Reasons for optimism on rail

James McGowan, Public Affairs & PR Director | Railway Industry Association

4 min read24 September 2025 Partner content

With passenger numbers rising and freight growth targets set, James McGowan of the Railway Industry Association makes the case for rail as a driver of UK economic and social renewal.

The current political and economic challenges facing the Government have been analysed exhaustively and are well documented. Many of these headwinds and risks are global in origin, such as nervousness in bond markets and new political forces across Western democracies. However less focus is given to the opportunities which lie ahead in the UK with the expansion of infrastructure, business and digital services, and clean technology among the likely incubators of future growth and job creation.

Hidden in plain sight are many sectors with the power to drive the economic and social recovery the UK so urgently needs. The rail industry sits firmly within this as a connector of people and goods to opportunities across the nations and regions of the country.

The railway is growing strongly, with the most recent figures showing passenger journeys up 7 per cent and revenues up 8 per cent on the previous year¹. What’s more, data from the Department for Transport (DfT) found that passenger numbers for July hit a record monthly high average of 105 per cent per day compared with pre-pandemic levels².

The foundations of future prosperity and success are in place and that is why it is important that Transport and Treasury ministers more clearly define how they see the purpose of the railway in delivering the Government’s economic and social objectives. The railway is one of the few public services which can actually generate revenues and with forecasts suggesting there is every chance passenger numbers could double by 2050³, there is a strong opportunity to realise this. Elsewhere, rail including a freight growth target of 75 per cent can and should be a lynchpin of plans to build more that 1.5 million homes and construct several new towns. However, upcoming rail reforms are not set to take effect for at least two years.

In the meantime, many members of the Railway Industry Association (RIA) – which champions a dynamic UK rail supply sector – are investing significantly in new track and train infrastructure as well as rolling stock to support tomorrow’s railways. There are many innovative funding mechanisms – including private capital – ready to be deployed into new transport and rail projects.

We recognise the funding which the Government has allocated for Network Rail, HS2 and rail enhancements for the next three to four years and the wider constraints currently faced by the public finances. However, a better and lower cost railway needs both certainty and longer-term decisions on future funding and investment from ministers. For example, the decision to ‘pause’ the electrification of the Midland Main Line from London to Sheffield leaves expert staff redundant and will result in extra costs in the long term.

I have been involved in the development of Labour’s rail policy for more than 15 years and I understand that it is a totemic and high-profile issue for Labour Party members and the Labour Government. That is why it is so important to think big and set out a bold vision to help realise those ambitions and expectations. A better railway for passengers and freight needs a future-focused approach. The rail reforms coming in the next few years under Great British Railways will help deliver this when it is established, but the unknown challenge is what happens in the meantime?

RIA and our members look forward to informing and working with the Government and wider stakeholders around the country, to help grow a sustainable and dynamic rail network and rolling stock fleet, and ensure the UK has a properly resourced and skilled supply sector in the years ahead.