There are many companies operating trains in the United Kingdom, including the operators of
franchised passenger services, officially referred to as
train operating companies
A train operating company (TOC) is a business operating passenger trains on the railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993.
The ...
(TOCs), as distinct from freight operating companies.
Passenger operators in Great Britain
There are also a number of
light rail systems.
Defunct operating companies
Operating companies have ceased to exist for various reasons, including withdrawal of the franchise, the term of the franchise has expired, bankruptcy or merger.
Passenger operators in Northern Ireland
In
Northern Ireland, passenger trains are NI/Ireland government-owned by
Translink or the
National Transport Authority. The following brands are used:
*
Northern Ireland Railways
*
Iarnród Éireann
Iarnród Éireann () or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal InterCity, Commuter, DART and fr ...
, who operates the
Enterprise service from
Dublin Connolly to
Belfast Lanyon Place on the
Belfast-Dublin line with
Northern Ireland Railways and also 2
Northern Commuter services a day to/from
Newry.
UK Railtour operators
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Compass Tours
*
DPS Railtours
*Pathfinder Tours
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Scottish Railway Preservation Society
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Venice-Simplon Orient Express
The ''Venice Simplon-Orient-Express'' (VSOE) is a private luxury train service from London to Venice and other European cities. It is currently owned by Belmond, which operates 45 luxury hotels, restaurants, tourist trains and river cruises in ...
(''British Pullman'' and ''Northern Belle'' services)
*
Vintage Trains
*
West Coast Railways
*
Locomotive Services Limited
Luxury railtours
*Belmond ''Grand Hibernian'' (From August 2016)
*Steam Dreams (''Emerald Isle Explorer'')
In Northern Ireland
*Enthusiast railtours
*
Railway Preservation Society of Ireland
*Irish Railway Record Society
*The Modern Railway Society of Ireland
Freight operators
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Colas Rail
*
DCRail
*
Direct Rail Services
*
DB Cargo UK (formerly English Welsh & Scottish Railway)
*
Freightliner
*
GB Railfreight
*
Mendip Rail
Franchised passenger operator structure in Great Britain
See also
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Passenger rail franchising in Great Britain (for detailed information about the history of each franchise)
References
{{reflist, 30em
External links
List of Train Operating Companies on the National Rail websiteMap of Train Operating Companies on the National Rail websiteBarry Doe's colour-coded map showing operator(s) on each route (Large PDF)
Companies operating trains in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
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