Leading global business travel management platform, TravelPerk, today revealed new insights into the rising trend of domestic train travel for business in the UK.

The research highlights both the growing preference for rail transport among business travellers and the challenges that still need to be addressed to fully realise its potential.

Thes insights are based on proprietary booking data from TravelPerk’s platform and a survey of 1,000 UK business travellers conducted in partnership with OnePoll in September 2024.

The survey reveals that nearly two-thirds (63%) of UK business travellers typically choose train travel for domestic business trips, making it the second most popular mode of transport after driving (74%), and more than twice as popular than flights (27%).

This preference for rail is further supported by TravelPerk’s booking data, which shows that in 2024 93% of domestic business trips within the UK were made by train, compared to 7% by air – a significant increase from the 2019 numbers (79% by train and 21% by air).

“As businesses continue to balance productivity, sustainability and cost-effectiveness in their travel policies, the role of domestic and short-haul international train travel is set to grow,” said Kristina Geier, VP of Supplier Relations at TravelPerk. “The data shows that business travelers are increasingly turning to trains for domestic travel. At TravelPerk we provide a choice of different options to support our clients travel preferences.”

The research also uncovered significant hurdles affecting work productivity during train journeys. Poor Wi-Fi connections emerged as the top complaint, with 55% of respondents citing it as a major challenge. This was followed by excessive noise (46%), lack of privacy (41%), and lack of available seats (38%). Despite these challenges, nearly one third (30%) of respondents agreed that train travel improves work productivity due to the extended time in one place.

Cost is also a concern, with 25% of UK respondents saying that train travel costs more than flying, and some train prices increasing significantly – for instance, according to TravelPerk data, the average train ticket from London to Manchester has increased by nearly 40% since 2019. However, new features are already helping to address this challenge. Earlier this year TravelPerk introduced its split ticketing feature which has demonstrated significant cost savings for businesses. Travellers using this feature have saved an average of nearly 22% on their fare costs, with total savings exceeding €33,500 across all users.

The study also highlighted a growing corporate commitment to sustainable travel. 45% of UK companies now offer incentives for employees to choose more environmentally friendly travel options. Among the preferred incentives, 47% of business travellers said they would be most motivated by monetary incentives or gift cards, while 22% favoured points redeemable for travel upgrades.

The trend towards train travel extends beyond domestic routes. TravelPerk booking data shows that, on popular cross-border routes such as London-Paris (95% of journeys booked in 2024 were for trains vs. just 5% for flights) and London-Amsterdam (87% trains vs. 13% flights), train travel has consistently outperformed air travel in terms of passenger share. This suggests that when efficient rail options are available, business travellers are increasingly likely to choose them over flying.