According to researchers Oxford Economics, UK rail was helping to drive growth, investment and jobs right across the UK in 2019, the last year for which full data is available.
With the Government now looking for sectors that can help the country economically recover from the pandemic, the report argues that the rail sector could be one of the leaders of this effort.
Oxford Economics found that in 2019, the rail industry supported £43bn in economic growth compared to £36.4bn in 2016; it employed 710,000 people, compared to 600,000 in 2016; it raised £14bn in tax revenue annually, compared to £11bn in 2016; and for every £1 spent in rail, £2.50 of income was generated in the wider economy, compared to £2.20 in 2016.
But while the report demonstrates a booming rail sector based on 2019 data, by October 2020, the number of train journeys in the UK had dropped by more than 400 million to figures not seen since the Victorian era.
Last month, rail minister...