The decline of heavy engineering and the downgrading of the railway facilities led to a decline in the town. However, efforts have been made to exploit the central location of the town to attract new businesses and distribution centres to the area.
Rugby railway station is located less than a mile from the town centre (the Clock Tower), with the entrance to Rugby School about 400 yards further on.
Situated on the West Coast main line there are express services to and from London approximately hourly operated by Virgin Trains [http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/default.aspx.] The typical journey time is 55 minutes. There are direct services to Liverpool, North Wales, the Lake District and Glasgow, each served two or three times a day. Advanced booking of tickets and travel outside of peak periods (7.00 - 9.00 to London, 17.00 - 19.00 from London) is strongly recommended to avoid the highest fares.
Local services to Coventry (12 mins.) and Birmingham (New Street)(45mins.), and to Northampton (30mins.) are operated by London Midland [http://www.londonmidland.com/index.php/cms/pages/home] hourly in each direction.
Rugby's central location in England has resulted in an excellent road network.
Rugby is situated close to the junction of the M1 and M6 motorways, with Junction 18 of the M1 being five miles to the east and Junction 1 of the M6 three miles north of the town. The M45, a short spur off the M1 terminates near the village of Dunchurch, three miles south of Rugby.
The A14 trunk road linking the Midlands with East Anglia and the East Coast starts at Catthorpe, which is four miles northeast of the town.
Two major Roman roads pass close to the town. The Fosse Way which was built to link Exeter with Lincoln passes six miles to the west, and the Watling Street linking London with North Wales comes within four miles to the east of the town. The Watling Street (A45) still carries considerable heavy traffic, whereas the Fosse Way (B4455) has become a local road, although popular during the holiday season with motorists travelling to the West Country wishing to take a more scenic and less congested route.
'''Coventry airport''' [http://www.flycvt.com/] is only 10 miles from Rugby, but there is no direct link by public transport. Thomsonfly operate seasonal schedules to various European holiday resorts as well as Jersey. Wizz Air fly to Katowice 3 times a week.
'''Birmingham International airport''' [http://www.bhx.co.uk/], situated midway between Coventry and Birmingham is 25 miles from Rugby. Flights operate daily to most major European cities and also to Newark, New Jersey, and Dubai. There is an hourly service to Birmingham International railway station from early morning to late evening, journey time 25 mins.
'''The Carlton Hotel''' [http://www.thecarltonrugby.co.uk/] Convenient for the railway station.
'''The Diamond House Hotel''' [http://www.diamondhousehotel.co.uk/] Close to recreation ground and sports centre. Convenient for Rugby School.
'''The Woodville Hotel''' [http://www.woodville-hotel-rugby.com/] Convenient for Rugby School.
'''Brownsover Hall''' [http://www.foliohotels.com/brownsoverhall/] Grade II listed Victoria Gothic mansion in its own grounds.