The latest station passenger entry and exit data from the Office for Rail and Road comes with a lag of several months and reflect the position at an earlier stage in the post-COVID recovery of rail demand. However, they provide important insights into the scale of change the rail market has seen whilst highlighting the continued importance of rail to the North of England. The data confirm that the return to rail was particularly rapid in the North of England, which  is likely due to a combination of lower rates of remote working and the fact that the leisure market makes up a larger share of passenger numbers.