Rail station access

Does a 30% forecast increase in rail travel equal a 30% increase in parking demand at stations? Do the principles of travel planning that have long since been applied at schools and workplaces have a role to play in managing the demand for travel to railway stations?

A national programme of pilot station travel plans soon to be announced by the DfT and the Association of Train Operating Companies will, it is expected, help determine this.

It is known that people’s inability to access the rail network is a significant barrier to growth in the number of rail passengers but who is responsible, at a local level, for managing access to the rail network? Achieving a balance between the conflicting objectives of encouraging greater rail travel for longer distance journeys and minimising negative travel impacts in the vicinity of stations is a challenge – and it just may be that a collaborative approach through station travel planning can provide an answer that can benefit the rail industry, local authorities and their communities.

What, though, is a station travel plan, how might it be delivered, what are the potential benefits of such an approach and what are the pitfalls that might be experienced along the way?

A station travel plan is, simply, a means of better managing the manner in which individuals access the rail network. It has the potential to enable greater emphasis to be placed on encouraging access to a station by alternatives to the (single occupant) private car, managing the demand for car parking and also, by improving access to the station, potentially expediting the growth in rail passenger numbers. The fabled ‘win-win’ scenario!

Station travel plans have the ability not only to focus on the resolution of specific access problems but also the identification and exploitation of opportunities. For example, the reason that off-peak use of a particular rail corridor is low may be because the car park is full before the morning peak is over. Through an investigation of access to the station and then enabling ‘peak’ rail users to access the station by means other than the car (and parking at the station car park) a station travel plan has the potential to contribute to greater off-peak rail use.

In more complex scenarios (e.g. where a cluster of stations exists) station travel plans also have the potential to more evenly distribute demand where one station is more popular than a neighbouring one simply because the perception is that it is easier to get to or park at.

There are a limited number of station travel plans already in place, for example, Steer Davies Gleave is currently working with Essex County Council and the local train operator c2c Rail on a travel plan for Benfleet station. It is more common to see initiatives aimed at targeting one aspect of station access, for example, how to improve bus-rail interchange.

So what is likely to be the most effective approach in the future? By their nature the rail industry and local authorities do not always have the same objectives when it comes to this issue – the aspiration of more people traveling by train is undoubtedly a common goal but the dilemma comes when a train operating company and local authority have to reconcile sometimes opposing views on, for example, the role of an expanded station car park in facilitating that growth.

What is clear is that the issue of parking at stations should not be considered in isolation from wider questions about access. Travel planning provides the opportunity to refocus the debate towards “how can we enable passengers to travel to the station - by the full range of modes (including by car)?” from “how can we cater for an unrestrained growth in passenger numbers by increasing the availability of car parking?”

By understanding the needs of all passengers accessing the station (and indeed those in the area that don’t currently travel by train) a fairer assessment can be made of what services and facilities are required in order to enable that access. Indeed, as our experience suggests, all that may in fact be needed is better information about the range of travel options available rather than any material improvement to their quality.

The National Travel Survey 2007 suggests that 10% of rail users travel to railway stations by bus or coach. Often there is a high quality bus service available but it is not timed to integrate with the most popular trains – what impact on bus use would a slight tweak in bus schedules have? Also, the railings outside a station are often cluttered with a ‘sea’ of parked bicycles. So imagine the impact of improved cycle parking facilities could have?

This subject cannot though be discussed without acknowledging the important role that the private car has to play. There will remain a proportion of rail users for whom the car will be the only option for their journey to the station and so the debate about increasing station car parking capacity will rage on.

Station travel plans in themselves are not the ‘white knight’ that will bring about improved access to the rail network. The critical ingredient is willingness from within the rail industry and local authorities – and third parties such as bus operators – to engage with each other at a local level and to work together on developing a mutually beneficial package of measures. Whoever takes the lead at a given station does not (arguably) matter – what matters is that someone takes the lead.

A version of this article appeared in Local Transport Today magazine on 27th June 2008 edition.