UK transport planning has long prioritised national networks over the towns they pass through. While this approach has strengthened intercity links, it has often left towns treated as stops on a route rather than destinations in their own right, weakening everyday access to jobs, services, and town centres.

People do not experience transport as a network; they experience it as access. Access to work, education, healthcare, shopping, and social life. When rail planning focuses on moving people through places rather than enabling movement within and into them, towns are left with services that exist, but do not fully serve local needs.

Towns fall through the cracks not because they lack demand, but because current planning and funding systems reward scale over place. Local rail schemes often deliver huge value to communities, yet struggle to compete with large corridor-based projects in national appraisal frameworks.

This imbalance has long-term consequences. Car dependency increases, town centre footfall declines, and opportunities become harder to reach without private transport. Branch lines and local links are maintained rather than developed, reinforcing a cycle of underinvestment and suppressed demand.

Locally led rail planning offers a way forward. When towns have a stronger role in shaping rail services, investment can be targeted toward connections that unlock real economic and social value. Local rail, designed around town-scale journeys, can act as place-making infrastructure – supporting regeneration, improving accessibility, and anchoring activity around town centres.

Rail also signals permanence. Well-designed local services provide long-term confidence for residents, businesses, and investors, particularly when integrated with walking, cycling, and bus networks. Adaptable solutions such as Very Light Rail offer a practical, affordable way to deliver this connectivity at the right scale.

Empowering local leadership does not weaken the national network – it strengthens it. Well-used local services feed demand into regional and national routes, making the system more resilient and more relevant to everyday life.

Connecting towns properly is not a secondary concern. It is fundamental to building a railway that serves communities as well as corridors. By focusing on places, not just networks, rail can fulfil its role as true public infrastructure – supporting local growth while strengthening the system as a whole.