The North is leading rail recovery across the UK with figures released to Transport for the North by Network Rail showing that, while between August 2021 and January 2022, major London stations had only recovered to an average footfall of 58% of pre-Covid levels – in the North, over the same period, the region’s stations had recovered to 81% of pre-covid levels.
With much of that rail recovery understood to have been driven by a resurgence in the demand for leisure-travel, the regional sub-national transport authority believes that, by working together, tourism bodies and the rail industry can play a significant role in stimulating further economic recovery and sustainable travel choices.
The league table of stations shown below positions Liverpool Lime Street at the top of the footfall recovery table, with Leeds Station in second place and Manchester Piccadilly in fifth place ahead of London Euston, London Victoria and Kings Cross.
Underpinning the importance of the leisure market in the North as a driver for rail recovery, TfN’s own Visitor Economy Report published in August 2021 showed that, in 2019, the North attracted 420 million visits and with a spend of approximately £21.5 billion.
The Covid pandemic has also seen a significant change in rail travel patterns. Weekends are now among the busiest days for rail travel with some routes seasonally now exceeding pre-Covid levels while early week rail commuting levels significantly down on previous levels.
Transport for the North is actively working to support rail recovery across the North on a network which has required massive taxpayer subsidies over the last two years.
You can find out more about our work here.