The rail industry is encouraging commuters to make the most of their travel time by catching up on their reading while on their daily commute. As World Book Day approaches, The Rail Delivery Group has partnered with FutureLearn in order to give commuters access to free upgrades on their courses worth up to £72. Included in their list of learning opportunities is ‘Start Writing Fiction’, perfect for the bookworms out there that are inspired to put pen to paper themselves.

Demographically representative research carried out with Censuswide and Opinium, surveying UK adults, shows that over half of Brits spend more than two hours a week reading. The nation’s favourite genre, you ask? We won’t hold you in suspense, and it’ll be no mystery to some that Crime & Thriller was voted the nation's top genre to read on the train. The other genres in the top five are: Romance, Action & Adventure, Historical Fiction and Science Fiction.

64% of people surveyed expressed a wish for more ‘me time’ to dedicate to relaxing with a hobby, and commuting to work on public transport is the ideal time to squeeze in a little bit more of the things that you enjoy. Even though over half of UK adults spend more than two hours a week reading, two in five admit that they would spend more time reading if they could, and with reading cited as one of the most popular things to do on the train with 39% finding it relaxing, 35% finds it helps the travel time go faster and 29% enjoying the feeling of escapism. The daily commute is a great chance to fit in an extra chapter of that gripping mystery, while seemingly reaching your destination a little quicker, just make sure you don’t miss your stop! For the 49% of people  preferring not to carry books with them, there’s plenty of different options available, with eBooks and audiobooks offering a weightless solution.

As part of the polls, a top list of Britain’s Favourite books to read on the train have been revealed. Keep reading to discover what they are, does your favourite book make the list? Have you picked these titles up as part of your commute? Let us know in the comments section!

The top 10 list of Britain’s favourite books to read on the train are:

  1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  2. The Lord of The Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien
  3. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
  4. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
  5. Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
  6. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
  7. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
  8. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
  9. Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Shakespeare
  10. Animal Farm by George Orwell // Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Jacqueline Starr, CEO at the Rail Delivery Group comments: “There’s no better place to catch up on your favourite page-turners than on your train commute. As part of our ‘#LetsGetBackOnTrack campaign’, the rail industry is encouraging people to make the most of ‘me time’ on their train journey and take advantage of its psychological benefits for both wellbeing and brain function.

“To help you travel with confidence the rail industry is carrying out more frequent and thorough cleaning, ensuring carriages are well ventilated and making extra train carriages available where possible.”

To find out more about the discounts on FutureLearn and to see what other courses are available head to www.nationalrail.co.uk/commuter.