Outside of commuting, the vast majority of people in the UK today don't use the railway that often - if at all. 'Is it the transport of last resort or the transport of choice?' is a wonderful phrase that has often been used, and looking at the results of a recent consumer survey, the answer would be last resort. According to PwC's Voice of the Consumer survey, most regions showed predominant car usage as part of their daily commute, some nearly as high as 70%. The highest users were in the West Midlands, southwest, east of England and Northern Ireland. London was the lowest at 25%. And if money was no object most people would still choose to go by car; either driving themselves or being chauffeur driven. Nevertheless, demand on Britain's major rail networks is forecast to increase significantly and it is essential that a transformation of the network occurs in order to cope with this demand. The West Coast Main Line, for example, is the busiest mixed-use railway in Europe, and is used by 12 different operators and carries a quarter of all UK rail freight. The cities it connects are growing, and the population is growing, and the West Coast Main Line will be at capacity bv 2025.
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