National Rail

Information about National Rail

National Rail uses the BR double-arrow logo

A typical National Rail station sign showing the double-arrow logo

National Rail is a brand name of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC). The brand and ATOC are jointly owned by the passenger rail companies of Great Britain, which were formed out of British Rail (BR), the now-defunct state-owned rail operator.

The term is usually used to distinguish these services from rail passenger services in Great Britain that do not have a BR background. This distinction is important, because National Rail services share a ticketing structure and ticket inter-availability that do not necessarily extend to other services.

National Rail and Network Rail

Rail Ticket from Wellington to Shrewsbury

National Rail should not be confused with Network Rail. National Rail is a brand used to promote passenger railway services, while Network Rail is the organisation owning and managing the fixed assets (tracks, signals etc.) of the railway network.

The two networks are similar but not identical. Most Network Rail lines also carry freight traffic and some lines are freight only. Some scheduled passenger services running on Network Rail lines, for example Eurostar, Heathrow Express, the Tyne and Wear Metro and small parts of the London Underground, are not part of the National Rail network. Conversely, some National Rail services run on track not part of the Network Rail network, for example on London Underground track.

Train operating companies

Main article: List of companies operating trains in the United Kingdom

National Rail trains are operated by 24 privately owned Train Operating Companies (TOCs). The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) provides a common voice for the TOCs and some degree of central coordination: the provision, for example, of a national timetable, journey planner, and enquiry service. The double-arrow logo of the former BR is part of the National Rail brand.

Other UK passenger rail operators

BR sold its Northern Ireland assets (the former LMS(NCC) lines) to the devolved Northern Ireland government in 1949, who formed the Ulster Transport Authority through the nationalistion of other rail operators in Northern Ireland. The UTA also operated bus services in the Province, and was broken up in 1966 forming Northern Ireland's current rail operator Northern Ireland Railways (NIR). As a consequence NIR is not part of the National Rail network.

Several UK cities have their own metro or tram systems, most of which are not part of the National Rail network. These include the London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, Blackpool Tramway, Croydon Tramlink, Glasgow Subway, Tyne and Wear Metro, Manchester Metrolink, Sheffield Supertram, Midland Metro and Nottingham Express Transit. On the other hand, the largely self-contained Merseyrail system is part of the National Rail network, and metro schemes around Cardiff, Glasgow and West Yorkshire consist entirely of National Rail services.

Two recently inaugurated railway services, Heathrow Express and Eurostar, are also not part of the National Rail network.

There are a significant number of privately owned or heritage railways, listed in the list of British heritage and private railways, which are not part of the National Rail network.

Ticketing

National Rail services have a common ticketing structure inherited from British Rail. Through tickets are available between any pair of stations on the network, and can be bought from any station ticket office. Most tickets are inter-available between the services of all operators on routes appropriate to the journey being made. A notable exception is for journeys between London and Gatwick Airport, for which, as of March 2006, three operators issue different tickets valid on their own services only. There is also a London-Gatwick ticket that is valid on all operators except Gatwick Express. Operators on some other routes offer operator-specific tickets that are cheaper than the inter-available ones.

Through tickets involving the services of Heathrow Express and London Underground are also available. Oyster card (pay as you go) can only be used on a limited number of services in Greater London, although ATOC has made a commitment to eventually accept the ticketing product on all routes within the travelcard scheme.

Passengers boarding a train without a ticket at a station where ticket-buying facilities are available are required to pay the full Open Single or Return fare. On some services Penalty Fares apply - a ticketless passenger may be charged the greater of £20 or twice the full single fare to the next stop. Penalty Fares can be collected only by authorized Revenue Protection Inspectors, not by ordinary Guards.

National Rail distributes a number of the technical manuals on which travel on the UK railways is based, such as the National Rail Conditions of Carriage, via their website.

Timetables

Pocket timetables for individual routes are available free at many railway stations. A National Rail Timetable, over 3000 pages long, is available for purchase but the final edition was published in May 2007. An alternative is the OAG Rail guide (ISSN 1365 6112) which is available for purchase.

An online version of the timetable and journey planner is accessible via National Rail's website which includes the facility to book tickets online. The website also provide realtime information about running of services in selected routes.

External links

National Rail website
List of train operating companies from National Rail website, retrieved 6 March 2006.
Collection of Google Earth locations of National Rail stations (Requires Google Earth software) from the Google Earth Community forum.

The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) is a body which represents 26 train operating companies that provide passenger railway services on the privatised British railway system. It owns the National Rail brand.
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The term train operating company (abbreviated to TOC) is used in the United Kingdom to describe the various businesses operating passenger trains on the railway system of mainland Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand.
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British Railways (BR), which later traded as British Rail, ran most of the British railway system from the nationalisation of the 'Big Four' British railway companies in 1948 until privatisation in stages from 1994 to 1997.
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Network Rail

Company limited by guarantee
Founded 2002
Headquarters London, England, UK

Key people Ian McAllister, Chairman
Iain Coucher Chief Executive
Peter Henderson – Group Infrastructure Director
Ron Henderson - Group Finance Director
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Franchise(s): Not subject to franchising
International joint operation
service began 1994
Main stations(s): London St Pancras (before 14 November 2007: London Waterloo), Paris Gare du Nord, Brussels South
Other stations(s): Ebbsfleet Int., Stratford Int.
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Franchise(s): Not subject to franchising;
service began 23 June 1998
Main route(s): London Paddington – Heathrow Airport
Other route(s): None
Fleet size: 14 Class 332 sets
Stations: 3 (2 operated)
Parent company: BAA plc
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Tyne & Wear Metro

Locale Tyne and Wear England
Transit type(s) Rapid transit
Began operation 1980
System length 77.7 km
No. of lines 2
No. of stations 59
Daily ridership 129,000
Operator Nexus

The Tyne and Wear Metro
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London Underground

Locale Greater London, Chiltern, Epping Forest, Three Rivers and Watford
Transit type(s) Electrified Metro Railway
Began operation 1863
System length 253 miles / 408 km
No. of lines 12
No.
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Great Britain, passenger train services are operated by a number of companies, referred to as Train Operating Companies or TOCs, normally on the basis of regional franchises awarded by the Department for Transport Rail Group , until 2005 this role was carried out by the
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The Union Flag is the official flag used by the government to represent Northern Ireland. The former official flag, the Ulster Banner, continues to be used by groups (such as some sports teams) representing the territory in an unofficial manner (see Northern Ireland flags issue).
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The Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) ran rail and bus transport in Northern Ireland from 1948 until 1966.

The UTA was formed by the 1948 Transport Act (NI), which merged the Northern Ireland Road Transport Board (NIRTB) and the Belfast and County Down Railway (BCDR).
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Franchise(s): Not subject to franchising
government-owned subsidiary
Main Region(s): Northern Ireland
Other Region(s): None
Fleet size:
Stations: 58
Parent company: NITHCo (Translink)
Web site: www.translink.co.
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METRO (written entirely in capitals) may mean one of the following:

METRO AG or its hypermarket chain Metro Cash and Carry
Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas
The bus and sewer systems of King County, Washington

Also, Metro
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tram, tramcar, trolley, trolley car, or streetcar is a railborne vehicle, lighter than a train, designed for the transport of passengers (and/or, very occasionally, freight) within, close to, or between villages, towns and/or cities, primarily on streets.
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Colour on map Double Turquoise stripe
Year opened 1987
Line type Primarily elevated
Rolling stock DLR B Stock
Stations served 38
Length (km) 31
Length (miles) 19
Depots Poplar
Beckton
Journeys made
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Blackpool tramway serves Blackpool and Fleetwood and is the only surviving first-generation tramway in the UK, dating back to 1885. It is one of the oldest electric tramways in the world and is run by Blackpool Transport, owned by Blackpool Borough Council.
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Tramlink (initially known as Croydon Tramlink) is a tramway in south London, England, United Kingdom, operated by FirstGroup on behalf of Transport for London. Tramlink meets National Rail lines at a number of stations, but because it runs in an area relatively under-served
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Glasgow Subway
Locale Glasgow
Transit type(s) Underground Metro
Began operation 1896
System length 10.4 km / 6.5 miles
No. of lines 1
No. of stations 15
Daily ridership 37,260 (average, 2005/2006)^[1]
Track gauge 4ft (1219mm)
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Manchester Metrolink

Locale Greater Manchester; the Cities of Manchester and Salford, and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Trafford and Bury
Transit type(s) Electrified Metro Tramway
Began operation 1992
System length 37 km
No. of lines 2
No.
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Sheffield Supertram

Locale Sheffield
Transit type(s) Electrified Metro Tramway
Began operation 1994
System length 29 km / 18 miles
No. of lines 3
No.
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Midland Metro
Locale West Midlands England
Transit type(s) Light Rail
Began operation 31st May 1999
System length 20.2 km
No. of lines 1
No. of stations 23
Daily ridership 14,000
Operator Travel Midland Metro

The Midland Metro
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Nottingham Express Transit
Locale Nottingham
Transit type(s) Electrified Metro Tramway
Began operation 2004
System length 14.5 km / 9 miles
No. of lines 1
No. of stations 23
Daily ridership 9.
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Franchise(s): Merseyrail
20. July 2003 – 2028
Main Region(s): Merseyside
Other Region(s): North Cheshire, West Lancashire
Fleet size: 59
Stations: 67 (66 operated)
Parent company: Serco Group / NedRailways

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Franchise(s): Valley Lines
1995 – 2001
Main region(s): South Wales
Other region(s): None
Fleet size: 35
Stations: ?
Parent company: Prism Rail
The Valley Lines
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Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) 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.
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