While British Rail’s famous call to ‘Let the train take the strain’ might be one of the country’s best-remembered advertising slogans, it was a message that never really cut through.

You can blame the 1970s for that, I guess. Strikes, under-investment, curled-up sandwiches and weak tea have a way of setting a tone, despite the overwhelming network and service improvements of the intervening years.

It’s no wonder domestic business travel has long been defined by one stubborn habit: if in doubt, drive. 

Yet today, with sustainability, productivity and safety the biggest concerns for business, driving is the transport method guaranteed to deliver heartache and hassle for both busy executives and their bosses.

Step away from the car

Getting people out from behind the wheel is a challenge for the whole rail industry. Unlike other parts of the UK, the Southwest isn’t wrestling with domestic air as a competitor. Our real challenge is the car – its convenience, its perceived reliability, and the assumption that it’s the ‘professional’ way to go. Yet that view is increasingly out of step with what businesses need.

So, what do we shout about first? If the Covid pandemic taught us anything, it’s that businesses must make every meeting count. The business travel community needs no lessons in why face-to-face meetings work – getting out to potential and existing clients shows you are committed to the relationship.

That means turning up prepared and ready for action. With Wi-Fi now standard on the vast majority of rail providers, a comfortable train journey is productive and billable time. It’s emails sent and presentations polished, plus the chance to stretch your legs and arrive refreshed. Businesses wouldn’t accept staff sitting at their desk in the office doing nothing, so why not expect them be useful while travelling?

Safe and sound

Train travel is also great from a duty of care perspective, since the whereabouts of every traveller are known. As a travel manager, do you really want staff frantically battling motorway or town centre traffic jams while scoffing down a corner shop pork pie? From a safety viewpoint, that sounds troubling – remember, road transport is statistically the most dangerous way of getting anywhere.

And is arriving flustered for an appointment after a half-hour search for a parking spot the best way to create a good impression? In a world where employee wellbeing is taking centre stage, this sort of travel friction is an HR nightmare that can easily translate into a retention problem.

Surprisingly, the price of rail is less of a concern – particularly with the plethora of flexible fares available – since businesses know they are paying for convenience. As an industry, it is up to rail operators to point out the ‘hidden costs’ of road travel. Fuel, mileage claims and parking all add up.

On longer trips, being able to get a decent meal on a train could also present a saving, compared to having staff finding a restaurant in their destination.

Clear credentials

Another major concern for corporates is the new world of sustainability reporting. Keeping track of your environmental impact is now a legal requirement for many, and as a result businesses are increasingly mandating employees to cut carbon emissions and make ethical buying choices. Large organisations, such as Government departments and ethical cosmetics firm Lush, even insist on rail travel wherever possible, so it is incumbent on the industry to explain clearly why low-impact rail is a clear environmental choice.

Allied to that, flexible tickets and systems such as the SWR Business Direct platform make fee-free corporate booking simple

Refunds are handled almost instantly, and an integrated carbon calculator and reporting tool delivers best-in-class data.

Pushing forward

Service standards are non negotiable, too. The rail industry has invested heavily in delivering punctuality along with tools to keep passengers informed of any amendments, while guards on trains, new rolling stock, and well-lit stations and car parks add to a feeling of professionalism.

The Government’s plans for a national network under the Great British Railways banner – with SWR the first operator under public ownership – heralds an era of fleet improvements and increased services.

Modal shift isn’t a marketing slogan; it’s a behavioural change that can only happen when the alternative becomes undeniably better. For business travellers, rail is already the smarter choice. The task now is to make it the obvious one and prove the strain really has been taken away.

southwesternrailway.com