Rail transport in Great Britain
Encyclopedia
The railway system in Great Britain
is the oldest in the world, with the world's first locomotive-hauled public railway opening in 1825. As of 2010, it consists of 15754 kilometres (9,789.1 mi) of standard gauge
lines (the 18th largest in the world), of which 5249 kilometres (3,261.6 mi) are electrified
. These lines range from single
to double
, triple, quadruple track
and up to twelve tracks. In addition, a number of narrow gauge lines
operate in parts of the country. The British railway network is connected with that of continental Europe
by an undersea rail link, the Channel Tunnel
, which opened in 1994. Despite its track length, it is one of the busiest railways in Europe, with 20% more train services than France, 60% more than Italy, and more than Spain, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Portugal and Norway combined.
The system was originally built as a patchwork of local rail links operated by small private railway companies. Over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries, these amalgamated or were bought by competitors until only a handful of larger companies remained (see railway mania
). The entire network was brought under government control during the First World War
and a number of advantages of amalgamation and planning were revealed. However, the government resisted calls for the nationalisation
of the network (first proposed by William Ewart Gladstone
as early as the 1830s). Instead, from 1 January 1923, almost all the remaining companies were grouped
into the "big four", the Great Western Railway
, the London and North Eastern Railway
, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
and the Southern Railway companies (there were also a number of other joint railway
s such as the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway
and the Cheshire Lines Committee
as well as special joint railways such as the Forth Bridge
Railway, Ryde Pier
Railway and at one time the East London Railway). The "Big Four" were joint-stock public companies and they continued to run the railway system until 31 December 1947.
The growth in road transport during the 1920s and 1930s greatly reduced revenue for the rail companies. Rail companies accused the government of favouring road haulage through the subsidised construction of roads. The railways entered a slow decline owing to a lack of investment and changes in transport policy and lifestyles. During the Second World War
the companies' managements joined together, effectively forming one company. A maintenance backlog developed during the war and the private sector only had two years to deal with this after the war ended. After 1945, for both practical and ideological reasons, the government decided to bring the rail service into the public sector
.
From the start of 1948, the "big four" were nationalised
to form British Railways (latterly "British Rail") under the control of the British Transport Commission
. Although BR was a single entity, it was divided into six (later five) regional authorities in accordance with the existing areas of operation. Though there were few initial changes to the service, usage increased and the network became profitable. Regeneration of track and stations was completed by 1954. In the same year, changes to the British Transport Commission, including the privatisation of road haulage, ended the coordination of transport in Great Britain. Rail revenue fell and in 1955 the network again ceased to be profitable. The mid-1950s saw the rapid introduction of diesel and electric rolling stock but the expected transfer back from road to rail did not occur and losses began to mount.
The desire for profitability led to a major reduction in the network during the mid-1960s with ICI
manager Dr. Richard Beeching
given the task by the government of re-organising the railways. Many branch lines were closed because they were deemed uneconomic ("the Beeching Axe
" of 1963), removing much feeder traffic from main line passenger services. In the second Beeching report of 1965 only the "major trunk routes" were selected for large-scale investment, leading many to speculate the rest of the network would eventually be closed. This was never implemented by BR.
Passenger services experienced a renaissance with the introduction of high-speed inter-city trains in the 1970s. Passenger levels have fluctuated since this time, increasing during periods of economic growth and falling during recessions. The 1980s saw severe cuts in government funding and above-inflation
increases in fares and the service became more cost-effective . In the early 1990s, the five geographical Regions were replaced by a Sector organisation, where passenger services were organised into Inter City, Network SouthEast and Other Provincial Services sectors. This new organisation showed promise of being a more efficient organisation of the railways but within a couple of years of its implementation the structure was fragmented by the privatisation process.
Railway operations were privatised
during 1994-1997. Ownership of the track and infrastructure passed to Railtrack
, whilst passenger operations were franchised to individual private sector operators (originally there were 25 franchises) and the freight services sold outright (six companies were set up, but five of these were sold to the same buyer). The government claimed that privatisation would see an improvement in passenger services. Passenger levels have increased in the last decade to the level they had been at in the late-1940s.
The public image of rail travel was severely damaged following the series of significant accidents after privatisation. These included the Hatfield accident
, caused by a rail fragmenting due to the development of microscopic cracks. Following the Hatfield accident, the rail infrastructure company Railtrack imposed over 1,200 emergency speed restrictions across its network and instigated an extremely costly nationwide track replacement programme. The consequent severe operational disruption to the national network and the company's spiralling costs set in motion the series of events which resulted in the ultimate collapse of the company and its replacement with Network Rail
, a state-regulated, not-for-dividend company.
At the end of September 2003, the first part of High Speed 1, a high speed link to the Channel Tunnel
and on to France
and Belgium
, was completed, significantly adding to the rail infrastructure of the country. The rest of the link, from north Kent to St Pancras railway station
in London, opened in 2007. A major programme of remedial work on the West Coast Main Line
started in 1997 and finished in 2009, far over budget (£10bn), many years late and still not bringing the line up to the standards originally proposed by Railtrack.
Passenger services in Great Britain are divided into regional franchises and run by Train Operating Companies. These companies bid for seven- to eight-year contracts to run individual franchises. Most contracts are awarded by the Department for Transport
(DfT), with the exception of Merseyrail
, where the franchise is awarded by Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive
, and ScotRail
, where the DfT awards on the advice of the Scottish Government. Initially, there were 25 franchises, but the number of different operating companies is smaller as some firms, including First Group, National Express Group
and Stagecoach Group
, run more than one franchise. In addition, some franchises have since been combined. There are also a number of local or specialised rail services operated on an 'open access' basis outside the franchise arrangements. Examples include Heathrow Express
and Hull Trains.
In the 2002–3 operating year, franchised services provided 976 million journeys totalling 24.7 billion passenger miles of travel, an increase over 1986–7 of 32% in journeys (from 738 million) and 29% in passenger-miles (from 30.8 billion). On the other hand, taking a longer-term view, the number of journeys in 2002–3 was lower than for the 1950–60 period. The passenger-miles figure, after being flat from 1965–1995, surpassed the 1947 figure for the first time in 1998 and continues to rise steeply.
The key index used to assess passenger train performance is the Public Performance Measure, which combines figures for punctuality and reliability. Performance against this metric has been especially poor since mid-2000. From a base of 90% of trains arriving on time in 1998, the measure dipped to 75% in mid 2001 and, by the end of the 2002–3 period, had recovered to only 80%. However, as of September 2006, the PPM stands at 87.5% after a period of steady increases in the annual moving average since 2003.
The real increase in rail fares, after accounting for inflation
over the 1995–2004 period, was 4.7%. For some years, Britain has been said to have the highest rail fares in the world. For example, the (discounted) annual season ticket from London to Brighton (standard 2nd class) as of January 2010 costs £3,280 for 54 miles (86.9 km), while an annual DB (German) 100 BahnCard, which allows one year's travel on the entire German rail network, costs almost exactly the same (3800 Euros).
Average rolling-stock age — a rough indicator of passenger comfort — fell slightly from the third quarter of 2001–2 to the third quarter of 2003–4, from 20.7 years old to 19.3 years old.
Although passengers rarely have cause to refer to either document, all travel is subject to the National Rail Conditions of Carriage
and all tickets are valid subject to the rules set out in a number of so-called technical manuals
, which are centrally produced for the network.
(formerly the English, Welsh and Scottish Railway (EWS)). There are also several smaller independent operators including Mendip Rail
. Types of freight carried include intermodal
— in essence containerised freight — and coal, metals, oil, and construction material. Freight services have been in steady decline since the 1950s, although the Department for Transport
's Transport Ten Year Plan calls for an 80% increase in rail freight measured from a 2000–1 base.
Statistics on freight are specified in terms of the weight of freight lifted, and the net tonne kilometre, being freight weight multiplied by distance carried. 87 million tonnes of freight was lifted in the 2002–3 period, against 138 million tonnes in 1986–7, a decrease of 37%. 18.7 billion net tonne kilometres (11.4 billion net ton miles) of freight movement were recorded in 2002–3, against 16.6 billion (10.1 billion) in 1986–7, an increase of 13%. As of 2011, rail freight occupies an 11.5% market share for surface freight transport in the UK.
A symbolic loss to the rail freight industry in Great Britain was the custom of the Royal Mail
, which from 2004 discontinued use of its 49-train fleet, and switching to road haulage after a near 170-year-preference for trains. Mail trains had long been part of the tradition of the railways in Great Britain, famously celebrated in the film Night Mail
, for which W. H. Auden
wrote the poem of the same name. Although Royal Mail suspended the Mail train in January 2004, this decision was reversed in December of the same year, and Class 325s
are now used on some routes including between London, Warrington and Scotland.
Since 1995 the amount of freight carried on the railways has increased sharply. The railways have become more reliable, and economical. Big Road hauliers such as Eddie Stobart LTD and WH Malcolm move goods by rail hauling supplies from Asda
and Tesco
. Morrisons also use rail freight, as do M&S and many more retailers. By the year 2015 rail-borne intermodal
traffic is scheduled to double, and by 2030 the whole of rail freight is expected to double.
' (APT), and development of a conventional high speed diesel train, the 'High Speed Train' (HST). The APT project was abandoned, but the HST design entered service as the British Rail Classes 253, 254 and 255 trains. The prototype HST, the British Rail Class 252
, reached a world speed record for diesel trains of 143.2 mph, while the main fleet entered service limited to a service speed of 125 mph, and were introduced progressively on main lines across the country, with a rebranding of their services as the InterCity 125
. With electrification of the East Coast Main Line
, high speed rail in Great Britain was augmented with the introduction of the British Rail Class 91
, intended for passenger service at up to 140 mph (225 km/h), and thus branded as the InterCity 225
. The Class 91 units were designed for a maximum service speed of 140 mph, and running at this speed was trialled with a 'flashing green' signal aspect under the British signalling system
. The trains were eventually limited to the same speed as the HST, to 125 mph, with higher speeds deemed to require Cab signalling
, which as of 2010 was not in place on the normal British railway network (but was used on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link). A final attempt by the nationalised British Rail at High Speed Rail was the cancelled InterCity 250
project in the 1990s for the West Coast Main Line.
The first implementation of high speed rail up to 186 mph in regular passenger service in Great Britain was the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (now known as High Speed 1), when its first phase opened in 2003 linking the British end of the Channel Tunnel
at Folkestone with Fawkham Junction
in Kent. This is used by international only passenger trains for the Eurostar
service, using British Rail Class 373
trains. The line was later extended all the way into London St Pancras in 2007.
Post privatisation, a plan to upgrade the West Coast Main Line
to speeds of up to 140 mph with infrastructure improvements were finally abandoned, although the tilting train Class 390
Pendolino fleet designed for this maximum speed of service were still built and entered service in 2002, and operates limited to 125 mph. Other routes in the UK were upgraded with trains capable of top speeds of up to 125 mph running with the introduction between 2000 and 2005 of Class 180
Adelante DMUs and the Bombardier Voyager family
of DEMUs (Classes 220, 221 and 222).
After the building of the first of a new British Rail Class 395
train fleet for use partly on High Speed 1 and parts of the rest of the UK rail network, the first domestic high speed running over 125 mph (to about 141.37 mph) begin in December 2009, including a special Olympic Javelin shuttle for the 2012 Olympics. These services are operated by the Southeastern
franchise.
Following several studies and consultations on high speed rail, in 2009 the UK Government formally announced the High Speed 2 project, establishing a company to produce a feasibility study to examine route options and financing for a new high speed railway in the UK. This study began on the assumption that the route would be a new purpose built high speed line, from London to the West Midlands
, via London Heathrow, relieving traffic on the West Coast Main Line
, and would use conventional high speed rail technology as opposed to Maglev. The rolling stock would be capable of travelling on the existing Network Rail
infrastructure if required.
For replacement of the domestic fleet of Intercity 125 and 225 trains on the existing national network, the Intercity Express Programme
was announced. In February 2009 it was announced the preferred rolling stock option for this project was the Hitachi Super Express family of multiple units, expected to enter service in 2013. It was stated by Agility Trains
, the consortium building the trains, that they would be capable of a maximum speed of 140 mph with "minor modifications", with the necessary signalling modifications required of the Network Rail
infrastructure in Britain likely to come from the phased roll out of the Europe wide European Rail Traffic Management System
(ERTMS).
As of August 2009 the speeds of the fastest trains operating in Great Britain capable of a top speed of over 125 mph were as follows:
The fastest domestic railway journey in the UK is the non-stop East Coast
service from London King's Cross to York
, timetabled to complete the 188 miles (302.6 km) journey in 1 hours 44 minutes, giving an average speed of 109 mph.
At the time of privatisation, the rolling stock of British Rail
was sold either directly to the new operators, as in the case of the freight companies, or to the three ROSCOs (Rolling Stock Operating Companies
) which lease or hire stock to passenger and freight train operators. Leasing is relatively commonplace in transport, since it enables operating companies to avoid the complication associated with raising sufficient capital to purchase assets; instead, assets are leased and paid for from ongoing revenue. Since 1994 there has been a growth in smaller spot-hire companies that provide rolling stock on short-term contracts. Many of these have grown thanks to the major selling-off of locomotives by the large freight operators, especially EWS.
Unlike other major players in the privatised railway system of Great Britain, the ROSCOs are not subject to close regulation by the economic regulatory authority. They were expected to compete with one another, and they do, although not in all respects.
to keep lease prices higher than would be the case in a more competitive market. In 1998, Deputy Prime Minister
John Prescott
asked Rail Regulator
John Swift QC
to investigate the operation of the market and make recommendations. It was believed by many at the time that Prescott favoured much closer regulation of the ROSCOs, perhaps bringing them into the net of contract-specific regulation, i.e. requiring every rolling stock lease to be individually approved by the Rail Regulator before it could be valid. Swift's report did not find major problems with the operation of what was then an infant market, and instead recommended that the ROSCOs sign up to voluntary, non-binding codes of practice in relation to their future behaviour. Prescott did not like this, but he did not have the legislative time allocation to do much about it. Swift's successor as Rail Regulator, Tom Winsor
, agreed with Swift and the ROSCOs were happy to go along with codes of practice, coupled with the Rail Regulator's new powers to deal with abuse of dominance and anti-competitive behaviour under the Competition Act 1998
. In establishing these codes, the Rail Regulator made it clear that he expected the ROSCOs to adhere to their spirit as well as their letter. The codes of practice were duly put in place and for the next five years the Rail Regulator received no complaints about ROSCO behaviour.
In June 2006, Gwyneth Dunwoody
, the House of Commons
Transport Committee
chair, called for an investigation into the companies. Transport commentator Christian Wolmar
has asserted that the high cost of leasing is due to the way the franchises are distributed to the train operating companies. While the TOCs are negotiating for a franchise they have some freedom to propose different rolling stock options. It is only once they have won the franchise, however, that they start negotiating with the ROSCOs. The ROSCO will know the TOC's requirements and also knows that the TOC has to obtain a fixed mix of rolling stock which puts the train operating company at a disadvantage in its negotiations with the ROSCO. However, Wolmar considers it a mistake to blame the ROSCOs who are simply behaving in the way commercial companies always behave. Ultimately the problem for Wolmar is the system and that is down to the government who are not prepared to seek a more workable solution (On the Wrong Line 289).
alleging excessive pricing by the ROSCOs, the Office of Rail Regulation
announced that it was minded to refer the operation of the market for passenger rolling stock to the Competition Commission
, citing, amongst other factors, problems in the DfT's own franchising policy as responsible for what may be regarded as a dysfunctional market. ORR said it will consult the industry and the public on what to do, and will publish its decision in April 2007. If the ORR does refer the market to the Competition Commission, there may well be a hiatus in investment in new rolling stock whilst the ROSCOs and their parent companies wait to hear what return they will be allowed to make on their train fleets. This could have the unintended consequence
of intensifying the problem of overcrowding on some routes because TOCs will be unable to lengthen their trains or acquire new ones if they need the ROSCOs to co-operate in their acquisition or financing. Some commentators have suggested that such an outcome would be detrimental to the public interest. This is especially striking since the National Audit Office
, in its November 2006 report on the renewal and upgrade of the West Coast main line
, said that the capacity of the trains and the network will be full in the next few years and advocated train lengthening as an important measure to cope with sharply higher passenger numbers.
The Competition Commission is now conducting an investigation (due to be completed on 25 April 2009) and published provisional findings on 7 August 2008.
In 2008, two further companies have come about to try and break into the leasing market:
In 2006, using powers in the Railways Act 2005
, the Department for Transport
took over most of the functions of the now wound up Strategic Rail Authority
. The DfT now itself runs competitions for the award of passenger rail franchises, and, once awarded, monitors and enforces the contracts with the private sector franchisees. Franchises specify the passenger rail services which are to be run and the quality and other conditions (for example, the cleanliness of trains, station facilities and opening hours, the punctuality and reliability of trains) which the operators have to meet. Some franchises receive subsidy from the DfT for doing so, and some are cash-positive, which means that the franchisee pays the DfT for the contract. Some franchises start life as subsidised and, over their life, move to being cash-positive.
The other regulatory authority for the privatised railway is the Office of Rail Regulation
, which, following the Railways Act 2005, is the combined economic and safety regulator. It replaced the Rail Regulator
on 5 July 2004. The Rail Safety and Standards Board
still exists, however; established in 2003 on the recommendations of a public inquiry, it leads the industry's progress in health and safety matters.
The principal modern railway statutes are:
A number of towns and cities have rapid transit
systems. Heavy rail underground technology is used in the London
and Glasgow
Underground systems. Light rail with underground sections in the city centre exist in Tyne and Wear
and in the London Docklands
. The light rail systems in Nottingham
, Sheffield
, Manchester
, Croydon
and the Birmingham/Black Country
use a combination of street running in the city centres and, where available, former conventional rail lines in some suburbs. Blackpool has the one remaining traditional tram system. Monorails, heritage tramways, miniature railways and funiculars also exist in several places. In addition, there are a number of heritage (mainly steam) standard and narrow gauge railways, and a few industrial railways and tramways. Some lines which appear to be heritage operations are actually part of the public transport network; the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
in Kent regularly transports schoolchildren.
Most major cities have some form of commuter rail network
. These include Belfast
, Birmingham
, Bristol
, Cardiff
, Edinburgh
, Glasgow
, Leeds
, Liverpool
, London
, Manchester
and Sheffield
.
There are some 2,500 railway stations in use, excluding the London Underground
and other systems not part of the national network. Most date from the Victorian era
and some are located on the edge of town
and city centres. Major stations lie for the most part in large cities, typically with the largest conurbations (e.g. Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester) boasting more than one main station. London is a major hub of the network, with 12 major main-line terminuses forming a "ring" around the central area. Birmingham
, Leeds
, Manchester, Glasgow, Bristol and Reading are major interchanges for many cross-country journeys that do not involve London. However, some important railway junction stations lie in smaller cities and towns, for example York station
, Crewe station
and Ely station
. Other places expanded into towns and cities because of the railway network. Swindon
, for example, was little more than a village before the Great Western Railway
chose to site its locomotive works there. In many instances geography, politics or military considerations caused stations to originally be located further from the towns they served until, with time, these issues could be overcome (for example, Portsmouth
had its original station at Gosport
).
See List of companies operating trains in the United Kingdom.
s. A few have been relaid as narrowgauge but the majority are standard gauge. Most deploy both steam and diesel locomotives for haulage. The majority of heritage railways are operated as tourist attractions and do not provide regular year-round train services. See also this list of British heritage and private railways.
From 1995 until 2009, 27 new lines (totalling 199 track miles) and 68 stations were opened, with 65 further new station sites identified by Network Rail
or government for possible construction.
On 15 June 2009 the Association of Train Operating Companies
(ATOC) published the report Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network
, detailing schemes around England where it believed there was a commercial business case for passenger network expansion. The published proposals involved the re-opening or new construction of 40 stations, serving communities with populations of over 15,000, including 14 schemes involving the re-opening or reconstruction of rail lines for passenger services. These would be short-lead-time local projects, to be completed in timescales ranging from 2 years 9 months to 6 years, once approved by local and regional
governments, Network Rail and the Department for Transport
, complementing existing long-term national projects.
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
is the oldest in the world, with the world's first locomotive-hauled public railway opening in 1825. As of 2010, it consists of 15754 kilometres (9,789.1 mi) of standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
lines (the 18th largest in the world), of which 5249 kilometres (3,261.6 mi) are electrified
Railway electrification in Great Britain
Railway electrification in Great Britain started towards of the 19th century. A great range of voltages have been used in the intervening period using both overhead lines and third rails, however the most common standard for mainline services is now 25 kV AC using overhead lines and the...
. These lines range from single
Single track (rail)
A single track railway is where trains in both directions share the same track. Single track is normally used on lesser used rail lines, often branch lines, where the traffic density is not high enough to justify the cost of building double tracks....
to double
Double track
A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.- Overview :...
, triple, quadruple track
Quadruple track
Quadruple track railway consists of four parallel tracks. On a quad-track line, two tracks are used in each direction. It is also sometimes called four-track railway....
and up to twelve tracks. In addition, a number of narrow gauge lines
British narrow gauge railways
There were more than a thousand British narrow gauge railways ranging from large, historically significant common carriers to small, short-lived industrial railways...
operate in parts of the country. The British railway network is connected with that of continental Europe
Continental Europe
Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....
by an undersea rail link, the Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
, which opened in 1994. Despite its track length, it is one of the busiest railways in Europe, with 20% more train services than France, 60% more than Italy, and more than Spain, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Portugal and Norway combined.
Historical overview
Railway Mania
The Railway Mania was an instance of speculative frenzy in Britain in the 1840s. It followed a common pattern: as the price of railway shares increased, more and more money was poured in by speculators, until the inevitable collapse...
). The entire network was brought under government control during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and a number of advantages of amalgamation and planning were revealed. However, the government resisted calls for the nationalisation
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
of the network (first proposed by William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
as early as the 1830s). Instead, from 1 January 1923, almost all the remaining companies were grouped
Railways Act 1921
The Railways Act 1921, also known as the Grouping Act, was an enactment by the British government of David Lloyd George intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, move the railways away from internal competition, and to retain some of the benefits which...
into the "big four", the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
, the London and North Eastern Railway
London and North Eastern Railway
The London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
and the Southern Railway companies (there were also a number of other joint railway
Joint railway
A joint railway is a railway operating under the control of more than one railway company: those companies very often supplying the traction over the railway.-United Kingdom:There are many examples of joint railway working in the United Kingdom...
s such as the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway
Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway
The Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway, was a joint railway owned by the Midland Railway and the Great Northern Railway in eastern England, affectionately known as the 'Muddle and Get Nowhere' to generations of passengers, enthusiasts, and other users.The main line ran from Peterborough to...
and the Cheshire Lines Committee
Cheshire Lines Committee
The Cheshire Lines Committee was the second largest joint railway in Great Britain, with 143 route miles. Despite its name, approximately 55% of its system was in Lancashire. In its publicity material it was often styled as the Cheshire Lines Railway...
as well as special joint railways such as the Forth Bridge
Forth Bridge
The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge over the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, to the east of the Forth Road Bridge, and 14 kilometres west of central Edinburgh. It was opened on 4 March 1890, and spans a total length of...
Railway, Ryde Pier
Ryde Pier
Ryde Pier is an early 19th century pier serving the town of Ryde, on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England.- Before the pier :Before the pier was built, passengers to Ryde had the uncomfortable experience of coming ashore on the back of a porter and then, depending on the state of the...
Railway and at one time the East London Railway). The "Big Four" were joint-stock public companies and they continued to run the railway system until 31 December 1947.
The growth in road transport during the 1920s and 1930s greatly reduced revenue for the rail companies. Rail companies accused the government of favouring road haulage through the subsidised construction of roads. The railways entered a slow decline owing to a lack of investment and changes in transport policy and lifestyles. During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the companies' managements joined together, effectively forming one company. A maintenance backlog developed during the war and the private sector only had two years to deal with this after the war ended. After 1945, for both practical and ideological reasons, the government decided to bring the rail service into the public sector
Public sector
The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
.
From the start of 1948, the "big four" were nationalised
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
to form British Railways (latterly "British Rail") under the control of the British Transport Commission
British Transport Commission
The British Transport Commission was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain...
. Although BR was a single entity, it was divided into six (later five) regional authorities in accordance with the existing areas of operation. Though there were few initial changes to the service, usage increased and the network became profitable. Regeneration of track and stations was completed by 1954. In the same year, changes to the British Transport Commission, including the privatisation of road haulage, ended the coordination of transport in Great Britain. Rail revenue fell and in 1955 the network again ceased to be profitable. The mid-1950s saw the rapid introduction of diesel and electric rolling stock but the expected transfer back from road to rail did not occur and losses began to mount.
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
manager Dr. Richard Beeching
Richard Beeching
Richard Beeching, Baron Beeching , commonly known as Doctor Beeching, was chairman of British Railways and a physicist and engineer...
given the task by the government of re-organising the railways. Many branch lines were closed because they were deemed uneconomic ("the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
" of 1963), removing much feeder traffic from main line passenger services. In the second Beeching report of 1965 only the "major trunk routes" were selected for large-scale investment, leading many to speculate the rest of the network would eventually be closed. This was never implemented by BR.
Passenger services experienced a renaissance with the introduction of high-speed inter-city trains in the 1970s. Passenger levels have fluctuated since this time, increasing during periods of economic growth and falling during recessions. The 1980s saw severe cuts in government funding and above-inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
increases in fares and the service became more cost-effective . In the early 1990s, the five geographical Regions were replaced by a Sector organisation, where passenger services were organised into Inter City, Network SouthEast and Other Provincial Services sectors. This new organisation showed promise of being a more efficient organisation of the railways but within a couple of years of its implementation the structure was fragmented by the privatisation process.
Railway operations were privatised
Privatisation of British Rail
The privatisation of British Rail was set in motion when the Conservative government enacted, on 19 January 1993, the British Coal and British Rail Act 1993 . This enabled the relevant Secretary of State to issue directions to the relevant Board...
during 1994-1997. Ownership of the track and infrastructure passed to Railtrack
Railtrack
Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002...
, whilst passenger operations were franchised to individual private sector operators (originally there were 25 franchises) and the freight services sold outright (six companies were set up, but five of these were sold to the same buyer). The government claimed that privatisation would see an improvement in passenger services. Passenger levels have increased in the last decade to the level they had been at in the late-1940s.
The public image of rail travel was severely damaged following the series of significant accidents after privatisation. These included the Hatfield accident
Hatfield rail crash
The Hatfield rail crash was a railway accident on 17 October 2000, at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK. Although the accident killed fewer than other accidents, Hatfield exposed the major stewardship shortcomings of the privatised national railway infrastructure company Railtrack and the failings of...
, caused by a rail fragmenting due to the development of microscopic cracks. Following the Hatfield accident, the rail infrastructure company Railtrack imposed over 1,200 emergency speed restrictions across its network and instigated an extremely costly nationwide track replacement programme. The consequent severe operational disruption to the national network and the company's spiralling costs set in motion the series of events which resulted in the ultimate collapse of the company and its replacement with Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
, a state-regulated, not-for-dividend company.
At the end of September 2003, the first part of High Speed 1, a high speed link to the Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
and on to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, was completed, significantly adding to the rail infrastructure of the country. The rest of the link, from north Kent to St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
in London, opened in 2007. A major programme of remedial work on the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
started in 1997 and finished in 2009, far over budget (£10bn), many years late and still not bringing the line up to the standards originally proposed by Railtrack.
Passenger services
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
(DfT), with the exception of Merseyrail
Merseyrail
Merseyrail is a train operating company and commuter rail network in the United Kingdom, centred on Liverpool, Merseyside. The network is predominantly electric with diesel trains running on the City Line. Two City Line branches are currently being electrified on the overhead wire AC system with...
, where the franchise is awarded by Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive
Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive
The Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive is the Passenger Transport Executive responsible for the coordination of public transport in the metropolitan county of Merseyside, England...
, and ScotRail
ScotRail
ScotRail was a brand name used for all Scottish regional and commuter rail services, including some cross-border services, from 1997 to 2004....
, where the DfT awards on the advice of the Scottish Government. Initially, there were 25 franchises, but the number of different operating companies is smaller as some firms, including First Group, National Express Group
National Express Group
National Express Group plc is a British transport group headquartered in Birmingham that operates bus, coach, rail and tram services in the UK, the US and Canada, Spain, Portugal and Morocco and long-distance coach routes across Europe...
and Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams, express coaches and ferries. The group was founded in 1980 by the current chairman, Sir Brian Souter, his sister, Ann Gloag, and her former husband Robin...
, run more than one franchise. In addition, some franchises have since been combined. There are also a number of local or specialised rail services operated on an 'open access' basis outside the franchise arrangements. Examples include Heathrow Express
Heathrow Express
Heathrow Express is an airport rail link from London Heathrow Airport to London Paddington station in London operated by the Heathrow Express Operating Authority, a wholly owned subsidiary of BAA. It was opened by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998...
and Hull Trains.
In the 2002–3 operating year, franchised services provided 976 million journeys totalling 24.7 billion passenger miles of travel, an increase over 1986–7 of 32% in journeys (from 738 million) and 29% in passenger-miles (from 30.8 billion). On the other hand, taking a longer-term view, the number of journeys in 2002–3 was lower than for the 1950–60 period. The passenger-miles figure, after being flat from 1965–1995, surpassed the 1947 figure for the first time in 1998 and continues to rise steeply.
The key index used to assess passenger train performance is the Public Performance Measure, which combines figures for punctuality and reliability. Performance against this metric has been especially poor since mid-2000. From a base of 90% of trains arriving on time in 1998, the measure dipped to 75% in mid 2001 and, by the end of the 2002–3 period, had recovered to only 80%. However, as of September 2006, the PPM stands at 87.5% after a period of steady increases in the annual moving average since 2003.
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
over the 1995–2004 period, was 4.7%. For some years, Britain has been said to have the highest rail fares in the world. For example, the (discounted) annual season ticket from London to Brighton (standard 2nd class) as of January 2010 costs £3,280 for 54 miles (86.9 km), while an annual DB (German) 100 BahnCard, which allows one year's travel on the entire German rail network, costs almost exactly the same (3800 Euros).
Average rolling-stock age — a rough indicator of passenger comfort — fell slightly from the third quarter of 2001–2 to the third quarter of 2003–4, from 20.7 years old to 19.3 years old.
Although passengers rarely have cause to refer to either document, all travel is subject to the National Rail Conditions of Carriage
National Rail Conditions of Carriage
The National Rail Conditions of Carriage are a contractual document, setting out the consumer's rights and responsibilities when travelling on the National Rail network. When a train ticket is purchased, a contract is established...
and all tickets are valid subject to the rules set out in a number of so-called technical manuals
UK railway technical manuals
The railway network of Great Britain is operated with the aid of a number of documents, which have been sometimes termed "technical manuals", because they are more detailed than the pocket-timetables which the public encounters every day...
, which are centrally produced for the network.
Freight services
There are four main freight operating companies in the UK, the largest of which is DB SchenkerDB Schenker
DB Schenker is a logistics company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG. The company, created by reorganisation and rebranding of various Deutsche Bahn subsidiaries, comprises a logistics division encompassing air, land and sea freight, and a rail division made up from a variety of...
(formerly the English, Welsh and Scottish Railway (EWS)). There are also several smaller independent operators including Mendip Rail
Mendip Rail
Mendip Rail Ltd is an independent freight operating railway company in Great Britain. It is composed of the rail-operation divisions of Aggregate Industries and Hanson Aggregates ....
. Types of freight carried include intermodal
Intermodal freight transport
Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation , without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The method reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damages and...
— in essence containerised freight — and coal, metals, oil, and construction material. Freight services have been in steady decline since the 1950s, although the Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
's Transport Ten Year Plan calls for an 80% increase in rail freight measured from a 2000–1 base.
Statistics on freight are specified in terms of the weight of freight lifted, and the net tonne kilometre, being freight weight multiplied by distance carried. 87 million tonnes of freight was lifted in the 2002–3 period, against 138 million tonnes in 1986–7, a decrease of 37%. 18.7 billion net tonne kilometres (11.4 billion net ton miles) of freight movement were recorded in 2002–3, against 16.6 billion (10.1 billion) in 1986–7, an increase of 13%. As of 2011, rail freight occupies an 11.5% market share for surface freight transport in the UK.
A symbolic loss to the rail freight industry in Great Britain was the custom of the Royal Mail
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
, which from 2004 discontinued use of its 49-train fleet, and switching to road haulage after a near 170-year-preference for trains. Mail trains had long been part of the tradition of the railways in Great Britain, famously celebrated in the film Night Mail
Night Mail
Night Mail is a 1936 documentary film about a London, Midland and Scottish Railway mail train from London to Scotland, produced by the GPO Film Unit. A poem by English poet W. H. Auden was written for it, used in the closing few minutes, as was music by Benjamin Britten...
, for which W. H. Auden
W. H. Auden
Wystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
wrote the poem of the same name. Although Royal Mail suspended the Mail train in January 2004, this decision was reversed in December of the same year, and Class 325s
British Rail Class 325
The British Rail Class 325 is a 4 car dual-voltage 25 kV alternating current or 750 V direct current electric multiple unit train used for postal train services. They are based on the Class 319. The Class 325 was British Rail's newest unit to take over parcels working on electrified...
are now used on some routes including between London, Warrington and Scotland.
Since 1995 the amount of freight carried on the railways has increased sharply. The railways have become more reliable, and economical. Big Road hauliers such as Eddie Stobart LTD and WH Malcolm move goods by rail hauling supplies from Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
and Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
. Morrisons also use rail freight, as do M&S and many more retailers. By the year 2015 rail-borne intermodal
Intermodal freight transport
Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation , without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The method reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damages and...
traffic is scheduled to double, and by 2030 the whole of rail freight is expected to double.
High-speed rail
High-speed rail (above 125 mph) was first introduced in Great Britain in the 1970s by British Rail. BR had pursued two development projects in parallel, the development of a tilting train technology, the 'Advanced Passenger TrainAdvanced Passenger Train
The Advanced Passenger Train was an experimental tilting High Speed Train developed by British Rail during the 1970s and early 1980s....
' (APT), and development of a conventional high speed diesel train, the 'High Speed Train' (HST). The APT project was abandoned, but the HST design entered service as the British Rail Classes 253, 254 and 255 trains. The prototype HST, the British Rail Class 252
British Rail Class 252
Class 252 was the classification allocated to the prototype High Speed Train unit, numbered 252001.-History:When originally built, in 1972, the prototype High Speed Train units were considered to be formed of two locomotives at either end of a rake of carriages...
, reached a world speed record for diesel trains of 143.2 mph, while the main fleet entered service limited to a service speed of 125 mph, and were introduced progressively on main lines across the country, with a rebranding of their services as the InterCity 125
InterCity 125
The InterCity 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train fleet. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two power cars, one at each end of a fixed formation of Mark 3 carriages, and is capable of , making the train the fastest diesel-powered locomotive in regular service in the...
. With electrification of the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
, high speed rail in Great Britain was augmented with the introduction of the British Rail Class 91
British Rail Class 91
The British Rail Class 91 is a class of , electric locomotives ordered as a component of the East Coast Main Line modernisation and electrification programme of the late 1980s. The Class 91s were given the auxiliary name of InterCity 225 to indicate their envisaged top speed of...
, intended for passenger service at up to 140 mph (225 km/h), and thus branded as the InterCity 225
InterCity 225
The InterCity 225 is a locomotive-hauled domestic train in the United Kingdom, comprising a Class 91 electric locomotive, nine Mark 4 coaches and a Driving Van Trailer...
. The Class 91 units were designed for a maximum service speed of 140 mph, and running at this speed was trialled with a 'flashing green' signal aspect under the British signalling system
UK railway signalling
The railway signalling systems used across the majority of the United Kingdom rail network use lineside signals to advise the driver of the status of the section of track ahead...
. The trains were eventually limited to the same speed as the HST, to 125 mph, with higher speeds deemed to require Cab signalling
Cab signalling
Cab signalling is a railway safety system that communicates track status information to the cab, crew compartment or driver's compartment of a locomotive, railcar or multiple unit, where the train driver or engine driver can see the information....
, which as of 2010 was not in place on the normal British railway network (but was used on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link). A final attempt by the nationalised British Rail at High Speed Rail was the cancelled InterCity 250
InterCity 250
InterCity 250 was the name of a proposed rolling stock, track and signalling upgrade project on the West Coast Main Line by British Rail in the early 1990s. The InterCity 250 train would have consisted of a Class 93 electric locomotive, nine Mark 5 coaches and a Mark 5 Driving Van Trailer...
project in the 1990s for the West Coast Main Line.
The first implementation of high speed rail up to 186 mph in regular passenger service in Great Britain was the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (now known as High Speed 1), when its first phase opened in 2003 linking the British end of the Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
at Folkestone with Fawkham Junction
Fawkham Junction
Fawkham Junction is a railway junction that currently connects High Speed 1 with the Kent Rail Network.Originally the Junction was part of the London, Chatham and Dover Railway's line to Gravesend West . The intermediate stations were: Longfield Halt, Southfleet, Rosherville Halt and Gravesend West...
in Kent. This is used by international only passenger trains for the Eurostar
Eurostar
Eurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
service, using British Rail Class 373
British Rail Class 373
The British Rail Class 373 or TGV-TMST train is an electric multiple unit that operates Eurostar's high-speed rail service between Britain, France and Belgium via the Channel Tunnel...
trains. The line was later extended all the way into London St Pancras in 2007.
Post privatisation, a plan to upgrade the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
to speeds of up to 140 mph with infrastructure improvements were finally abandoned, although the tilting train Class 390
British Rail Class 390
The Class 390 Pendolino is a type of train used in Great Britain. They are electric multiple units using Fiat's tilting train pendolino technology and built by Alstom. Fifty-three 9-car units were originally built for Virgin Trains from 2001 to 2004 for operation on the West Coast Main Line , with...
Pendolino fleet designed for this maximum speed of service were still built and entered service in 2002, and operates limited to 125 mph. Other routes in the UK were upgraded with trains capable of top speeds of up to 125 mph running with the introduction between 2000 and 2005 of Class 180
British Rail Class 180
The Class 180 is a type of British diesel multiple unit train built by Alstom between 2000 and 2001 for use on then-new express services by First Great Western . They were built at Washwood Heath in Birmingham and are part of the Coradia 1000 family along with the Class 175. FGW stopped using the...
Adelante DMUs and the Bombardier Voyager family
Bombardier Voyager family
The Voyager series is a group of express diesel-electric multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation for service on the UK railway network.-Class 220:...
of DEMUs (Classes 220, 221 and 222).
After the building of the first of a new British Rail Class 395
British Rail Class 395
British Rail Class 395 is a dual-voltage electric multiple unit used by train operating company Southeastern for its services along High Speed 1 and onwards to the Kent coast. The trains were built in Japan by Hitachi and shipped to the United Kingdom to operate new high speed domestic services...
train fleet for use partly on High Speed 1 and parts of the rest of the UK rail network, the first domestic high speed running over 125 mph (to about 141.37 mph) begin in December 2009, including a special Olympic Javelin shuttle for the 2012 Olympics. These services are operated by the Southeastern
Southeastern (train operating company)
London & South Eastern Railway Limited, trading as Southeastern is a train operating company in south-east England. On 1 April 2006 it became the franchisee for the new Integrated Kent Franchise , replacing the publicly owned South Eastern Trains on the former South East Franchise...
franchise.
Following several studies and consultations on high speed rail, in 2009 the UK Government formally announced the High Speed 2 project, establishing a company to produce a feasibility study to examine route options and financing for a new high speed railway in the UK. This study began on the assumption that the route would be a new purpose built high speed line, from London to the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
, via London Heathrow, relieving traffic on the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
, and would use conventional high speed rail technology as opposed to Maglev. The rolling stock would be capable of travelling on the existing Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
infrastructure if required.
For replacement of the domestic fleet of Intercity 125 and 225 trains on the existing national network, the Intercity Express Programme
Intercity Express Programme
The Intercity Express Programme is an initiative of the Department for Transport in the United Kingdom to procure new trains to replace the InterCity 125 fleet on the East Coast Main Line and Great Western Main Line, as well as replacing other trainsets on long distance services from London to...
was announced. In February 2009 it was announced the preferred rolling stock option for this project was the Hitachi Super Express family of multiple units, expected to enter service in 2013. It was stated by Agility Trains
Agility Trains
Agility Trains is consortium of Hitachi, John Laing, and Barclays Private Equity which has been awarded a contract to design, manufacture, and maintain a fleet of long-distance trains to replace Britain's InterCity 125 fleet as part of the Department for Transport's Intercity Express Programme.The...
, the consortium building the trains, that they would be capable of a maximum speed of 140 mph with "minor modifications", with the necessary signalling modifications required of the Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
infrastructure in Britain likely to come from the phased roll out of the Europe wide European Rail Traffic Management System
European Rail Traffic Management System
The European Rail Traffic Management System is an initiative backed by the European Union to enhance cross-border interoperability and signalling procurement by creating a single Europe-wide standard for train control and command systems....
(ERTMS).
As of August 2009 the speeds of the fastest trains operating in Great Britain capable of a top speed of over 125 mph were as follows:
| Name | Locomotive Class | Type | Max. Recorded Speed (mph (km/h)) | Max. Design Speed (mph (km/h)) | Max. Speed in service (mph (km/h)) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurostar Eurostar Eurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel.... |
Class 373 British Rail Class 373 The British Rail Class 373 or TGV-TMST train is an electric multiple unit that operates Eurostar's high-speed rail service between Britain, France and Belgium via the Channel Tunnel... |
EMU | 209 (334.7) | 186 (300) | 186 (300) |
| Javelin | Class 395 British Rail Class 395 British Rail Class 395 is a dual-voltage electric multiple unit used by train operating company Southeastern for its services along High Speed 1 and onwards to the Kent coast. The trains were built in Japan by Hitachi and shipped to the United Kingdom to operate new high speed domestic services... |
EMU | 140 (225) | 140 (225) | 140 (225) |
| InterCity 225 InterCity 225 The InterCity 225 is a locomotive-hauled domestic train in the United Kingdom, comprising a Class 91 electric locomotive, nine Mark 4 coaches and a Driving Van Trailer... |
Class 91 British Rail Class 91 The British Rail Class 91 is a class of , electric locomotives ordered as a component of the East Coast Main Line modernisation and electrification programme of the late 1980s. The Class 91s were given the auxiliary name of InterCity 225 to indicate their envisaged top speed of... |
Electric Loco | 162 (261) | 140 (225) | 125 (200) |
| Pendolino | Class 390 British Rail Class 390 The Class 390 Pendolino is a type of train used in Great Britain. They are electric multiple units using Fiat's tilting train pendolino technology and built by Alstom. Fifty-three 9-car units were originally built for Virgin Trains from 2001 to 2004 for operation on the West Coast Main Line , with... |
EMU | 145 (234) | 140 (225) | 125 (200) |
| InterCity 125 InterCity 125 The InterCity 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train fleet. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two power cars, one at each end of a fixed formation of Mark 3 carriages, and is capable of , making the train the fastest diesel-powered locomotive in regular service in the... |
Class 43 (HST) British Rail Class 43 (HST) The British Rail Class 43 is the TOPS classification used for the InterCity 125 High Speed Train power cars, built by BREL from 1975 to 1982.... |
Diesel Loco | 148 (238) | 125 (200) | 125 (200) |
| Adelante | Class 180 British Rail Class 180 The Class 180 is a type of British diesel multiple unit train built by Alstom between 2000 and 2001 for use on then-new express services by First Great Western . They were built at Washwood Heath in Birmingham and are part of the Coradia 1000 family along with the Class 175. FGW stopped using the... |
DMU | 125 (200) | 125 (200) | 125 (200) |
| Voyager | Class 220 British Rail Class 220 The Class 220 Voyager are a class of diesel-electric high-speed multiple-unit trains built by Bombardier Transportation in 2000 and 2001.... |
DEMU | 125 (200) | 125 (200) | 125 (200) |
| Super Voyager | Class 221 British Rail Class 221 The Class 221 Super Voyager is a class of British diesel-electric multiple-unit express trains built by Bombardier Transportation between 2001 and 2002, entering service on 12 April 2002.... |
DEMU | 125 (200) | 125 (200) | 125 (200) |
| Meridian/Pioneer | Class 222 British Rail Class 222 The British Rail Class 222 is a diesel-electric multiple unit high-speed train capable of . Twenty-seven units have been built by Bombardier Transportation.... |
DEMU | 125 (200) | 125 (200) | 125 (200) |
| Class 67 | Class 67 British Rail Class 67 The Class 67 locomotives are a class of Bo'Bo' diesel electric mainline locomotives which were built for the English, Welsh and Scottish Railway between 1999 to 2000 by Alstom at Meinfesa in Valencia, Spain with drive components from General Motors Diesel.Rail enthusiasts have nicknamed the class... |
Diesel Loco | 125 (200) | 125 (200) | 125 (200) |
The fastest domestic railway journey in the UK is the non-stop East Coast
East Coast (train operating company)
East Coast is a British train operating company running high-speed passenger services on the East Coast Main Line between London, Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland...
service from London King's Cross to York
York railway station
York railway station is a main-line railway station in the city of York, England. It lies on the East Coast Main Line north of London's King's Cross station towards Edinburgh's Waverley Station...
, timetabled to complete the 188 miles (302.6 km) journey in 1 hours 44 minutes, giving an average speed of 109 mph.
Leasing services
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
was sold either directly to the new operators, as in the case of the freight companies, or to the three ROSCOs (Rolling Stock Operating Companies
Rolling Stock Operating Company
In the United Kingdom, a Rolling Stock Operating Company owns and maintains railway engines and carriages which are leased to Train Operating Companies who actually operate the trains....
) which lease or hire stock to passenger and freight train operators. Leasing is relatively commonplace in transport, since it enables operating companies to avoid the complication associated with raising sufficient capital to purchase assets; instead, assets are leased and paid for from ongoing revenue. Since 1994 there has been a growth in smaller spot-hire companies that provide rolling stock on short-term contracts. Many of these have grown thanks to the major selling-off of locomotives by the large freight operators, especially EWS.
Unlike other major players in the privatised railway system of Great Britain, the ROSCOs are not subject to close regulation by the economic regulatory authority. They were expected to compete with one another, and they do, although not in all respects.
Controversy
Since privatisation in 1995, the ROSCOs have faced criticism from a number of quarters - including passenger train operating companies such as GNER, Arriva and FirstGroup - on the basis that they are acting as an oligopolyOligopoly
An oligopoly is a market form in which a market or industry is dominated by a small number of sellers . The word is derived, by analogy with "monopoly", from the Greek ὀλίγοι "few" + πόλειν "to sell". Because there are few sellers, each oligopolist is likely to be aware of the actions of the others...
to keep lease prices higher than would be the case in a more competitive market. In 1998, Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some counties, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, but is significantly different, though both...
John Prescott
John Prescott
John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott is a British politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. Born in Prestatyn, Wales, he represented Hull East as the Labour Member of Parliament from 1970 to 2010...
asked Rail Regulator
Rail Regulator
The Rail Regulator was a statutory office, created with effect from 1 December 1993 by section 1 of the Railways Act 1993, for the independent economic regulation of the British railway industry....
John Swift QC
John Swift QC
John Swift QC is an English barrister and a leading authority on competition law.- Rail regulation :From December 1, 1993 until November 30, 1998, Swift was Rail Regulator and International Rail Regulator, having been appointed to those posts by Conservative politician and Secretary of State for...
to investigate the operation of the market and make recommendations. It was believed by many at the time that Prescott favoured much closer regulation of the ROSCOs, perhaps bringing them into the net of contract-specific regulation, i.e. requiring every rolling stock lease to be individually approved by the Rail Regulator before it could be valid. Swift's report did not find major problems with the operation of what was then an infant market, and instead recommended that the ROSCOs sign up to voluntary, non-binding codes of practice in relation to their future behaviour. Prescott did not like this, but he did not have the legislative time allocation to do much about it. Swift's successor as Rail Regulator, Tom Winsor
Tom Winsor
Tom Winsor is a British lawyer and economic regulatory professional who was, from 5 July 1999 until 4 July 2004, the Rail Regulator and International Rail Regulator for Great Britain. He is a partner in international law firm White & Case LLP...
, agreed with Swift and the ROSCOs were happy to go along with codes of practice, coupled with the Rail Regulator's new powers to deal with abuse of dominance and anti-competitive behaviour under the Competition Act 1998
Competition Act 1998
The Competition Act 1998 is the current major source of competition policy in the UK along with Enterprise Act 2002. The act provides an updated framework for identifying and dealing with restrictive business practices and abuse of a dominant market position....
. In establishing these codes, the Rail Regulator made it clear that he expected the ROSCOs to adhere to their spirit as well as their letter. The codes of practice were duly put in place and for the next five years the Rail Regulator received no complaints about ROSCO behaviour.
White paper 2004
In July 2004, to the surprise of many, the Department for Transport's White Paper on the future of the railways contained a statement that it was dissatisfied with the operation of the rolling stock leasing market and believed that there may have been excessive pricing on the part of the ROSCOs.In June 2006, Gwyneth Dunwoody
Gwyneth Dunwoody
Gwyneth Patricia Dunwoody was a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Exeter from 1966 to 1970, and then for Crewe from 1974 to her death in 2008...
, the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
Transport Committee
Transport Committee
The Transport Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the Committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Transport and its associated public bodies.-Membership:As of 18 July 2011,...
chair, called for an investigation into the companies. Transport commentator Christian Wolmar
Christian Wolmar
Christian Wolmar is a British journalist, author, and railway historian of Swedish and Russian descent. He is best known for his books and commentary on transport, especially as a pundit on Britain's railway network, and was named Transport Journalist of the Year in the National Transport Awards in...
has asserted that the high cost of leasing is due to the way the franchises are distributed to the train operating companies. While the TOCs are negotiating for a franchise they have some freedom to propose different rolling stock options. It is only once they have won the franchise, however, that they start negotiating with the ROSCOs. The ROSCO will know the TOC's requirements and also knows that the TOC has to obtain a fixed mix of rolling stock which puts the train operating company at a disadvantage in its negotiations with the ROSCO. However, Wolmar considers it a mistake to blame the ROSCOs who are simply behaving in the way commercial companies always behave. Ultimately the problem for Wolmar is the system and that is down to the government who are not prepared to seek a more workable solution (On the Wrong Line 289).
Competition Commission
On 29 November 2006, following a June 2006 complaint by the Department for TransportDepartment for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
alleging excessive pricing by the ROSCOs, the Office of Rail Regulation
Office of Rail Regulation
The Office of Rail Regulation is a statutory board which is the combined economic and safety regulatory authority for Great Britain's railway network. It was established on 5 July 2004 by the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, replacing the Rail Regulator...
announced that it was minded to refer the operation of the market for passenger rolling stock to the Competition Commission
Competition Commission
The Competition Commission is a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom...
, citing, amongst other factors, problems in the DfT's own franchising policy as responsible for what may be regarded as a dysfunctional market. ORR said it will consult the industry and the public on what to do, and will publish its decision in April 2007. If the ORR does refer the market to the Competition Commission, there may well be a hiatus in investment in new rolling stock whilst the ROSCOs and their parent companies wait to hear what return they will be allowed to make on their train fleets. This could have the unintended consequence
Unintended consequence
In the social sciences, unintended consequences are outcomes that are not the outcomes intended by a purposeful action. The concept has long existed but was named and popularised in the 20th century by American sociologist Robert K. Merton...
of intensifying the problem of overcrowding on some routes because TOCs will be unable to lengthen their trains or acquire new ones if they need the ROSCOs to co-operate in their acquisition or financing. Some commentators have suggested that such an outcome would be detrimental to the public interest. This is especially striking since the National Audit Office
National Audit Office (United Kingdom)
The National Audit Office is an independent Parliamentary body in the United Kingdom which is responsible for auditing central government departments, government agencies and non-departmental public bodies...
, in its November 2006 report on the renewal and upgrade of the West Coast main line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
, said that the capacity of the trains and the network will be full in the next few years and advocated train lengthening as an important measure to cope with sharply higher passenger numbers.
The Competition Commission is now conducting an investigation (due to be completed on 25 April 2009) and published provisional findings on 7 August 2008.
Leasing companies (ROSCO)
- Angel TrainsAngel TrainsAngel Trains is an English Rolling Stock Operating Company created in 1994 as part of the privatisation of British Rail. It was one of three ROSCOs...
- owned by a consortium of private equity investors, mainly comprising pension funds and insurance companies, and has 4,400 vehicles in the UK. - HSBC RailHSBC RailEversholt Rail Group is one of the three major ROSCOs in the United Kingdom...
- a lessor of domestic passenger rolling stock, owned by HSBCHSBCHSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine...
. - PorterbrookPorterbrookPorterbrook is one of the three major ROSCOs in the United Kingdom...
- leases some 3,500 locomotives, trains and freight wagons; owned by a consortium including Deutsche BankDeutsche BankDeutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
, Lloyds TSBLloyds TSBLloyds TSB Bank Plc is a retail bank in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1995 by the merger of Lloyds Bank, established in Birmingham, England in 1765 and traditionally considered one of the Big Four clearing banks, with the TSB Group which traces its origins to 1810...
(who withdrew in Oct 2010) and BNP ParibasBNP ParibasBNP Paribas S.A. is a global banking group, headquartered in Paris, with its second global headquarters in London. In October 2010 BNP Paribas was ranked by Bloomberg and Forbes as the largest bank and largest company in the world by assets with over $3.1 trillion. It was formed through the merger...
.
In 2008, two further companies have come about to try and break into the leasing market:
- Sovereign TrainsSovereign TrainsSovereign Trains is a Rolling Stock Operating Company formed in 2007 as part of the same group as Grand Union. The company was initially formed to fund the purchase of rolling stock for Grand Central for its operations between London and Sunderland, which Grand Central leases from Sovereign...
- a company that forms part of the same group as the open-access operators Grand Central and Grand Union. Sovereign Trains owns the rolling stock currently operated by Grand Central. - QW Rail LeasingQW Rail LeasingQW Rail Leasing is a Rolling Stock Operating Company formed in 2008 to fund the purchase of rolling stock in the United Kingdom, which would then be leased to train operating companies or TOCs...
- a joint venture between the National Australia BankNational Australia BankNational Australia Bank is one of the four largest financial institutions in Australia in terms of market capitalisation and customers. NAB is ranked 17th largest bank in the world measured by market capitalisation...
and SMBC Leasing and FinanceSumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporationis a Japanese bank based in Yurakucho, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is a member of the Sumitomo Group and Mitsui Group. As of the year 2009, SMBC was the second largest bank in Japan in terms of assets.-History:...
to provide the EMU rolling stock to London OvergroundLondon OvergroundLondon Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...
. - Diesel Trains LtdDiesel Trains LtdDiesel Trains is a company set up by the Department for Transport with the intention of funding and managing the procurement of up to 200 diesel multiple unit vehicles as part of the British Government's planned purchase of as many as 1300 new rail vehicles....
- In March 2009, the Department for Transport also launched its own ROSCO to order 202 new diesel train carriages for the Thames Valley area, around Bristol and on longer distances in northern England. The trains are set to enter service by 2012 subject to negotiations with train operators First Great Western, Trans-Pennine Express and Northern Rail. - Lloyds TSB General LeasingLloyds TSB General LeasingLloyds TSB General Leasing is a Rolling Stock Company formed in 2009 as part of the Lloyds Banking Group. Prior to its formation, Lloyds already had a stake in the UK rolling stock leasing market through its membership of the consortium that purchased Porterbrook in 2008...
- In April 2009, Lloyds TSBLloyds TSBLloyds TSB Bank Plc is a retail bank in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1995 by the merger of Lloyds Bank, established in Birmingham, England in 1765 and traditionally considered one of the Big Four clearing banks, with the TSB Group which traces its origins to 1810...
directly entered the rolling stock market by funding the purchase of 30 new EMU trains for National Express East Anglia.
Spot-hire companies
- MiddlePeak RailwaysMiddlePeak RailwaysMiddlePeak Railways specializes in the spot-hire and long term lease of shunting locomotives similar to the ex-British Railways Class 08 and NS 0-6-0 600 Class shunting locos...
, a locomotive hire & lease company with a stock of locomotives similar to Class 08British Rail Class 08The British Rail Class 08 is a class of diesel-electric shunting locomotive. From 1953 to 1962, 996 locomotives were produced, making it the most numerous of all British locomotive classes....
& NSNederlandse SpoorwegenNederlandse Spoorwegen , or NS, is the principal passenger railway operator in the Netherlands.Its trains operate over the tracks of the Dutch national railinfrastructure, operated by ProRail, which was split off from NS in 2003...
0-6-0 600 Class shunting locomotives, other locomotives, rolling stock & parts.http://www.middlepeak.co.uk/locomotives.htm - Cotswold RailCotswold Railthumb|right|[[British Rail Class 47|Class 47]], no. 47316 'Cam Peak', at [[Doncaster railway works|Doncaster Works]] open day on 27th July 2003. This locomotive had recently been returned to traffic after a period in store...
, a spot-hire company with a stock of Class 08British Rail Class 08The British Rail Class 08 is a class of diesel-electric shunting locomotive. From 1953 to 1962, 996 locomotives were produced, making it the most numerous of all British locomotive classes....
shunting locomotives, and Class 47British Rail Class 47The British Rail Class 47, is a class of British railway diesel-electric locomotive that was developed in the 1960s by Brush Traction. A total of 512 Class 47s were built at Crewe Works and Brush's Falcon Works, Loughborough between 1962 and 1968, which made them the most numerous class of British...
locomotives. This company works closely with National Express East Anglia. - GL Railease owned by GATX Capital, and Lombard, a subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
- Harry Needle Railroad CompanyHarry Needle Railroad CompanyThe Harry Needle Railroad Company is a railway spot-hire company, based at Barrow Hill Engine Shed in Derbyshire. The company is also a scrap dealer and has dismantled many railway vehicles, either on site, or at the European Metal Recycling scrapyard in...
Ltd, an industrial and main line locomotive hire and overhaul company. Operates Class 08British Rail Class 08The British Rail Class 08 is a class of diesel-electric shunting locomotive. From 1953 to 1962, 996 locomotives were produced, making it the most numerous of all British locomotive classes....
shunting locomotives, and Class 20British Rail Class 20The British Rail Class 20, otherwise known as an English Electric Type 1, is a class of diesel-electric locomotive. In total, 228 locomotives in the class were built by English Electric between 1957 and 1968, the large number being in part because of the failure of other early designs in the same...
locomotives. - Riviera TrainsRiviera TrainsRiviera Trains Limited is a railway spot-hire company, based at Crewe in Cheshire. It owns a large fleet of Class 47 locomotives, which have been hired to both passenger and charter train operators. One of their main customers was Arriva Trains Wales, which used locomotives to haul Manchester to...
, a spot-hire company with a fleet of Class 47British Rail Class 47The British Rail Class 47, is a class of British railway diesel-electric locomotive that was developed in the 1960s by Brush Traction. A total of 512 Class 47s were built at Crewe Works and Brush's Falcon Works, Loughborough between 1962 and 1968, which made them the most numerous class of British...
locomotives. This company works closely with DB SchenkerDB SchenkerDB Schenker is a logistics company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG. The company, created by reorganisation and rebranding of various Deutsche Bahn subsidiaries, comprises a logistics division encompassing air, land and sea freight, and a rail division made up from a variety of...
. - RT RailRT RailRT Rail was a small British railway spot-hire company, a subsidiary of Ealing Community Transport , that specialised in Class 08 shunting locomotives. It was sold in 2008 to British American Railway Services along with ECT's other rail assets. It is now part of the locomotive hire division of their...
, a small hire company with a stock of Class 08British Rail Class 08The British Rail Class 08 is a class of diesel-electric shunting locomotive. From 1953 to 1962, 996 locomotives were produced, making it the most numerous of all British locomotive classes....
shunting locomotives. - West Coast Railway CompanyWest Coast Railway CompanyWest Coast Railways, also known as West Coast Railway Company, is a railway spot-hire company and charter train operator, based at Carnforth in Lancashire, on the site of the old Steamtown heritage depot...
, a spot-hire and railtour-operator with a stock of Class 37British Rail Class 37The British Rail Class 37 is a diesel-electric locomotive. Also known as the English Electric Type 3, the Class was ordered as part of the British Rail modernisation plan....
and Class 47British Rail Class 47The British Rail Class 47, is a class of British railway diesel-electric locomotive that was developed in the 1960s by Brush Traction. A total of 512 Class 47s were built at Crewe Works and Brush's Falcon Works, Loughborough between 1962 and 1968, which made them the most numerous class of British...
locomotives, as well as the rebuild Class 57British Rail Class 57The Class 57 diesel locomotives were introduced by Brush Traction between 1997-2004. They are rebuilds, with reconditioned EMD engines, of former Class 47 locomotives, originally introduced in 1964-5.- Description :...
locomotive.
Statutory framework
Railways in Great Britain are in the private sector, but they are subject to control by central government, and to economic and safety regulation by arms of government.In 2006, using powers in the Railways Act 2005
Railways Act 2005
The Railways Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning the regulatory structure for railways in the United Kingdom.- Overview :...
, the Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
took over most of the functions of the now wound up Strategic Rail Authority
Strategic Rail Authority
In existence from 2001 to 2006, the Strategic Rail Authority was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom set up under the Transport Act 2000 to provide strategic direction for the railway industry....
. The DfT now itself runs competitions for the award of passenger rail franchises, and, once awarded, monitors and enforces the contracts with the private sector franchisees. Franchises specify the passenger rail services which are to be run and the quality and other conditions (for example, the cleanliness of trains, station facilities and opening hours, the punctuality and reliability of trains) which the operators have to meet. Some franchises receive subsidy from the DfT for doing so, and some are cash-positive, which means that the franchisee pays the DfT for the contract. Some franchises start life as subsidised and, over their life, move to being cash-positive.
The other regulatory authority for the privatised railway is the Office of Rail Regulation
Office of Rail Regulation
The Office of Rail Regulation is a statutory board which is the combined economic and safety regulatory authority for Great Britain's railway network. It was established on 5 July 2004 by the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, replacing the Rail Regulator...
, which, following the Railways Act 2005, is the combined economic and safety regulator. It replaced the Rail Regulator
Rail Regulator
The Rail Regulator was a statutory office, created with effect from 1 December 1993 by section 1 of the Railways Act 1993, for the independent economic regulation of the British railway industry....
on 5 July 2004. The Rail Safety and Standards Board
Rail Safety and Standards Board
The Rail Safety and Standards Board is an independent not-for-profit company, which was established in 2003, upon the recommendation of the public inquiry into the Ladbroke Grove rail crash...
still exists, however; established in 2003 on the recommendations of a public inquiry, it leads the industry's progress in health and safety matters.
The principal modern railway statutes are:
- Railways Act 1993Railways Act 1993The Railways Act 1993 was introduced by John Major's Conservative government and passed on 5 November 1993. It provided for the restructuring of the British Railways Board , the public corporation that owned and operated the national railway system...
- Competition Act 1998Competition Act 1998The Competition Act 1998 is the current major source of competition policy in the UK along with Enterprise Act 2002. The act provides an updated framework for identifying and dealing with restrictive business practices and abuse of a dominant market position....
(insofar as it confers competition powers on the Office of Rail Regulation) - Transport Act 2000Transport Act 2000The Transport Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for a number of measures regarding transport in Great Britain, most notably, the first major change in the structure of the privatised railway system established under the Railways Act 1993...
- Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003The Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003 is an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament-Purposes of the Act:The purposes of the Act include:-*the creation of the Rail Accident Investigation Branch...
- Railways Act 2005Railways Act 2005The Railways Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning the regulatory structure for railways in the United Kingdom.- Overview :...
Local metro and other rail systems
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
systems. Heavy rail underground technology is used in the London
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
and Glasgow
Glasgow Subway
The Glasgow Subway is an underground metro line in Glasgow, Scotland. Opened on 14 December 1896, it is the third-oldest underground metro system in the world after the London Underground and the Budapest Metro. Formerly a cable railway, the Subway was later electrified, but its twin circular lines...
Underground systems. Light rail with underground sections in the city centre exist in Tyne and Wear
Tyne and Wear Metro
The Tyne and Wear Metro, also known as the Metro, is a light rail system in North East England, serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside and Sunderland. It opened in 1980 and in 2007–2008 provided 40 million public journeys on its network of nearly...
and in the London Docklands
Docklands Light Railway
The Docklands Light Railway is an automated light metro or light rail system opened on 31 August 1987 to serve the redeveloped Docklands area of London...
. The light rail systems in Nottingham
Nottingham Express Transit
Nottingham Express Transit is a light-rail tramway in the Nottingham area in England. The first line opened to the public on 9 March 2004, having cost £200 million to construct. The scheme took sixteen years from conception to implementation...
, Sheffield
Sheffield Supertram
The Supertram, officially called the Stagecoach Supertram, is a light rail tram system in the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England...
, Manchester
Manchester Metrolink
Metrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group...
, Croydon
Tramlink
Tramlink is a tramway system in south London in the United Kingdom which began operation in May 2000...
and the Birmingham/Black Country
Midland Metro
The Midland Metro is a light-rail or tram line in the West Midlands of England between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton via West Bromwich and Wednesbury. It is owned and promoted by Centro, and operated by West Midlands Travel Limited, a subsidiary of the National Express Group , under...
use a combination of street running in the city centres and, where available, former conventional rail lines in some suburbs. Blackpool has the one remaining traditional tram system. Monorails, heritage tramways, miniature railways and funiculars also exist in several places. In addition, there are a number of heritage (mainly steam) standard and narrow gauge railways, and a few industrial railways and tramways. Some lines which appear to be heritage operations are actually part of the public transport network; the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway
The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway is a gauge light railway in Kent, England. The line runs from the Cinque Port of Hythe via Dymchurch, St...
in Kent regularly transports schoolchildren.
Most major cities have some form of commuter rail network
Commuter rail in the United Kingdom
Urban rail, commuter rail, regional rail, or suburban rail, plays a key role in the public transport system of many of the United Kingdom's major cities. Urban rail is defined as a rail service between a central business district and suburbs or other locations that draw large numbers of people on a...
. These include Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
.
Railway stations
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
and other systems not part of the national network. Most date from the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
and some are located on the edge of town
Town centre
The town centre is the term used to refer to the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town.Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus stations...
and city centres. Major stations lie for the most part in large cities, typically with the largest conurbations (e.g. Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester) boasting more than one main station. London is a major hub of the network, with 12 major main-line terminuses forming a "ring" around the central area. Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Manchester, Glasgow, Bristol and Reading are major interchanges for many cross-country journeys that do not involve London. However, some important railway junction stations lie in smaller cities and towns, for example York station
York railway station
York railway station is a main-line railway station in the city of York, England. It lies on the East Coast Main Line north of London's King's Cross station towards Edinburgh's Waverley Station...
, Crewe station
Crewe railway station
Crewe railway station was completed in 1837 and is one of the most historic railway stations in the world. Built in fields near to Crewe Hall, it originally served the village of Crewe with a population of just 70 residents...
and Ely station
Ely railway station
Ely railway station serves the city of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. The station lies on the Fen Line from Cambridge to King's Lynn, which is electrified at 25 kV AC overhead...
. Other places expanded into towns and cities because of the railway network. Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
, for example, was little more than a village before the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
chose to site its locomotive works there. In many instances geography, politics or military considerations caused stations to originally be located further from the towns they served until, with time, these issues could be overcome (for example, Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
had its original station at Gosport
Gosport
Gosport is a town, district and borough situated on the south coast of England, within the county of Hampshire. It has approximately 80,000 permanent residents with a further 5,000-10,000 during the summer months...
).
Statutory authorities
- Health and Safety ExecutiveHealth and Safety ExecutiveThe Health and Safety Executive is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It is the body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare, and for research into occupational risks in England and Wales and Scotland...
— Website - Office of Rail RegulationOffice of Rail RegulationThe Office of Rail Regulation is a statutory board which is the combined economic and safety regulatory authority for Great Britain's railway network. It was established on 5 July 2004 by the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, replacing the Rail Regulator...
— Website - Department for TransportDepartment for TransportIn the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
Rail Group — Website - UK Notified BodiesUK Notified BodiesUK Notified Bodies are UK bodies authorised to assess the compatibility of works or equipment with Technical Specifications for Interoperability as part of the system to effectively and safely allow the interoperability of railway services within the European Union.UK Notified Bodies may be...
— Website
Network rail and signalling operations
- RailtrackRailtrackRailtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002...
(1996–2002) - Network RailNetwork RailNetwork Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
(2002—) — Website — (A "not for dividend" company limited by guarantee)
Other national entities
- Association of Train Operating CompaniesAssociation of Train Operating CompaniesThe Association of Train Operating Companies is a body which represents 24 train operating companies that provide passenger railway services on the privatised British railway system. It owns the National Rail brand. The Association is an unincorporated association owned by its members...
— ATOC — Website - Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and FiremenAssociated Society of Locomotive Engineers and FiremenThe Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen is the trade union representing railway workers in Great Britain who are train drivers or in the line of promotion to train driver....
— ASLEF — Website - Institution of Railway Operators — Website
- National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport WorkersNational Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport WorkersThe National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers is a trade union in the United Kingdom which unionises transport workers. It has more than 80,000 members, and its current general secretary is Bob Crow...
— RMT — Website - Rail Freight Group — Website
- Rail Passengers Council and Committees — Website
- Rail Safety and Standards Board — RSSB — Website
- The Railway Forum — Website
- Railway Mission — Website
- Railway Study Association — Website
- Transport Salaried Staffs' AssociationTransport Salaried Staffs' AssociationThe Transport Salaried Staffs' Association is a trade union for "white collar" workers in the transport industry in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland...
— TSSA — Website
Regional entities
See Passenger transport executivePassenger Transport Executive
In the United Kingdom, passenger transport executives are local government bodies which are responsible for public transport within large urban areas...
- Centro (West Midlands Passenger Transport ExecutiveWest Midlands Passenger Transport ExecutiveThe West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive , sometimes known as Centro, is a local government organisation responsible for certain transport services in the West Midlands county in England....
) — Website - GMPTE (Greater Manchester Passenger Transport ExecutiveGreater Manchester Passenger Transport ExecutiveTransport for Greater Manchester is the public body responsible for co-ordinating public transport services throughout Greater Manchester, in North West England. The organisation traces its origins to the Transport Act 1968, when the SELNEC Passenger Transport Executive was established to...
) — Website - Merseytravel (Merseyside Passenger Transport ExecutiveMerseyside Passenger Transport ExecutiveThe Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive is the Passenger Transport Executive responsible for the coordination of public transport in the metropolitan county of Merseyside, England...
) — Website - Metro (West Yorkshire Passenger Transport ExecutiveWest Yorkshire Passenger Transport ExecutiveThe West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive is the Passenger Transport Executive for the county of West Yorkshire, England. It is the executive arm of the West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority and was originally formed on 1 April 1974 as the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport...
) — Website - Nexus (Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport ExecutiveTyne and Wear Passenger Transport ExecutiveThe Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive using the brandname of Nexus, is the Passenger Transport Executive for the Tyne and Wear region of North East England....
) — Website - Travel South Yorkshire (South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive) — Website
- SPT (Strathclyde Partnership for TransportStrathclyde Partnership for TransportThe Strathclyde Partnership for Transport is a public body which is responsible for planning and co-ordinating regional transport, and especially the public transport system, in the Strathclyde area of western Scotland...
) — Website - TfL Transport for LondonTransport for LondonTransport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
— Website
See List of companies operating trains in the United Kingdom.
Freight railway companies
- DB SchenkerDB SchenkerDB Schenker is a logistics company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn AG. The company, created by reorganisation and rebranding of various Deutsche Bahn subsidiaries, comprises a logistics division encompassing air, land and sea freight, and a rail division made up from a variety of...
— Website - Freightliner — Website
- Direct Rail ServicesDirect Rail ServicesDirect Rail Services is a freight operating company created by British Nuclear Fuels Limited. The company started rail operations in 1995 using five heavily refurbished Class 20/3 diesel locomotives. Since then it has expanded greatly, and has acquired many more locomotives, most bought...
— Website - FirstGBRf — Website
Open access operators and other non-franchised passenger operators
- EurostarEurostarEurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
— Website - Heathrow ExpressHeathrow ExpressHeathrow Express is an airport rail link from London Heathrow Airport to London Paddington station in London operated by the Heathrow Express Operating Authority, a wholly owned subsidiary of BAA. It was opened by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair in 1998...
— Website - First Hull Trains — Website
- Grand Central — Website
- Venice Simplon Orient Express (VSOE)
- Wrexham & Shropshire — Website
Early railway companies (1820s–1840s)
This is only the earliest of the main line openings: for a more comprehensive list of the hundreds of early railways see List of early British railway companies- Canterbury and Whitstable RailwaySouth Eastern Railway (UK)The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...
- Birmingham and Derby Junction RailwayBirmingham and Derby Junction RailwayThe Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway was a British railway company. From Birmingham it connected at Derby with the North Midland Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri Junct Station...
(BDJR) - Grand Junction RailwayGrand Junction RailwayThe Grand Junction Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was merged into the London and North Western Railway...
(GJR) - Liverpool and Manchester RailwayLiverpool and Manchester RailwayThe Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
(LMR) - London and Birmingham RailwayLondon and Birmingham RailwayThe London and Birmingham Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway ....
(L&BR) - London and Greenwich RailwaySouth Eastern Railway (UK)The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...
- North Midland RailwayNorth Midland RailwayThe North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham and Leeds in 1840.At Derby it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri Junct Station...
(NMR) - Midland Counties RailwayMidland Counties RailwayThe Midland Counties Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which existed between 1832 and 1844, connecting Nottingham, Leicester and Derby with Rugby and thence, via the London and Birmingham Railway, to London. The MCR system connected with the North Midland Railway and the...
(MCR) - Stockton and Darlington RailwayStockton and Darlington RailwayThe Stockton and Darlington Railway , which opened in 1825, was the world's first publicly subscribed passenger railway. It was 26 miles long, and was built in north-eastern England between Witton Park and Stockton-on-Tees via Darlington, and connected to several collieries near Shildon...
(S&D) - Taff Vale RailwayTaff Vale RailwayThe Taff Vale Railway is a railway in Glamorgan, South Wales, and is one of the oldest in Wales. It operated as an independent company from 1836 until 1922, when it became a constituent company of the Great Western Railway...
(TVR)
Heritage and private railways
Many lines closed by British Railways including many closed during the Beeching cuts have been restored and re-opended as heritage railwayHeritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
s. A few have been relaid as narrowgauge but the majority are standard gauge. Most deploy both steam and diesel locomotives for haulage. The majority of heritage railways are operated as tourist attractions and do not provide regular year-round train services. See also this list of British heritage and private railways.
Railway re-opening
Several pressure groups are campaigning for the re-opening of closed railway lines in Great Britain. These include:- Ashington-Bedlington-Newcastle
- Bourne EndBourne End railway stationBourne End railway station serves Bourne End in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated on the line between Maidenhead and Marlow 4½ miles north of Maidenhead....
-High WycombeHigh Wycombe railway stationHigh Wycombe railway station is situated in High Wycombe in South Buckinghamshire. The station is served by Chiltern Railways trains on the Chiltern Main Line from Marylebone towards Birmingham Snow Hill. It is situated between Beaconsfield and Saunderton stations.-History:The station was built... - CambridgeCambridge railway stationCambridge railway station is a railway station serving the city of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located at the end of Station Road, off Hills Road, 1 mile south-east of the city centre...
-OxfordOxford railway stationOxford railway station is a mainline railway station serving the city of Oxford, England. It is about west of the city centre, northwest of Frideswide Square and the eastern end of Botley Road, and on the line linking with . It is also on the line for trains between and Hereford via...
, East West Rail ConsortiumEast West Rail ConsortiumEast West Rail Link is a proposed new rail route in England to provide a fast outer orbital railway to the north of London, linking the Great Western Main Line, Oxford, Bicester, Milton Keynes, Bedford, Cambridge, Ipswich and Norwich for both passenger and freight traffic... - Cambridge-St Ives
- ColneColne railway stationColne railway station serves the Lancashire mill town of Colne which is situated close to Pendle Hill. The station, which is managed by Northern Rail, is the terminus of the East Lancashire Line. Trains from Blackpool South run through Preston and Blackburn to Burnley and Colne.Currently the...
-SkiptonSkipton railway stationSkipton railway station serves the town of Skipton in North Yorkshire, England on the Airedale Line. It is operated by Northern Rail and is situated north-west of Leeds....
, SELRAP - UckfieldUckfield railway stationUckfield railway station serves Uckfield in East Sussex, England. Train services from the station are provided by Southern, and the station is the terminus for the Uckfield branch of the Oxted Line.- History :...
-LewesLewes railway stationLewes railway station serves the town of Lewes in East Sussex, England. It has five platforms and is on the East Coastway Line. Train services are provided by Southern.The station has a café and a newsagent, and there is a taxi office on the main forecourt... - StourbridgeStourbridge Junction railway stationStourbridge Junction railway station is a railway station on the Birmingham, Worcester and Kidderminster Line in West Midlands, England. Stourbridge Town Branch Line runs from the station to Stourbridge town centre...
-Birmingham New Street - Woodhead LineWoodhead LineThe Woodhead Line was a railway line linking Sheffield, Penistone and Manchester in the north of England. A key feature of the route is the passage under the high moorlands of the northern Peak District through the Woodhead Tunnels...
From 1995 until 2009, 27 new lines (totalling 199 track miles) and 68 stations were opened, with 65 further new station sites identified by Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
or government for possible construction.
On 15 June 2009 the Association of Train Operating Companies
Association of Train Operating Companies
The Association of Train Operating Companies is a body which represents 24 train operating companies that provide passenger railway services on the privatised British railway system. It owns the National Rail brand. The Association is an unincorporated association owned by its members...
(ATOC) published the report Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network
Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network
Connecting Communities: Expanding Access to the Rail Network is a 2009 report by the Association of Train Operating Companies identifying potential expansion of the National Rail passenger railway network in England, primarily through the construction or re-opening of railway lines for passenger...
, detailing schemes around England where it believed there was a commercial business case for passenger network expansion. The published proposals involved the re-opening or new construction of 40 stations, serving communities with populations of over 15,000, including 14 schemes involving the re-opening or reconstruction of rail lines for passenger services. These would be short-lead-time local projects, to be completed in timescales ranging from 2 years 9 months to 6 years, once approved by local and regional
Regions of England
In England, the region is the highest tier of sub-national division used by central Government. Between 1994 and 2011, the nine regions had an administrative role in the implementation of UK Government policy, and as the areas covered by elected bodies...
governments, Network Rail and the Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
, complementing existing long-term national projects.
Rail link(s) with adjacent countries
- Same gauge
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Early Modern France FranceRail transport in FranceRail transport in France is mostly operated by SNCF, the French national railway company. France has the second largest European railway network, with a total of 29,901 kilometers of railway...
(EurostarEurostarEurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
) via the Channel TunnelChannel TunnelThe Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
formerly by Train ferriesTrain ferryA train ferry is a ship designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ferries are sometimes referred to as "car ferries", as...
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Belgium BelgiumRail transport in BelgiumBelgium has an extensive rail network. It is a member of the International Union of Railways . The UIC Country Code for Belgium is 88.-History:...
(EurostarEurostarEurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
) via FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
using the Channel TunnelChannel TunnelThe Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
. -
Germany TBD 2012/2013 GermanyRail transport in Germany, Germany had a railway network of 41,315 km. 19,857 km are electrified. The total track length was 76,473 km. Germany is a member of the International Union of Railways . The UIC Country Code for Germany is 80.-Overview:...
(Deutsche BahnDeutsche BahnDeutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
) via FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
using the Channel Tunnel.
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- Northern Ireland (Irish gaugeIrish gaugeIrish gauge railways use a track gauge of . It is used in* Ireland * Australia where it is also known as Victorian Broad Gauge* Brazil where it is also known as Bitola larga no Brasil....
)-
Republic of Ireland IrelandRail transport in IrelandRail services in Ireland are provided by Iarnród Éireann in the Republic of Ireland and by Northern Ireland Railways in Northern Ireland.Most routes in the Republic radiate from Dublin...
(Enterprise) between BelfastBelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
and Dublin; see Rail transport in Ireland#International Routes for more information.
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Rail-ferry-rail services
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Netherlands NetherlandsRail transport in the NetherlandsRail transport in the Netherlands utilises a 2809 km long network maintained by ProRail and operated by a number of different operators. The entire network is standard gauge.The Netherlands is a member of the International Union of Railways...
- DutchflyerDutchflyerDutchflyer is the name given in the UK to an integrated passenger service between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Formerly known as Amsterdam Express, Dutchflyer is a rail/sea/rail service operated jointly by Stena Line, National Express East Anglia, and Nederlandse Spoorwegen...
rail/sea/rail service - Republic of Ireland IrelandRail transport in IrelandRail services in Ireland are provided by Iarnród Éireann in the Republic of Ireland and by Northern Ireland Railways in Northern Ireland.Most routes in the Republic radiate from Dublin...
- Sail Rail service
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See also
- British narrow gauge railwaysBritish narrow gauge railwaysThere were more than a thousand British narrow gauge railways ranging from large, historically significant common carriers to small, short-lived industrial railways...
- Concessionary fares on the British railway networkConcessionary fares on the British railway networkIn addition to the large number and variety of short-term or localised promotional fares that have been available to passengers on the British railway network in recent decades , there are many permanent concessionary fare schemes available to passengers...
- History of rail transport in Great BritainHistory of rail transport in Great BritainThe railway system of Great Britain, the principal territory of the United Kingdom, is the oldest in the world. The system was originally built as a patchwork of local rail links operated by small private railway companies. These isolated links developed during the railway boom of the 1840s into a...
- Irish Sea tunnelIrish Sea TunnelAn Irish Sea Tunnel is a proposed tunnel that would link the island of Ireland to Great Britain beneath the Irish Sea. It has been suggested in the past largely for political reasons. It would be a railway tunnel, similar to the Channel Tunnel beneath the English Channel...
- List of British towns with no railway station
- List of funicular railways
- Railway electrification in Great BritainRailway electrification in Great BritainRailway electrification in Great Britain started towards of the 19th century. A great range of voltages have been used in the intervening period using both overhead lines and third rails, however the most common standard for mainline services is now 25 kV AC using overhead lines and the...
- Rail transport by countryRail transport by countryThis page provides an index of articles on Rail transport by country.Other indexes available include:*List of railway companies by country*List of countries by rail transport network size*Rail usage statistics by country...
- Royal TrainRoyal TrainA royal train is a set of carriages dedicated for the use of the monarch or other members of that particular royal family. Most monarchies with a railway system employ a set of royal carriages.-Australia:...
- Transport in the United Kingdom
External links
- National Rail Official UK Rail timetable site
- National Rail maps page UK railway maps
- BritRail ATOC site with timetables, maps and cross-network passes for foreign travellers in UK
- BritRail Passes Canada Canadian source for British Rail Passes And tickets
- ScotlandRailways Scottish Rail site with timetables, maps and cross-network passes for foreign travellers in Scotland
- Northumbrian Railways
- Great Scenic Railways of Devon and Cornwall
- Collection of Google Earth locations of National Rail stations (Requires Google Earth software) from the Google Earth Community forum.