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Smartcards On National Rail
Contactless smartcards are being progressively introduced as an alternative option to paper ticketing on the National Rail system of Great Britain. Tickets for use on National Rail services can be loaded onto any ITSO card. The ITSO standard has been developed to cover all types of public transport. It has been included as a requirement by the Department for Transport for all new rail franchises in the last few years. It is also the format that ENCTS concessionary passes and rail staff passes are issued in. Three train operating companies have launched pay-as-you-go systems where fares are automatically deducted by touching-in-and-out at the start and end of the journey. Branded as keyGo on Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) and Tap2Go on South Western Railway (SWR), they require use of GTR's The Key and SWR's Touch smartcard respectively. Great Western Railway (GWR) also launched a pay-as-you-go system called GWR Touch in August 2022, which required the use of GWR’s Touch sm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways, formally The Chiltern Railway Company Limited, is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains. Chiltern Railways was founded as M40 Trains by a group of ex-British Rail managers backed by John Laing and 3i; in June 1996, it was announced that M40 Trains had been awarded the Chiltern Railways franchise. On 21 July 1996, it took over operations from British Rail. The company promptly commenced the redoubling of the Chiltern Main Line under the ''Evergreen'' initiative and ordered the Class 168 ''Clubman'' diesel multiple units (DMUs) to supplement its ex-British Rail fleet. Following the awarding of a 20-year franchise to Chiltern Railways in August 2000, Evergreen phase 2 works begun to raise line speeds around Beaconsfield, built two new platforms at its London Marylebone terminus. In January 2010, a £250 million upgrade package was agreed fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Midlands Trains
West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trade names: West Midlands Railway (WMR) (within the West Midlands region) and London Northwestern Railway (LNR) (outside the region). West Midlands Trains was created as a consortium of three companies, Abellio, JR East, and Mitsui & Co., which joined to bid for the West Midlands franchise; they were amongst the three bids to be shortlisted in April 2016, and were awarded the franchise during August 2017. In addition to the DfT, it is also accountable to the West Midlands Rail Executive for services that operate wholly within the West Midlands region. On 10 December 2017, West Midlands Trains took over operations from the prior operator, London Midland. As per the original terms of the franchise, West Midlands Trains is expected to continue to operate it until March 2026. During October ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Northwestern Railway
West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trade names: West Midlands Railway (WMR) (within the West Midlands region) and London Northwestern Railway (LNR) (outside the region). West Midlands Trains was created as a consortium of three companies, Abellio, JR East, and Mitsui & Co., which joined to bid for the West Midlands franchise; they were amongst the three bids to be shortlisted in April 2016, and were awarded the franchise during August 2017. In addition to the DfT, it is also accountable to the West Midlands Rail Executive for services that operate wholly within the West Midlands region. On 10 December 2017, West Midlands Trains took over operations from the prior operator, London Midland. As per the original terms of the franchise, West Midlands Trains is expected to continue to operate it until March 2026. During October ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London North Eastern Railway
London North Eastern Railway (LNER) is a British train operating company. It is owned by the DfT OLR Holdings for the Department for Transport (DfT). The company's name echoes that of the London and North Eastern Railway, one of the Big Four companies which operated between 1923 and 1948. During June 2018, LNER took over the InterCity East Coast franchise, after the previous privately owned operator Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC) returned it to the government following sustained financial difficulties. The DfT intended for the company to operate the franchise until a new public–private partnership could be established during 2020. However, in July 2019, it was announced that LNER had been given a direct-award to run these services beyond 28 June 2020, up until 2025, making it the longest franchise on the East Coast Main Line since Great North Eastern Railway (GNER). Early on, the integration of Great Northern services into LNER's operation after the expiration of the T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hull Trains
Hull Trains is an open-access railway operator in England owned by the multinational transport company FirstGroup. It operates long-distance passenger services between Hull / Beverley and London King's Cross. It has a track-access agreement until December 2032. Hull Trains was originally established in 1999 in the aftermath of the privatisation of British Rail in response to the low volume of trains between Hull and London King's Cross operated by the incumbent franchise. Their initial track-access agreement was granted in December 1999, permitting operations to be launched on 25 September 2000. Hull Trains' track-access agreement has been extended multiple times since commencing operations. Ownership was originally divided between an 80 percent stake held by the train operating company (TOC) GB Railways, while the former British Rail managers Mike Jones and John Nelson held the remainder. A majority stake in the company was acquired by FirstGroup in August 2003, leading to i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heathrow Express
Heathrow Express is a high-frequency airport rail link operating between London Heathrow Airport and . Opened in 1998, trains run non-stop, with a journey time of 15 minutes. The service is operated jointly by Great Western Railway and Heathrow Express Operating Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Heathrow Airport Holdings. A slower (but cheaper) journey from Heathrow Airport to central London is provided by the Elizabeth line. History Heathrow Express was planned as a joint venture between the British Airports Authority (BAA) and British Rail, but was taken over fully by the former following the privatisation of British Rail. Construction began in 1993. The principal works were two single-bore tunnels (including eight escape shafts) and underground stations at and Terminal 4. Electrification of the Great Western Main Line (GWML) between Paddington and Airport Junction, where the new line diverged from the GWML, was also required. A flying junction known as ''Stockley Flyo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Northern Route
The Great Northern route (formerly known as Great Northern Electrics) is the name given to suburban rail services run on the southern end of Britain's East Coast Main Line and its associated branches. Services operate to or from and in London. Destinations include , , , and , and in peak hours, additional services run to and . Services run through parts of Greater London, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk. The route forms a major commuter route into London from Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and eastern Bedfordshire: ridership has grown rapidly over recent years. In 2009, rolling stock was transferred from other lines to allow additional services and longer trains to be run. In early 2018, the line was connected to the Thameslink route via a junction just south of the High Speed 1 bridge, north of King's Cross, allowing through services to the south of London. Since September 2014, the services have been operated by Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838 with the initial route completed between London and Bristol in 1841. It was engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who chose a broad gauge of —later slightly widened to —but, from 1854, a series of amalgamations saw it also operate standard-gauge trains; the last broad-gauge services were operated in 1892. The GWR was the only company to keep its identity through the Railways Act 1921, which amalgamated it with the remaining independent railways within its territory, and it was finally merged at the end of 1947 when it was nationalised and became the Western Region of British Railways. The GWR was called by some "God's Wonderful Railway" and by others the "Great Way Round" but it was famed as the "Holi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Central (train Operating Company)
Grand Central is an open-access train operating company in the United Kingdom. Presently a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains, it has operated passenger rail services since December 2007. The company was founded in April 2000 as ''Grand Central Railway Company Ltd''. Three years later, the company applied to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) to operate a two-hourly open-access service from Newcastle via the Caldervale Line and Manchester Victoria to Bolton, which was rejected. In February 2005, Grand Central successfully applied to operate four daily services from Sunderland to London King's Cross and four daily services from Bradford Interchange to London King's Cross. During December 2007, Grand Central launched its first services on the East Coast Main Line, running between Sunderland and London King's Cross. Following the delivery and refurbishment of additional rolling stock, its full timetable was introduced during March 2008. During March 2008, Grand Central suc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greater Anglia (train Operating Company)
Greater Anglia (legal name Abellio East Anglia Limited) is a train operating company in Great Britain owned as a joint venture by Abellio, the international arm of the state-owned Dutch national rail operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen, and the Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co. It operates the East Anglia franchise, providing the commuter and intercity services from its Central London terminus at London Liverpool Street to Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and parts of Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire as well as many regional services throughout the East of England. Abellio began operating the franchise, then known as the Greater Anglia franchise, in February 2012. Initially, it traded under the same name until it rebranded as Abellio Greater Anglia in December 2013. Shortly after taking over operations, the company initiated a series of projects to improve service levels, including the procurement of new trains and the launch of the 'Norwich in 90' programme to reduce travel times ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gatwick Express
Gatwick Express is a high-frequency rail passenger service between , Gatwick Airport, and in South East England. It is the brand name used by the Govia Thameslink Railway train operating company on the Gatwick Express route of the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchise. The service began in May 1984 with air-conditioned InterCity carriages operated by British Rail. When it was privatised in April 1996, National Express took over the franchise. In June 2008, Gatwick Express ceased to exist as a separate franchise, when it was merged into the Southern train operating company, although it continues to be maintained as a separate identity. In July 2015, Southern including the Gatwick Express service was merged into Govia Thameslink Railway. The service was suspended on 30 March 2020, following the drop in passenger numbers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic resuming briefly in December 2021, but was suspended again shortly after following the impact of the Omicron v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
