Why local growth depends on local rail

Across the UK, millions of people rely on the railways to travel. From 2024 to 2025, there were 1.7 billion passenger rail journeys, of which 1.08 billion were completed within a single region. And yet all too often, local rail has been neglected, with funding prioritised for London and the South East. As a result places across the UK are missing out on the trail of economic prosperity that rail connectivity creates, linking residents with new economic opportunities, opening up areas for development, reducing road congestion and improving air quality. 

CEN MP Rebecca Smith

Across the UK, millions of people rely on the railways to travel. From 2024 to 2025, there were 1.7 billion passenger rail journeys, of which 1.08 billion were completed within a single region. And yet all too often, local rail has been neglected, with funding prioritised for London and the South East. As a result places across the UK are missing out on the trail of economic prosperity that rail connectivity creates, linking residents with new economic opportunities, opening up areas for development, reducing road congestion and improving air quality. 

However, since the Beeching cuts, local rail has become increasingly fragmented and unreliable, leaving many Britons with fewer convenient, sustainable options to reach their nearest urban centre. 

For decades, rail policy has exacerbated the problem, focusing funding on national projects that speed up journey times to London. In 2020, the Conservative Government began correcting rail policy by introducing the Restoring Your Railways fund (RYR), and reopening previously closed railway lines and stations, such as the Northumberland and Dartmoor Lines. While it was a bold decision to redirect funding from HS2, RYR would have ensured that many corners of the UK could benefit from improved rail connectivity, if the program continued to receive funding. 

The Dartmoor Line shows how successful and popular local rail can be. Demand on the line exceeded forecasts so much that the service frequency had to be doubled within weeks of reopening. More than 550,000 passengers made journeys on the line in the first two years of its reopening. Additionally, from 2023 to 2024, the line generated a healthy operational surplus of £850,000.

Despite these successes, Labour ended the £85 million RYR fund, in effect cancelling key routes with little direction on how projects could secure alternative funding. Rather than creating a reliable, independent network funded by private investment that serves the needs of passengers, improving connectivity across the UK, Labour have focused on renationalising the railways. They are unnecessarily burdening taxpayers with expensive vanity projects, such as redesigning train livery.

The Government’s choice impacts new railway lines in every corner of the UK. In the South West, the funding would have connected two of the region’s biggest hubs, Tavistock and Plymouth, through the Tavy Line; opened new stations, such as Plympton; and served as the foundation for the Plymouth Metro. The funding would have also delivered a new, much-needed east-west corridor in the Midlands, through the restoration of passenger services on the Ivanhoe Line, which was converted to a freight-only line during the Beeching cuts. Such actions indicate that the Government’s focus is on connecting our big cities, with rail reopenings that would benefit market and seaside towns sliding down the agenda.

The importance of these local rail projects should not be underestimated. Plymouth is home to the largest naval base in Europe and was named a National Defence Growth Area last year. This has earmarked the city for significant government and private sector investment, promising to create 25,000 new defence jobs. If the Government believes areas like Plymouth are of such national significance, it needs to deliver the necessary transport infrastructure to accompany any new jobs and improve connectivity. 

Despite Plymouth’s strategic importance for the UK’s defence and security, the city currently only has one rail connection to Exeter, which then links the region to the rest of the country. The line is particularly vulnerable to closure due to storms and landslips, and was most recently closed in January 2026. With climate change increasing the frequency of extreme weather, it is essential to prevent a repeat of 2014 when the region was cut off for eight weeks. 

Re-establishing the Tavy Line would be the backbone of an inland South West Peninsula mainline, and would make our transport infrastructure more resilient. Simultaneously, station upgrades, such as the platform extension at Ivybridge to increase service frequency for both commuters and visitors, are essential to allow the region to continue its current trajectory of growth. These are all things Labour promised to prioritise in their manifesto, and yet they are now failing to deliver. 

Reopening local rail routes would increase access to the UK’s renowned seaside and market towns, enabling tourists and locals to easily explore these areas without a car. It would reduce congestion and pressure on the roads, which can be particularly frustrating during peak season and rush hour. A reduction in engine idling will lower air and noise pollution, increasing the beauty and charm of British towns, and enhancing constituents’ pride of place. 

These transport infrastructure projects are vital to the growth and prosperity of our regions. But as in so many cases up and down the country, without central government funding they grind to a halt. We must find innovative ways to remove such barriers to growth. We need to empower local authorities to draw on their extensive local knowledge and raise funding to deliver projects at lower costs and on time.

First published by CapX. Rebecca Smith is the Member of Parliament for South West Devon