Rail transport in Great Britain

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 railway 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 national network might have looked like this by the 1980s if the lines not proposed for development in Beeching II had closed.

The desire for profitability led to a major reduction in the network during the mid-1960s, with ICI manager Dr. Richard Beeching commissioned by the government under Ernest Marples with reorganising the railways. Many branch lines (and a number of main 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 the InterCity 125 trains in the 1970s. Passenger levels fluctuated since then, increasing during periods of economic growth and falling during recessions. The 1980s saw severe cuts in government funding and above-inflation increases in fares,[11] In the early 1990s, the five geographical Regions were replaced by a Sectored organisation, in which passenger services were organised into InterCity, Network SouthEast and Regional Railways sectors.

British Rail 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 goods services sold outright (six companies were set up, but five of these were sold to the same buyer). The government said privatisation would see an improvement in passenger services and satisfaction (according to the National Rail Passenger survey) has indeed gone up from 76% in 1999 (when the survey started) to 83% in 2013 and the number of passengers not satisfied with their journey dropped from 10% to 6%.[12] Since privatisation, passenger levels have more than doubled, and have surpassed their level in the late 1940s. Train fares cost 2.7% more than under British Rail in real terms on average.[13] However, while the price of anytime and off-peak tickets has increased, the price of Advance tickets has dramatically decreased in real terms: the average Advance ticket in 1995 cost £9.14 (in 2014 prices) compared to £5.17 in 2014.[14]

Rail subsidy per passenger journey for the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain

Rail subsidies have increased from £2.7bn in 1992–93 to £3.6bn in 2015–16 (in current prices), although subsidy per journey has fallen from £3.65 per journey to £2.08 per journey.[13][15] However, this masks great regional variation, as in 2014–15 funding varied from "£1.41 per passenger journey in England to £6.51 per journey in Scotland and £8.34 per journey in Wales."[15]

Rail fatalities per billion passenger-km in European countries during 2013.

The public image of rail travel was severely damaged by a series of significant accidents after privatisation. These included the Hatfield accident, caused by a rail fragmenting due to the development of microscopic cracks. Following this, 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 a series of events which resulted in the collapse of the company and its replacement with Network Rail, a state-owned,[16] not-for-profit company. According to the European Railway Agency, in 2013 Britain had the safest railways in Europe based on the number of train safety incidents.[17]

At the end of September 2003, the first part of High Speed 1, a high-speed link to the Channel Tunnel and onward to France and Belgium, was completed, significantly adding to the rail infrastructure of the country. The rest of the link, from north Kent to London St Pancras opened in 2007. A major programme of remedial work on the West Coast Main Line started in 1997 and finished in 2008.[18]

In the 2010s, many upgrades are under way, such as Thameslink, Crossrail, the Northern Hub and electrification of the Great Western Main Line. Electrification plans for the Midland Main Line and the Transpennine line between Manchester and Leeds have been scaled back. Construction of High Speed 2 is underway, with a projected completion date of 2026 for Phase 1 (London to Birmingham) and 2033 for Phase 2.

A poll of 1,500 adults in Britain in June 2018 showed that 64% support renationalising Britain's railways, 19% would oppose renationalisation and 17% did not know.[19]

Railway stations passengers 2018–19. Square areas are proportional to passengers numbers.

Below are the total number of passengers using heavy rail transport in Britain. The numbers are calculated from September to August. (This table does not include Eurostar, Heathrow Express, Heathrow Connect or open access operators such as Grand Central and Hull Trains)

Annual passenger numbers[26]

Year	Passengers	Passenger % change	Journeys[nb 1]	Journeys % change
2004–2005	781,343,720		902,695,324
2005–2006	800,669,217	2.47	920,849,661	2.01
2006–2007	958,095,205	19.66[nb 2]	1,091,288,285	18.51
2007–2008	1,024,602,056	6.94	1,167,233,872	6.96
2008–2009	1,073,753,933	4.80	1,220,145,654	4.53
2009–2010	1,065,386,249	0.78	1,218,715,041	0.12
2010–2011	1,156,896,521	8.59	1,322,426,386	8.51
2011–2012	1,227,960,111	6.14	1,428,575,382	8.03
2012–2013	1,268,979,546	3.34	1,480,120,447	3.61
2013–2014	1,332,561,756	5.00	1,558,753,504	5.31
2014–2015	1,392,535,310	4.50	1,622,975,245	4.12
2015–2016	1,463,777,211	5.12	1,685,933,571	3.88

The following table is according to the Office of Rail and Road and includes open access operators such as Grand Central and Hull Trains.

Annual passenger numbers (millions)[27]

Year	Long distance	London and South East	Regional	Non-franchised operators	Total	Total % change
2002–2003	77.2	679.1	219.2	0	975.5
2003–2004	81.5	690.0	240.2		1,011.7	3.71
2004–2005	83.7	704.5	251.3		1,039.5	2.75
2005–2006	89.5	719.7	267.3		1,076.5	3.56
2006–2007	99.0	769.5	276.5		1,145.0	6.36
2007–2008	103.9	828.4	285.8		1,218.1	6.38
2008–2009	109.4	854.3	302.8		1,266.5	3.97
2009–2010	111.6	842.2	304.0	1.4	1,259.3	0.68
2010–2011	117.9	917.6	318.2	1.8	1,3555.6	7.65
2011–2012	125.3	993.8	340.9	1.5	1,461.5	7.82
2012–2013	127.7	1,032.4	340.9	1.7	1,502.6	2.81
2013–2014	129.0	1,106.9	350.5	1.9	1,588.3	5.70
2014–2015	134.2	1,154.9	364.7	2.1	1,655.8	4.25
2015–2016	138.3	1,202.8	374.2	2.3	1,717.6[28]	3.72
2016–2017	143.5	1,196.8	388.7	2.4	1,731.5	0.80
2017–2018	144.8	1,171.2	389.6	2.4	1,707.9	1.40
2018–2019	146.7.	1,216.9	392.8	2.5	1,759.9	3.0

Façade of London Victoria

There are 2,566 passenger railway stations on the Network Rail network.[4] This does not include the London Underground, nor other systems which are not part of the national network, such as heritage railways. Most date from the Victorian era and a number are in or on the edge of town and city centres. Major stations lie for the most part in large cities, with the largest conurbations (e.g. Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester) typically having more than one main station. London is a major hub of the network, with 12 main-line termini forming a "ring" around central London. 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, Crewe and Ely. Some 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 originally caused stations to be sited further from the towns they served until, with time, these issues could be overcome (for example, Portsmouth had its original station at Gosport).

Overview map of the north–south main lines in Great Britain

A Southeastern Class 395 at St Pancras railway station

High-speed inter-city rail (above 124 mph or 200 km/h) 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 Train (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 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 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.

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 DEMUs (Classes 220, 221 and 222).

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 Class 373 trains. The line was later extended all the way into London St Pancras in 2007.

After the building of the first of a new 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 140 mph) began in December 2009, including a special Olympic Javelin shuttle for the 2012 Summer Olympics. These services are operated by the South Eastern franchise.

For replacement of the domestic fleet of InterCity 125 and 225 trains on the existing national network, the Intercity Express Programme was announced. In 2009 it was announced the preferred rolling stock option for this project was the Hitachi Super Express family of multiple units, and they entered service in 2017 on the Great Western Main Line and 2019 on the East Coast Main Line. The trains will 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 rollout of the Europe-wide European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS).

High Speed 2

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 the route would be a new purpose-built high-speed line connected to High-Speed 1 to the Channel tunnel and from London to the West Midlands, via Heathrow Airport, relieving traffic on the West Coast Main Line (WCML). Conventional high-speed rail technology would be used as opposed to Maglev. The rolling stock would be capable of travelling on the existing Network Rail infrastructure if required, with the route intersecting with the existing WCML and the East Coast Main Line (ECML). A second phase of the project is planned to reach further north to Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds, as well as linking into the Midland Main Line.

High Speed 3

In June 2014, Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne proposed a high-speed rail link High Speed 3 (also known as Northern Powerhouse Rail and High Speed North) between Liverpool and Newcastle/Sheffield/Hull. The line would utilise the existing route between Liverpool and Newcastle/Hull and a new route from to Sheffield will follow the same route to Manchester Victoria and then a new line from Victoria to Sheffield, with additional tunnels and other infrastructure.

In August 2009 the speeds of the fastest trains operating in Great Britain capable of a top speed of over 125 mph were as follows:

In 2011 the fastest timetabled start-to-stop run by a UK domestic train service was the Hull Trains 07.30 King's Cross to Hull, which covered the 125.4 km (78 miles) from Stevenage to Grantham in 42 minutes at an average speed of 179.1 km/h (111.4 mph). This is operated by a Class 180 diesel unit running "under the wires" on this East Coast route. This was matched by several Leeds to London Class 91-operated East Coast trains if their two-minute recovery allowance for this section is excluded from the public timetable.[31]

London Underground S-stock train

A number of towns and cities have rapid transit networks. Underground technology is used in the Glasgow subway, Merseyrail centred on Liverpool, London Underground centred on London, London Overground centred on London, London Docklands Light Railway and the Tyne & Wear Metro centred on Newcastle upon Tyne.

Light rail systems in the form of trams are in Birmingham, Croydon, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield and Edinburgh. These systems use a combination of street running tramways and, where available, reserved right of way or 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 sometimes claim to be 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 and Manchester.

Since privatisation in 1995, the ROSCOs have faced criticism from several quarters – including passenger train operating companies such as GNER, Arriva and FirstGroup – on the basis they are acting as an oligopoly to keep lease prices higher than they would be in a competitive market. In 1998, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott asked Rail Regulator John Swift to investigate the market's operation and make recommendations. Many believed 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 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 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 he expected the ROSCOs to adhere to their letter and spirit. The codes of practice were duly put in place and for the next five years the Rail Regulator received no complaints about ROSCO behaviour.

A Virgin Trains West Coast Class 390 Pendolino train

In July 2004, the DFT's White Paper on the future of the railways contained a statement it was dissatisfied with the operation of the rolling stock leasing market and believed there may have been excessive pricing on the part of the ROSCOs.

In June 2006, Gwyneth Dunwoody, the House of Commons Transport Committee chair, called for an investigation into the companies.[43] Transport commentator Christian Wolmar has asserted 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, they start negotiating with the ROSCOs. The ROSCO will know the TOC's requirements and also knows 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.[44]

On 29 November 2006, following a June 2006 complaint by the DfT alleging excessive pricing by the ROSCOs, the Office of Rail Regulation (as it was then called) announced 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 conducted an investigation and published provisional findings[45] on 7 August 2008. The report was published on 7 April 2009.[46] A press release [47] summarised the recommendations as follows:

• introduce longer franchise terms (in the region of 12 to 15 years or longer), which would allow TOCs to realise the benefits and recover the costs of switching to alternative new or used rolling stock over a longer period, which should increase the incentives and ability for TOCs to exercise choice
• assess the benefits of alternative new or used rolling stock proposals beyond the franchise term and across other franchises when evaluating franchise bids. This will encourage a wider choice of rolling stock to be considered in franchise proposals, irrespective of franchise length
• ensure franchise invitations to tender (ITTs) are specified in such a way franchise bidders are allowed a choice of rolling stock
• requiring the ROSCOs to remove non-discrimination requirements from the Codes of Practice, which would provide greater incentives for the TOCs to seek improved terms from the ROSCOs
• requiring rolling stock lessors to provide TOCs with a set list of information when making a lease rental offer for used rolling stock, which would give TOCs the ability to negotiate more effectively

See also Rolling stock company

Three companies took over British Rail's rolling stock on privatisation:

• Angel Trains – has 4,400 vehicles in the UK owned by AMP Capital Investors, PSP Investments and International Public Partnerships.
• Eversholt Rail Group – owns a fleet of over 4,000 vehicles and is owned by CK Hutchison Holdings and Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings.
• Porterbrook – leases some 3,500 locomotives, trains and freight wagons; owned by a consortium including Alberta Investment Management Corporation, Allianz, Électricité de France and Vantage Infrastructure.

A number of other companies have since entered the leasing market:

• Sovereign Trains – a company that forms part of the same group as the open-access operator Grand Central. Sovereign Trains owned the rolling stock operated by Grand Central. Dissolved after the stock was sold to Angel Trains[48]
• QW Rail Leasing – a joint venture between the National Australia Bank and SMBC Leasing & Finance to provide the EMU rolling stock to London Overground.
• Macquarie European Rail – in April 2009, Lloyds TSB entered the rolling stock market by funding the purchase of 30 new Class 379s for National Express East Anglia. In November 2012, Lloyds sold the company to Macquarie Group.
• Beacon Rail,[49] owns Class 68 and Class 88 locomotives, as well as Class 220 and Class 221 DMUs.[50]
• UK Rail Leasing, owns some Class 56 locomotives
• Rock Rail Limited, owns Class 717 Siemens Desiro EMUs in service on Govia Thameslink Railway's Great Northern routes, Stadler Flirt Class 745 EMUs and Class 755 BMUs entering service on Abellio's Greater Anglia franchise, Bombardier Aventra Class 701 EMUs entering service on FirstGroup and MTR's South Western franchise, Hitachi Intercity BMUs for service on Abellio's East Midlands franchise and Hitachi Intercity EMUs and BMUs for service on First Group and Trenitalia's Avanti West Coast franchise[51]

Spot-hire companies provide short-term leasing of rolling stock.

• MiddlePeak Railways, a locomotive hire & lease company with a stock of locomotives similar to Class 08 & NS 0-6-0 600 Class shunting locomotives, other locomotives, rolling stock & parts.[52][53]
• GL Railease owned by GATX Capital, and Lombard, a subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
• Harry Needle Railroad Company, an industrial and main line locomotive hire and overhaul company. Operates Class 08 shunting locomotives, and Class 20 locomotives.[54]
• Riviera Trains, a spot-hire company with a fleet of Class 47 locomotives. This company works closely with DB Cargo UK.[55]
• West Coast Railways, a spot-hire and railtour-operator with a stock of Class 37 and Class 47 locomotives, as well as the rebuilt Class 57 locomotive.
• Eastern Rail Services, a rolling stock spot hire company, providing leasing and hire, acquisition, parts supply and overhaul and technical advice.

• Office of Rail and Road – Website
• Department for Transport – Website
• UK Notified Bodies – Website

• Railtrack (1996–2002)
• Network Rail (2002–) – Website – (A "not for dividend" company limited by guarantee)

• Institution of Railway Operators – Website
• Rail Delivery Group – 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

The railways are one of the most heavily unionised industrial sectors in the UK.

• Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen – ASLEF – Website
• National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers – RMT – Website
• Transport Salaried Staffs' Association – TSSA – Website

See Passenger transport executive

• Transport for West Midlands – Website
• TfGM (Transport for Greater Manchester) – Website
• Merseytravel – Website
• Metro (West Yorkshire Metro) – Website
• Nexus (Tyne & Wear Passenger Transport Executive) – Website
• Travel South Yorkshire (South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive) – Website
• SPT (Strathclyde Partnership for Transport) – Website
• TfL (Transport for London) – Website

See List of companies operating trains in the United Kingdom.

• GB Railfreight – Website
• DB Cargo UK – Website
• Freightliner – Website
• Direct Rail Services – Website
• Colas Rail – Website
• Devon and Cornwall Railways – Website
• Mendip Rail – Website

• Eurostar – Website
• Grand Central – Website
• Heathrow Express – Website
• Hull Trains – Website
• Venice-Simplon Orient Express (VSOE) – Website