Field’s in-house research team uses evidence-based insight to help clients understand the drivers and behaviours of their target audiences, informing strategies that are both targeted and effective.

Field Research, on behalf of First Rail, designed a bespoke mixed methods research programme to explore the travel preferences, priorities, and behaviours of young people across the UK, with a particular focus on rail.

We conducted focus groups with 18–25-year-olds in four key locations across the First Rail network - Glasgow, Manchester, Exeter, and London. These sessions explored travel habits, barriers to rail use, and what younger passengers expect from a modern rail experience, both now and in the future.

In parallel, we carried out detailed quantitative analysis of transport data, drawing on open-source statistics, such as usage data from the Young Persons’ and 26–30 Railcards and broader datasets from FirstGroup, Rail Partners, and Transport Focus.

The findings were brought together in the final report, Generation Rail, which was written and designed in-house by Field’s team.

This report was launched with a keynote speech from Field’s Head of Research at a high-profile event at the London Transport Museum attended by over 80 stakeholders from politics, media, and the rail industry, including Nicholas Hellen, Transport Editor at The Sunday Times and Helen Whately, Shadow Transport Secretary.

Since launch, the report has become a key asset in First Rail’s stakeholder engagement, informing its public affairs and corporate communications strategy and shaping how the business positions itself in the wider debate around the future of rail.