </p> <p style="text-align: justify">The competition will see 48 stations from across Britain compete for the title of the 'Station with the Best Local Businesses.' The competition aims to highlight the diverse range of businesses found within train stations, from delis to doughnut shops and florists to farm shops, all of which play a crucial role in supporting their local communities. </p> <p style="text-align: justify">Support your local station and the businesses that rely on rail travel by voting in the World Cup of Stations 2024. Voting takes place online at raildeliverygroup.com/WorldCupOfStations. </p> </div> </div> </section> <section class="card"> <div class="card__body card__body--large"> <h2 class="sub-header">Contact Information</h2> <div class="contact-card"> <h3 class="contact-card__title">Rail Delivery Group Media Team</h3> <p class="contact-card__text"> <a href="mailto:media@raildeliverygroup.com">media@raildeliverygroup.com</a> </p> </div> </div> </section> <section class="card"> <div class="card__body card__body--large"> <h2 class="sub-header">Notes to editors</h2> <div> <p style="text-align: justify">The findings reported in this press release are taken from survey of 2,017 people whose last rail journey was from one of 20 selected cities and 1,007 people whose last rail journey was from one of the 20 selected towns.  </p> <p style="text-align: justify">Detailed methodology can be found in the full report conducted by WPI Economics, which was funded and commissioned by Rail Delivery Group, <a href="https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/value-of-rail">here.</a></p> </div> </div> </section> </article> <aside class="grid grid--resources" role="region" aria-label="All aboard for economic growth: Rail travel contributes over £9bn each year to independent businesses attachments"> <div class="card"> <div class="card__thumbnail"> <img class="card__thumbnail-image" src="https://cdn.prgloo.com/media/d78cd3cd131f41029e434ab641b44899.jpg?width=442&height=663" alt="concourse-birmingham-new-st"> </div> <div class="card__body"> <h2 class="card__title card__title--center"> <a class="card__link" href="/resources/concourse-birmingham-new-st">concourse-birmingham-new-st</a> </h2> <div class="card__toolbar"> <button class="card__action button" onclick="document.location='https://cdn.prgloo.com/media/download/d78cd3cd131f41029e434ab641b44899'" aria-label="Download concourse-birmingham-new-st.jpg">Download</button> </div> </div> </div> <div class="card"> <div class="card__thumbnail"> <img 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All aboard for economic growth: Rail travel contributes over £9bn each year to independent businesses | Rail Delivery Group News