Travelodge rail plans

TRAVELOdGE is preparing to plough £60m into opening hotels near railway stations to serve workers commuting into London.

The budget chain plans to open ten sites, creating around 300 jobs.

The company last month opened its 574th hotel, a £5m investment near Ashford international station in Kent. Travelodge now has hotels close to 200 of the UK’s busiest train stations, and said it is looking for more sites which are less than an hour by train to London.

Tony O’Brien, property director, said: ‘Our next stop is to open hotels by railway stations in key commuter towns across the South East that have a fast service into London. These towns are growing at pace.’