TRANSPORT for the North’s (TfN) Chief Executive, Martin Tugwell, welcomed the Community Rail Network to Manchester Piccadilly today for the launch of its inaugural Community Rail Week and a new campaign aimed at driving change at the community level and encouraging people to ‘Go Green by Train’.

The campaign highlights the fact that greener transport choices are a fundamental part of the solution to the climate emergency and follows a survey of 1,000 16-24 year olds in which 94 per cent of them said they had a station near enough for them to use, but 67 per cent admitted there were factors getting in the way of them using trains.

Martin said: “The survey showed that seven out of ten young people want the country to Go Green by Train to help tackle climate change - but also made clear that many of the same young people felt there were still barriers in the way which sometimes prevent that from happening. We want to help change that, and Transport for the North is committed to working with the rail industry and our local communities to help make rail travel a compelling proposition for anyone who might be able to make use of it.”

The TfN Chief Executive also highlighted the fact that across the North the rail offer is now very different to the one that was on offer before the pandemic through a combination of new train fleets and improved reliability.

Transport for the North is set to publish its Decarbonisation Strategy before the end of the calendar year, outlining how the strategic body will lead the agenda for the North’s transport of the future.