22nd Annual Rail Stations & Property Summit
Growth, housing and integration
Regent's Park Conference Centre, London NW1
Sponsored by:
Organised by:
Growth, housing and integration: Themes for 2025
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 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.
Reasons for the event:
To share best practice and insights about the role of rail and rail stations in supporting government missions, with a particular focus on creating sustained growth. The Department for Transport has outlined its strategic priorities, of which four out of five apply to rail:
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improving performance on the railways and driving forward rail reform
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transforming infrastructure to work for the whole country, promoting social mobility and tackling regional inequality
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delivering greener transport
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better integrating transport networks
“The Railway Industry Association (RIA) supports the government’s ambition to create a unified national vision for both the users and providers of transport services in the UK. Rail suppliers will play an important role in helping organisations like Network Rail and Transport for London, and Great British Railways when it is set up, deliver a better performing and more reliable service for customers, whether passengers or freight. A more integrated approach involving all mass transport modes is also an opportunity to set out a clear roadmap for rail investment"
Railway Industry Association (RIA) Chief Executive Darren Caplan
The Government has promised to “move fast and fix things”. For rail and rail stations, this means bringing rail franchises into public ownership, getting ‘shadow’ Great British Railways up and running, quickly improving the passenger experience and creating new opportunities for large-scale infrastructure investment in towns, cities and regions.
Why attend?
Rail-led development – the potential for growth
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.
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.
The value of the railways to the economy, the environment and society:
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£26bn in benefits delivered each year
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The total benefits to passengers are worth £14bn each year
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The total value of decreased congestion is worth £8bn to people and businesses each year
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£4bn additional benefits from environmental and social benefits and wider economic impacts
Wider economic benefits:
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The direct employment contribution of the rail sector is over 103,000 jobs
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Passengers surveyed reported they spend on average £80 per complete journey
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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
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57% would like to see a greater presence of independent businesses in and around stations
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73% see their local station as important to helping the local economy and businesses to thrive
Data from: Beyond the tracks: Rail’s contribution to the UK A WPI Economics Report for Rail Delivery Group
Rail journey trends in numbers:
1,610m
A total of 1,610 million journeys (1.61 billion) were made by rail passengers in Great Britain in the latest year (1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024). This is a 16% increase on the 1,380 million journeys (1.38 billion) in the previous year (1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023)
405m
There were 405 million journeys in the latest quarter (1 January to 31 March 2024). This is a 13% increase on the 359 million journeys made in the same quarter in the previous year (1 January to 31 March 2023)
+54%
All but one operator (Heathrow Express) saw an increase in passenger journeys. In the latest year, Govia Thameslink Railway was the largest operator by number of passenger journeys. Elizabeth line had the second most journeys and had the greatest increase in journeys compared with the previous year (up 54%)
60.1bn
From April 2023 to March 2024 there were 60.1 billion passenger kilometres. This is a 13% increase on the 53.0 billion kilometres in the previous year (April 2022 to March 2023). The latest year is 90% of the 66.8 billion travelled four years ago (pre-pandemic). Only Heathrow Express had a reduction in passenger kilometres compared with the previous year (down 4%), while Elizabeth line had the largest increase (up 55%)
£10.3bn
From April 2023 to March 2024, passenger revenue was £10.3 billion. This is a 13% increase on the £9.1 billion in the previous year (April 2022 to March 2023). The latest year is 82% of the £12.7 billion generated four years ago (pre-pandemic) (April 2019 to March 2020)
Sources: ORR
Who's speaking?
Philip Beer
Partner
Burges Salmon
John Siraut
Senior Director, Economics Jacobs
Billy Parr
Head of Network Development
Essex County Council
Russell Curtis
Founder and Director
RCKa
Please note that the programme is currently under development. To discuss speaking opportunities, please contact Juliana O'Rourke at juliana.orourke@landor.co.uk
11 March 2025 Conference Programme
Please note that the programme is currently under development. To discuss speaking opportunities, please contact Juliana O'Rourke at juliana.orourke@landor.co.uk
09:00
Registration
Tea & coffee served in the exhibition area.
10.00
Introduction & welcome
10.15
Session 1: Back on track? A new age of rail-led growth
Session led by Philip Beer, Partner, Burges Salmon
This session will focus on the big picture changes taking place in the rail stations and property sector.
Four out of five DfT priorities include improving performance on the railways and supporting rail to drive growth an opportunity:
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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
Developing trends in rail and station use and revenue
Shadow Great British Railways and its mission
Investing in rail / rail appraisal as part of an integrated transport system
11.15
Morning networking
Tea & coffee served in the exhibition area
11.45
Session 2: Enabling densification around rail
Session led by Russell Curtis, Founding Director, RCKa
This session will take a deep dive into how transport operators – especially rail – and property development professionals are working together to deliver the Government's missions
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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
13.00
Networking lunch
Lunch served in the exhibition area.
14.00
Welcome back
Session 3: Local growth and adding value
This session will outline how rail stations are delivering social and community value, and getting better value from existing infrastructure by smart planning
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
15.30
Afternoon networking
Tea & coffee served in the exhibition area
16.00 - 17.15
Session 4: Key case studies and panel
Session led by Philip Beer, Partner, Burges Salmon
This session will showcase four of the exemplar rail-led regeneration projects in the UK, followed by an expert panel discussion and Q and A
Case studies include:
Beaulieu Park Station, Essex
The new station is part of a wider regeneration of the Beaulieu Park estate in Chelmsford with new road infrastructure and up to 14,000 homes
Billy Parr, Head of Network Development, Essex County Council
Bow Goods Yard, London
A regeneration scheme led by a community brief to make industrial uses a better neighbour and create better community connections and a vast increase in local employment – up to 5,000 jobs. The optimised rail freight component will support London’s transformation into a greener and less polluted city, removing up to 54,000 HGV each year from London’s roads
Irene Frassoldati, Urban Designer, Maccreanor Lavington
Liverpool Baltic
The £100m station scheme is part of Mayor Rotheram’s “Merseyrail for All” commitment to reach communities that are currently not connected to the local rail network
Tony Killen, Rail Development Advisor (Stations), Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
York Station Gateway and York Central (tbc)
17.15 -17:45
