Strategies to attract rail passengers back after the COVID pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has cased a sharp drop in public transport ridership due to both travel restrictions and passengers shifting to private modes for fear of contagion. This has set back a decade-long effort to promote a shift to more sustainable transport.

This project, funded by the Rail Safety & Standards Board, aims to investigate how a recovery of rail patronage could be brought about in a “back to normal” scenario, i.e. in the context where a large proportion of the population has received a vaccine and the risk of contagion is low. This might require specific policy interventions to make rail more attractive to different kinds of passengers.

The project is being developed in close contact with different transport organisations from the rail industry and aims to provide a safe, comfortable and productive environment which can attract passengers back to rail and support the effort to reverse the tendency to shift to private vehicles in the UK.