This report outlines the opportunity for rail stations to drive local growth by attracting local businesses and social enterprises to use the station as a place to operate from and to offer (non-transport) services. This extension of the station environment can also generate vibrancy and make stations and rail as a transport choice more attractive. If these new offerings can be aligned to meet identified local need then they also offer a broader community benefit.

The report highlights many examples of existing station initiatives and examines the background and approach to establishing these, the challenges and barriers faced and the factors important to success. It recommends a joined-up approach to introducing local services at stations, a need for a shift from financial to socio-economic value modelling, and from centralised rail station management to devolved local stewardship such as partnerships with local authorities.

The next step is to take the learning from the report and put this into practice to develop opportunities for innovative ways to drive local growth and social impact from a station – Connected Places Catapult would welcome interest from places and station operators keen to explore this further.

Stations as spaces for placemaking

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