A new era for station decision making?

Steer recently supported the Rail Delivery Group in the development and delivery of its national Station Summit for 2024, an event in York that brought together station practitioners from across the rail industry. Here Director Mike Goggin sets out Steer’s view on the present and future of the UK’s station decision making, adapted from the summit briefing pack. 

Since former Secretary of State for Transport Lord Adonis commissioned the Better Stations Report in 2008, our industry can point to considerable improvement in the UK’s station estate in the form of continued investment, brand new stations and accessibility and inclusivity programmes such as Access for All (AfA) and the National Stations Improvement Programme (NSIP). 

The result has been more secure car parking spaces and cycling facilities, improved security, more accessible and inclusive journeys, additional seats and enhancement of customer information. But despite improved CCTV, pay-as-you-go ticketing and station refurbishment the lingering dissatisfaction of many rail passengers with their journeys proves that there is still a long way to go. In an era where customer-focused products abound and convenience culture is a given, how can our stations adapt to serve the rail passenger and local community? 

What are the longstanding challenges for UK train stations?

The station estate is plagued by the same longstanding issues that the rail industry faces overall, namely ageing infrastructure that struggles to keep pace with a fast-changing economy and society. Renewals and refurbishments have not been able to keep pace with demand and between 2010 and 2020 Network Rail’s Station Stewardship Metric (which measures the age of station assets) fell for 48 Category A/B stations, including Birmingham New Street, London Paddington, and Gatwick Airport. There are unlikely to be easy quick fixes for these problems that are decades in the making, but they still need to be addressed. 

• Fragmented management: Our stations have moved through different management approaches and caretakers (sometimes more with than one at a time) since the 1990s. This fragmentation across geography and assets makes things difficult for station managers, not to mention customers. 
• Accessibility: 79% of entries and exits are made at stations that offer step-free access, but ‘wheelchair friendly’ no longer equals accessible at a time when varying needs must be catered for. 17% of 2021 census respondents stated they had a disability or health condition that reduced their ability to carry out day-to-day activities, and today’s stations are not yet fit for every passenger. 
• Funding: Ignore farebox revenue, most stations are unable to fund their own repair and renewal, and many not even their own day-to-day operating costs.  A Steer analysis into the future implications of retail on stations a decade ago identified 260 stations with additional revenue opportunities, but this number may have deteriorated with the decline of high street retail and changes to weekday commuting.
• Platform safety: Whilst security and operating risks have improved markedly, risks of the platform train interface and from slips, tips and falls remain material at an industry level. In 2022/23 there were 972 non-workforce severe injuries and fatalities, including two fatalities from slips, trips, and falls.

New emerging pressures and opportunities demand new thinking

These issues are arguably perennial, but what makes 2024 a possible turning point? The UK general election dramatically changed the political landscape, gone are the ‘war on the road user’ and ‘levelling up’ narratives, and in are ‘fiscal responsibility’ and ‘public investment for growth’. Can this shift in tone be enough to influence station investment? There are underlying challenges for the future that policy makers will have to contend with in the process.  
 

• Changing nature of UK communities: Britain’s demographics continue to evolve as the nation becomes increasingly elderly and multicultural.  As people remain in work longer and face rising costs of living access to a reliable and effective public transport system will remain a priority. 
• Changing travel patterns: Absolute levels of usage at many stations remain below pre-pandemic levels but this figure obscures the truth.  Many city centre stations are experiencing a change distribution of usage with quieter Mondays and Fridays thanks to home working, longer evening peaks, and increased weekend leisure travel. 
• Shifting connectivity needs: As commuting reduces, how will this affect parking? What part will stations play in the integrated mass transit systems of tomorrow that include shared micromobility and bus networks? 
• Changing customer expectations: Customer expectations have evolved in a post-COVID, convenience-focused world.  30% of individuals actively avoid crowded settings (according to a post-pandemic McKinsey report from 2022), a cashless society leaves passengers less tolerant of queues and lengthy transactions and disjointed steps in a journey or making the customer work harder will now irritate even more. 
• Inflation: Stations are not excluded from the inflationary impacts on construction, energy use and financing we have seen in recent years.  With the collapse of ticket retail reforms under the last Government they must now contend with the ongoing cost of staffing many stations where the commercial value of doing so remains questionable, at a time when the revenue potential of our stations has arguably decreased with the decline of five-day-a-week commuting and general demise of high street retail.
• Devolution: The new Government has made a strong argument for empowering local decision makers, and Metro Mayors and devolved nations have distinctive ambitions for their communities and the transport systems they need. 

Why is this a new era for station management?

The railway is operating in a climate of transparency, authenticity and consumer convenience, we cannot expect a good reputation if customer experience is poor.  The model we have operated under will no longer be sacrosanct and new approaches are likely to finally develop with the emergence of an integrated Great British Railways.

What remains true is that those in charge of stations are dealing with an important national and unique asset, an asset that provides access to the most sustainable form of mass transit, an asset often uniquely located in our communities to offer focus, connectivity and utility and one that carries heritage and cultural value at that.

We need a new response of determined resolve, a furthering of innovation, renewed collaborations, insight driven decision-making and an understanding and expression of the great and unique value of Britain’s railway stations for the next 25 years and beyond.

To discuss any of the points raised in this article, contact Mike Goggin.