𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Railway stations are an untapped resource for transport, housing and economic growth, according to a new report.

The Railway Industry Association (RIA), which represents suppliers to the sector, said its research demonstrates the need for a new model for investment in the sites.

It cited the area around London’s King’s Cross and St Pancras stations as an example of the “remarkable transformative effect” of regeneration.

RIA said station investment zones should be created within a 10-minute walk of stations to align planning and tax incentives.

It recommended a model enabling the private and public sectors to “co-invest” in local improvements, such as integrated transport hubs and increased community amenities.

The report also called for stations to be grouped into portfolios, establishing economies of scale to attract private investment and reduce costs.

Its preliminary assessment is that at least 100 stations would “benefit immediately from such an approach”.

RIA claimed its recommendations would “make use of all the different revenue streams potentially available” to stations and be “public spending neutral”.

Some 85% of the UK population lives within five kilometres (3.1 miles) of a railway station.

It has been estimated that 1.2 million new homes could be built within a 10-minute walk of rural stations.

RIA chief executive Darren Caplan said: “The railway is the economic backbone of the United Kingdom, with station redevelopments such as London King’s Cross St Pancras demonstrating the transformative power of rail investment.

“Our proposal builds on this and other examples, and shows how an innovative collaboration between the public and private sector can build homes, create jobs, regenerate local economies and improve accessible transport.”

Labour MP Ruth Cadbury, who chairs the Commons’ Transport Select Committee, said a recent inquiry heard evidence that the country needs to “up its game in harnessing private investment to improve rail infrastructure”.

She said: “Tying that investment to opportunities to redevelop town centres with much-needed housing and other amenities is the kind of two-birds-one-stone thinking from RIA that we need to get things moving.”

Jacqueline Starr, chief executive of industry body the Rail Delivery Group, said: “Railway stations are the economic anchors of our communities, sitting at the heart of towns and cities across Great Britain and contributing around £98 billion each year to local economies.

“Developing homes and communities around stations is vital to unlocking further economic, environmental and social value, creating resilient, connected places where people and businesses can thrive.

“As the industry moves towards Great British Railways, there’s an opportunity to reform the rail sector and ensure it works hand in hand with partners beyond the rail industry to deliver the Government’s wider housing and economic policy objectives, resulting in long-term benefits for all.”

A Government spokesperson said: “We are taking action to build the homes and infrastructure we desperately need, including exploring ways to increase suitable building schemes around railway sites and commuter transport hubs.

“The Government will leave no stone unturned to unlock growth and get Britain building.”