A railway infrastructure manager is "any body or undertaking that is responsible in particular for establishing and maintaining railway infrastructure. This may also include the management of infrastructure control and safety systems. The functions of the infrastructure manager on a network or part of a network may be allocated to different bodies or undertakings" This includes mainly

railway track A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, ...

and

catenary In physics and geometry, a catenary (, ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field. The catenary curve has a U-like shape, superficia ...

, if the railway line is

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...

, and respective command and control systems. It can also include the stations and power supply network. A significant proportion of these companies are state-owned monopolies, responsible for all or most of the railway infrastructure within a given country. In the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

(EU), separation of infrastructure and operation is mandated by law, so train operation is performed by another type of company, a

railway undertaking Rail transport operations are the day-to-day operations of a railway. A railway has two major components: the infrastructure (the permanent way, tracks, stations, freight facilities, viaducts, tunnels, etc.) and the rolling stock (the locomoti ...

which must be provided with non-discriminatory access to any railway path within the EU. Outside the European Union it is possible that the same company is owning the infrastructure and also operating trains and in that case this designation might not make sense. Infrastructure managers charge for the use of its network.

References

{{reflist Railway infrastructure managers