Rail devolution: boosting sustainable development and transport opportunities

New development at Kirkstall Forge station, West Yorkshire, will provide 1,050 new homes, 300,000 square feet of office space and 100,000 square feet of retail, leisure and community facilities, including a school, along with walking and cycling facilities. The new community has urban levels of transport connectivity

New development at Kirkstall Forge station, West Yorkshire, will provide 1,050 new homes, 300,000 square feet of office space and 100,000 square feet of retail, leisure and community facilities, including a school, along with walking and cycling facilities. The new community has urban levels of transport connectivity

A few years ago, Future Systems Catapult and Grimshaw Architects ran a competition to ask ‘What new civic function might a rail transportation hub play in the next 10-25 years?’

Participants were asked how station operators could dynamically re-direct travellers around disruption, how neighbouring businesses could be increasingly integrated with station environments, and what the service function around urban, suburban and community rail stations would be. Such is the time lag between idea and implementation that we are only now seeing the full transformation of rail stations into the digitally-enabled civic hubs imagined by the competition.

The 2019 Rail Stations and Property Summit  on 27 February presents an excellent line up of expert speakers to highlight how pioneering station operators and service suppliers are collaborating to deliver these transformations – and to highlight how patronage and revenues and growing with each implementation of change. As can be seen in this week’s batch of Rail Intelliegence articles, stations are now routinely designated as catalysts for development, regeneration boosters and wider hubs for transport and community use.  

But they have another important role to play: as champions of new developments – and regeneration schemes – that are based around sustainable public transport and active travel options.

The Place To Be, a new report from the Urban Transport Group (UTG), sets out a five-point plan on how to realise more transit oriented development which has the potential to meet housing need without undermining the green belt or creating more traffic congestion and sprawl. It also examines other areas where it can deliver wide-ranging benefits, such as to local economies; air quality and carbon emissions; social inclusion, employment and skills; health; and public transport patronage. This report complements a second publication from the UTG on the benefits that flow from devolved authorities' involvement in railway stations, to be published shortly, and which will form part of Urban Transport Group’s growing evidence base on the benefits of rail devolution, and will evaluate the potential for further devolution of responsibilities over the rail network.

Key ideas from both reports will be presented at the Rail Stations and Property Summit by the rail devolution report author Stephen Joseph, who recently stepped down as Chief Executive of Campaign for Better Transport. 

Stephen Joseph said: “Rail stations are more than just access points for trains; they are hubs and gateways for communities, and are often key features in their cities, towns and villages. Devolution of rail services to local authorities and devolved administrations has allowed them to make huge improvements to the stations in those services. I hope that through this report, I'll be able to showcase these achievements and the potential for more stations to become centres for development and attractive places for people and passengers.”