Being more productive while on the move is seen as the biggest advantage of travelling by train compared with flying and driving, according to a survey from American Express Global Business Travel.

The poll of 3,000 business travellers from the UK, France and Germany found that 92 per cent used train journeys to get work done, with 41 per cent working for more than half their time onboard. The research was revealed at Business Travel Show Europe in London on Wednesday (25 June).

Nearly half of travellers (47 per cent) said that productivity was the main reason for choosing rail travel, which ranked ahead of comfort (43 per cent), sustainability and having time to sit and think (both 39 per cent).

The top areas for improvement when taking the train were wifi (34 per cent), mobile signal (25 per cent), the availability of quiet carriages (25 per cent) and better on-board bathrooms (23 per cent).?

There was also concern among travellers about not being given timely updates on rail service issues, with only 5 per cent of respondents feeling that they consistently receive real-time updates, such as delays or platform changes.?

When it comes to rail infrastructure, UK travellers were more enthusiastic about high-speed rail projects, despite recent delays to the troubled HS2 project between London and Birmingham.

Some 61 per cent of UK respondents said these projects would make them more likely to choose the train for work trips, while 50 per cent thought that increased competition would improve overall service quality on the rail network.

More than half of UK travellers (57 per cent) said their experience of overseas rail travel was better than at home ¨C mostly due to faster trains and more comfortable carriages.

But UK business travellers also said they were more likely to avoid rail travel due to disruption caused by industrial action (57 per cent) compared with those in France (54 per cent) and Germany (51 per cent).

Jason Geall, executive vice president of global SME at Amex GBT, said: ¡°Taking action on putting rail at the heart of business travel is a win for employees and for businesses. Companies unlock productivity gains while delivering on employee preferences and benefiting from the sustainability advantages of taking the train.

¡°To deliver this for our customers we have launched a rail innovation initiative to help improve booking options and user experience for travellers and arrangers in our products and platforms.¡±??

Initiatives to improve the rail experience include integrating real-time updates on the Amex GBT app, and offering seat maps on European train services operated by Deutsche Bahn and SNCF¡¯s Ouigo.

The TMC is also offering access to more than 80 rail providers through its platforms as well as simplifying cross-border rail bookings.