:''This article is part of a series on the History of rail transport in Great Britain''. GBR rail passengers by year 1830-2015

The period from 1995 covers the history of

rail transport in Great Britain The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest railway system in the world. The first locomotive-hauled public railway opened in 1825, which was followed by an era of rapid expansion. Most of the track is managed by Network Rail, which in ...

following the

privatisation of British Rail The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, it had been completed by 1997. The deregulation of the indust ...

. During this period, passenger volumes have grown rapidly, safety has improved, and subsidies per journey have fallen. However, there is debate as to whether this is due to privatisation or to better government regulation. During this period, High Speed 1 and the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

upgrade were completed and more construction projects are currently under way. In this period the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic occurred which caused a precipitous fall off in rail travel demand. Rail subsidies in the UK from 1985-2016

Overall

rail subsidies Many countries offer subsidies to their railways because of the social and economic benefits that it brings. The economic benefits can greatly assist in funding the rail network. Those countries usually also fund or subsidize road construction, an ...

have risen, as shown in the graph, although spend per journey has decreased. Rail subsidies have increased from £bn in 1992–93 to £bn in 2015–16 (in current prices), although subsidy per journey has fallen from £ to £. However, this masks great regional variation: for instance, 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." Due to the increase in passenger numbers and the prospect of high speed rail both within Great Britain and connecting to Europe, this period has been called the start of a new Golden Age of rail travel. However quickly increasing passenger numbers have meant many trains (as many as 1 in 6 in some places) are very crowded at peak times. Peak-time fares have increased by over 200% (since privatisation) to deter people from travelling at these times,Have train fares gone up or down since British Rail?
,

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 22 January 2013 whereas the price of advance tickets has halved in the same period. The

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

however, caused a massive drop in passenger numbers even though freight transport held up fairly well.

Government policy

Reform under the Labour government (1997–2010)

The

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

government (elected in 1997 after the majority of the privatisation process had been completed) did not completely reverse the railway privatisation of the previous administration. Initially it left the new structure largely in place, however its main innovation in the early years was the creation of the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), initially in shadow form until the

Transport Act 2000 The Transport Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for a number of measures regarding transport in Great Britain; the first major change in the structure of the privatised railway system established under the ...

received

Royal Assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

, as well as the appointment of

Tom Winsor Sir Thomas Philip Winsor (born 7 December 1957) is a British arbitrator and mediator, lawyer, consultant and economic regulatory professional. Between 1 October 2012 and 31 March 2022, he served as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabular ...

Rail Regulator The Rail Regulator was a statutory office, created with effect from 1 December 1993 by section 1 of the Railways Act 1993, for the independent economic regulation of the British railway industry. The office was abolished from 4 July 2004, using ...

, who took a much harder line with the rail industry, and

Railtrack Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from 1994 until 2002. It was created as part of the privatisation of ...

in particular. In the wake of the

Hatfield rail crash The Hatfield rail crash was a railway accident on 17 October 2000, at Hatfield, Hertfordshire. It was caused by a metal fatigue-induced derailment, killing four people and injuring more than 70. The accident exposed major stewardship shortco ...

in 2000, Railtrack entered into financial meltdown and the industry was in deep crisis. Labour refused to continue to bail out Railtrack and the company was put into Railway Administration in 2001 and a new company,

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...

emerged to replace Railtrack in 2002. Since September 2014, Network Rail has been classified as a "government body". The Strategic Rail Authority lasted just five years. Following the passing of the

Railways Act 2005 The Railways Act 2005 (c 14) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning the regulatory structure for railways in the United Kingdom. Overview The bill was introduced and published on 25 November 2004 and received royal as ...

, its business was wound up and its functions transferred to the Department for Transport Rail Group and the Office for Rail Regulation. Further changes followed, which saw the government take back a greater degree of control. Another important development occurred in the aftermath of the

Potters Bar Potters Bar is a town in Hertfordshire, England,in the historic County of Middlesex Hertsmere Borough Council – Community Strategy First Review (PDF) north of central London. In 2011, it had a population of 21,882. In 2022 the population was ...

accident in May 2002 when a commuter train derailed (coincidentally on the same stretch of the East Coast Main Line as Hatfield) due to poorly maintained points. This resulted in Network Rail taking all track maintenance back in-house and the industry went on to enjoy the longest period in modern times without a fatal accident due to industry error. This came to an end in February 2007 when a

Virgin Trains West Coast Virgin Trains (legal name West Coast Trains Limited) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by Virgin Rail Group, a joint venture between Virgin Group and Stagecoach, which operated the InterCity West Coast franchise fro ...

Class 390 ''Pendolino'' derailed near

Grayrigg Grayrigg is a small village and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 223, increasing at the 2011 census to 242. It lies on undulated and partly mountainous land, n ...

in Cumbria, killing one person. The cause of the accident was identical to that in Potters Bar nearly five years earlier – once again calling into question Network Rail's maintenance procedures. In 2007, the government's preferred option was to use diesel trains running on

biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat ( tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil ...

, its

White Paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white pape ...

''Delivering a Sustainable Railway'', ruling out large-scale

Railway electrification in Great Britain Railway electrification in Great Britain began in the late 19th century. A range of voltages has been used, employing both overhead lines and conductor rails. The two most common systems are using overhead lines, and the third rail system us ...

for the following five years. Following

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...

's appointment as Prime Minister in 2007,

Andrew Adonis Andrew Adonis, Baron Adonis, (born Andreas Adonis; 22 February 1963) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and journalist who served in HM Government for five years in the Third Blair ministry, Blair ministry and the Brown mi ...

was appointed Transport Secretary. He immediately began work on plans for a new high-speed route between London and Birmingham (later known as

High Speed 2 High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway line in England, the first phase of which is under construction in stages and due for completion between 2029 and 2033, depending on approval for later stages. The new line will run from its m ...

), which would augment the West Coast Main Line. Adonis also announced plans to electrify the Great Western Main Line from London as far as Swansea, as well as infill electrification schemes in the North West of England to remove diesel traction from certain key routes. Late in 2009, the

InterCity East Coast InterCity East Coast is a railway franchise for passenger trains on the East Coast Main Line in the United Kingdom from London King's Cross to Hull, Leeds, Bradford, Harrogate, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Aberdeen. It was ...

franchise collapsed for the second time in three years when incumbent operator

National Express East Coast National Express East Coast (NXEC) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom, owned by National Express, that operated the InterCity East Coast franchise on the East Coast Main Line between London, Yorkshire, North East England and ...

(NXEC) proved unable to meet its financial obligations. Adonis transferred the franchise to the state-owned

Directly Operated Railways Directly Operated Railways Ltd. (DOR) was a holding company set up by the Department for Transport in the United Kingdom in July 2009 to operate rail franchises should it become necessary to bring them into public ownership. From November 2015, ...

to operate the route under its East Coast subsidiary. In February 2009, the Department for Transport setup a company called Diesel Trains Ltd with the intention of funding and managing the procurement of up to 200 diesel multiple unit vehicles as part of the British Government's planned purchase of as many as 1300 new rail vehicles. It was incorporated following the announcement of the first 200 vehicles in late 2008 as part of the

Pre-Budget Report The Spring Statement of the British Government, also known as the "mini-budget", is one of the two statements HM Treasury makes each year to Parliament upon publication of economic forecasts, the second taking place the previous year as the Autum ...

- the speed of this announcement (the final contract to be signed in April 2009) led the government to take the lead in financing the procurement, through a public company. However, the DfT stated that it did not intend to serve in the long-term as a lessor of rolling stock. As a consequence, the DfT planned to sell Diesel Trains Ltd once the procurement process was completed, either as a whole, or by selling its assets and contracts. Diesel Trains Ltd was to have responsibility for the purchase and distribution of 202 DMU vehicles to three TOCs -

First Great Western Great Western Railway (GWR) is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.First TransPennine Express First TransPennine Express was a British train operating company jointly owned by FirstGroup and Keolis which operated the TransPennine Express franchise. First TransPennine Express ran regular Express regional railway services between the major ...

and

Northern Rail Northern Rail, branded as Northern, was an English train operating company owned by Serco-Abellio that operated the Northern Rail franchise from 2004 until 2016. It was the primary passenger train operator in Northern England, and operated th ...

. The order itself was to encompass a total of 61 trains, with 19 four-car and 42 three-car. Following the announcement in August 2009 that the Great Western Main Line was to be electrified, the order for 202 DMUs was cancelled. After lying dormant for three years, Diesel Trains Ltd was dissolved in July 2012.

Reform under the Coalition government (2010–2015)

After the 2010 General Election, the new

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

led Coalition continued Labour's rail policies largely unaltered after a pause to review the finances. There was continuing support for the

scheme and further developing plans for the route, although great debate still rages over the scheme's benefits and costs. Whilst initially showing scepticism towards the electrification schemes of the Great Western route, they later gave the project its backing and work began formally in 2012. Plans were also mooted to electrify the remainder of the

Midland Main Line The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in England from London to Nottingham and Sheffield in the Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras station via Leicester, Derby/Nottingham and Chesterfield in the East Midlands ...

. In 2012, the franchising system again came under criticism after

FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.InterCity West Coast franchise. Incumbent

Virgin Rail Group Virgin Rail Group was formed by the Virgin Group to bid for rail franchises in the United Kingdom during the privatisation of British Rail in the late 1990s. United Kingdom operations Origins Virgin bid for a number of franchises, inclu ...

initiated a judicial review against the decision, citing the fact that First's bid was even more ambitious than the one which had scuttled National Express East Coast less than three years earlier. Before the review took place however, newly installed Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin scrapped the entire bidding process for the franchise and granted Virgin an extension to its contract when "severe technical flaws" were discovered in the original bidding competition.

The Conservative government (2015–present)

The Government has moved towards allowing more competition on the intercity network through open access operators. In 2015 it approved a service run by

Alliance Rail Holdings Alliance Rail Holdings is a railway company developing plans to operate passenger trains in the United Kingdom through its subsidiaries Great North Western Railway Company Limited (GNWR) and Grand Southern Railway (GSR). Despite various propos ...

to operate between

London Euston Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city rail ...

and Blackpool, and in 2016 it allowed FirstGroup to run open access services on the East Coast Main Line from October 2021 under the operating name

Lumo In chemistry, HOMO and LUMO are types of molecular orbitals. The acronyms stand for ''highest occupied molecular orbital'' and ''lowest unoccupied molecular orbital'', respectively. HOMO and LUMO are sometimes collectively called the ''frontie ...

Fare increases

Much debate continues over annual fare increases, although the government has now pledged to keep regulated rail fare increases at Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation for the remainder of this Parliament. In addition much debate has continued over the financing of various rail schemes driven primarily by the huge cost and time overrun on the GWML route modernisation and electrification scheme. In connection with this, and to coincide with the Chancellor's Autumn statement in November 2015, the Bowe and Hendy reports were produced.

Rail strikes

Since April 2016, the British railway network has been severely disrupted on many occasions by wide-reaching rail strikes, affecting rail franchises across the country. The industrial action began on Southern services as a dispute over the planned introduction of driver-only operation, and has since expanded to cover many different issues affecting the rail industry; as of February 2018, the majority of the industrial action remains unresolved, with further strikes planned. The scale, impact and bitterness of the nationwide rail strikes have been compared to the 1984–85 miners' strike by the media.

Infrastructure projects

In March 2016, the National Infrastructure Commission said that

Crossrail 2 Crossrail 2 is a proposed hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit route in South East England, running from nine stations in Surrey to three in Hertfordshire, providing a new North–South rail link across Greater London. It would connect the ...

should be taken forward "as a priority" and recommended that a bill should pass through Parliament by 2019 and the line should be open by 2033. Crossrail 2 is a north–south railway through London, similar to the east–west railway

Crossrail Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway l ...

which is currently under construction. In July 2017,

Chris Grayling Christopher Stephen Grayling (born 1 April 1962) is a British Conservative Party politician and author who served as Secretary of State for Transport from 2016 to 2019. He has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Epsom and Ewell since 2001. ...

, the secretary of state for transport announced a number of electrification schemes were to be suspended indefinitely citing the disruptive nature of electrification works and the availability of bi-mode technology. The schemes included aspects of the GWML including

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

to Swansea, the

from

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

via

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

and

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

and

Oxenholme Oxenholme is a village in England just south of the town of Kendal, with which it has begun to merge. It is best known for Oxenholme Lake District railway station on the West Coast Main Line. Because Oxenholme does not have its own church it ...

Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in length, and almost 1 mile (1.5 km) at its wides ...

in the Lake District. In February 2018, the five-year plan was published by Network Rail with significant investment though much of this was for renewals and smaller projects rather than major projects. In March 2019 the

Railway Industry Association The Railway Industry Association (RIA) is the main industry trade group for railway equipment manufacturers in the United Kingdom. Eligibility for membership to RIA is simple in that it is open to all UK-based companies in the railway supply in ...

published a paper entitled Electrification Cost Challenge. In July 2019, the Urban Transport Group released a report that showed regional rail travel had experienced a 29% growth in the ten years to 2017/18. On 24 July 2019, Grant Shapps was appointed Secretary of State for Transport under the new Prime Minister

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

. The Transport Select Committee have met on a number of occasions since early 2020 and considered the 'Trains Fit for the Future" ongoing enquiry which was started under the previous session under Lilian Greenwood's chairship. The report, published in March 2021, recommended a rolling programme of electrification and for the DfT to quickly publish a list of “no regret” electrification schemes. It was stated that Network Rail had already supplied a list to the DfT. The TDNS (Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy) Interim Business case was published in September 2020. The main theme was electrification of 13,000 single track kilometres of UK railways. In September 2020, the Government permanently got rid of the rail franchising system. On 20 May 2021, the Government announced and published a white paper that detailed how it would transform the operation of the railways. The rail network will be partly renationalised, with infrastructure and operations brought together under a new company Great British Railways. Operations will be managed on a concessions model. According to the BBC, this represents the largest shake-up in the UK's railways since privatisation. On 18 November 2021, the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) was published. This affected parts of the HS2 programme including curtailing much of the eastern leg but did include full Midland Main Line electrification and upgrades. Also included was a commitment to the Transpennine north railway upgrade to include full electrification. On the back of the IRP, the Union Connectivity Review was also published in November 2021. The Union Connectivity Review was announced on 30 June 2020 by the Prime Minister

. It was stated that Sir Peter Hendy would chair the review. The terms of reference were published 3 October 2020. An interim report was published March 2021. The final report was published on 25 November 2021. In December 2021 The Telegraph newspaper reported in an apparent leak that the treasury had decided not to provide fund further electrification and thus help to decarbonise the railways. The official announcement and confirmation that the

between Kettering and Market Harborough was being electrified and spades would be in the ground starting 24 December 2021 was made on 21 December 2021.

COVID-19 pandemic effect on railways in Great Britain

The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom occurred in this period and caused a catastrophic fall off in the number of passengers using the rail network although freight held up reasonably well. How this will affect the long-term health of the rail industry remains to be seen. Despite the pandemic the Traction Decarbonisation Strategy Interim Business case was published dated 31 July 2020. In addition, Network Rail also published its Environmental sustainability strategy. In direct response to falling passenger numbers and revenues, the

Wales & Borders Wales and Borders was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated the Wales & Borders franchise from October 2001 until December 2003. History In October 1996, the Valley Lines franchise commenced oper ...

operator

Transport for Wales Rail Transport for Wales Rail Limited, branded as Transport for Wales and TfW Rail ( and ), is a Welsh publicly owned train operating company, a subsidiary of Transport for Wales (TfW), a Welsh Government-owned company. It commenced operations of t ...

was put into

public ownership State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownershi ...

by the

Welsh Government , image = , caption = , date_established = , country = Wales , address = , leader_title = First Minister () , appointed = First Minister approved by the Senedd, ceremonially appointed ...

on 7 February 2021.

Infrastructure projects

Completed projects

The British railway system continues to be developed. Contemporary projects include: * The

upgrade (

West Coast Main Line route modernisation The West Coast Main Line is a key strategic railway line in the United Kingdom. It links the cities of London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Preston. Virgin Trains took on the franchise to run train services on the routes in 19 ...

) was a long-term project covering a series of technical aspects. Improvements included the four-tracking (from three) of the Trent Valley (a bypass of the West Midlands), redesigning the layout of several junction/stations e.g. Rugby and other associated work to increase line speed. This culminated in

tilting train A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train (or other vehicle) rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide ab ...

s at 125 mph being extended to Glasgow in 2005. The cost overruns of the programme are infamous - attributed to the wide scope of the programme (the promise to Virgin to build a 140 mph railway which would require

moving block signalling In railway signalling, a moving block is a signalling block system where the blocks are defined in real time by computers as safe zones around each train. This requires both knowledge of the exact location and speed of all trains at any given t ...

) and poor project management by the defunct

England

* High Speed 1, a project to construct a high-speed rail line from London to the British end of the Channel Tunnel, and involving a great deal of complex civil engineering including a bridge over the River Medway, a tunnel under the Thames near Dartford, a 2-mile tunnel through the North Downs, twin tunnels running into central London, a major new railway station extension to

London St Pancras St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a London station group, central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Bor ...

, and a complex redesign and rebuild of the

King's Cross St Pancras tube station King's Cross St Pancras (also known as King's Cross & St Pancras International) is a London Underground station on Euston Road in the Borough of Camden, Central London. It serves King's Cross and main line stations in fare zone 1, and is a ...

. The southern phase 1 of the project opened in September 2003, and northern phase 2 opened in November 2007. * The electrification of both the

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

line and Liverpool to

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...

lines were completed in 2015 and electric Class 319 trains (on the Liverpool to Manchester Airport service) and Class 350s (on the Manchester Airport to Scotland services) have replaced diesel units. The lines between Preston and Blackpool North and also Preston - Manchester have been electrified with completion in 2018. * Electrification of the

Cross-City Line The Cross-City Line is a commuter rail line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs for from Redditch and Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, its two southern termini, to Lichfield, Staffordshire, its northern terminus, via Birmingham New ...

to Bromsgrove has been completed, which allowed electric trains to run from summer 2018. * Trains from the north east to Manchester Airport now use a new section of railway, the £85 million

Ordsall Chord Ordsall Chord, also known as the Castlefield Curve, is a short railway line in Ordsall, Salford, England, which links and Manchester Oxford Road to , designed to increase capacity and reduce journey times into and through Manchester. It allow ...

, between Manchester Victoria and

Manchester Oxford Road Manchester Oxford Road railway station is a railway station in Manchester, England, at the junction of Whitworth Street West and Oxford Street. It opened in 1849 and was rebuilt in 1960. It is the second busiest of the four stations in Manchest ...

to access Manchester Piccadilly and continue to the airport without the need to reverse at Piccadilly and without conflicting movements at the station throat. This has been completed.

Scotland

* The Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine railway, a extension to the network, to the north of the Firth of Forth in Scotland. A

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

for the railway was passed by the Scottish Parliament and received

in August 2004. Work commenced in September 2005, with services running by early 2008. The line re-establishes a railway decommissioned in 1983; the new line provided passenger connections to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, and freight links between the site of

Kincardine power station Kincardine power station was a 760 MW coal-fired power station on the shores of the upper Firth of Forth by Kincardine on Forth, Fife, Scotland. History The station began construction in 1952 and started generating electricity in 1958. At the ...

, now used as a loading point for coal from open-cast sites, to avoid heavy traffic through Kincardine, and

Longannet power station Longannet power station was a large coal-fired power station in Fife, and the last coal-fired power station in Scotland. It was capable of co-firing biomass, natural gas and sludge. The station stood on the north bank of the Firth of Forth, ...

, and the coal terminals at Hunterston Deep Water Port. Longannet power station closed in 2016. The passenger part of the scheme, from

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; educated Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; gd, Alamhagh, possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot wher ...

was in any case secure, and the Scottish Parliament appear to be in favour of passenger services being extended to

Rosyth Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440. The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...

. This could possibly result in passenger stations serving the communities of

Clackmannan Clackmannan ( ; gd, Clach Mhanainn, perhaps meaning "Stone of Manau"), is a small town and civil parish set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated within the Forth Valley, Clackmannan is south-east of Alloa and south of Tillicoultry. ...

, Kincardine, and

Culross Culross (/ˈkurəs/) (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cuileann Ros'', 'holly point or promontory') is a village and former royal burgh, and parish, in Fife, Scotland. According to the 2006 estimate, the village has a population of 395. Originally, Culross ...

or Valleyfield, and through trains once more from Stirling to Dunfermline. * A short extension of the

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

- Motherwell, which once again links

Larkhall Larkhall ( sco, Larkhauch, gd, Taigh na h-Uiseig) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, around southeast of Glasgow. It is twinned with Seclin in northern France. Larkhall sits on high ground between the River Clyde to the East and the ...

to the railway network after 40 years. Larkhall has for some time been the largest town in Scotland without a railway station. The new £35million line follows an existing formation, and services to Larkhall railway station resumed on 12 December 2005. The new section of route is electrified and is served with trains from

Dalmuir Dalmuir (; gd, Dail Mhoire) is an area northwest of Glasgow, Scotland, on the western side of Clydebank, and part of West Dunbartonshire Council Area. The name is a lowland Scots derivation of the Gaelic meaning Big Field. The area was ori ...

, via Glasgow Central Low Level, with connections from other northern suburbs of

such as

Milngavie Milngavie ( ; gd, Muileann-Ghaidh) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland and a suburb of Glasgow. It is on the Allander Water, at the northwestern edge of Greater Glasgow, and about from Glasgow city centre. It neighbours Bearsden. Mi ...

. * The Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link was completed in December 2010. The Airdrie-Bathgate project was quite extensive insofar as it included double track electrification, the present remnant of the line from just outside Edinburgh to Bathgate having been largely singled some time ago. * The

Glasgow Airport Rail Link The Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) is a proposed link between Glasgow City Centre and Glasgow Airport. The original plans for an airport rail link were proposed during the 2000s to directly link Glasgow Central station with Glasgow Airport i ...

was given the go-ahead by the Scottish Parliament in December 2006 but the project was scrapped by the new SNP minority government in September 2009. A new spur was to be built onto the existing

Inverclyde Inverclyde ( sco, Inerclyde, gd, Inbhir Chluaidh, , "mouth of the Clyde") is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the hist ...

route. An element of the project that did go ahead was upgrading the Glasgow Central - Paisley line to triple track to increase capacity on the Ayrshire and Inverclyde routes. This work was completed in 2012. * A section of the

Waverley Route The Waverley Route was a railway line that ran south from Edinburgh, through Midlothian and the Scottish Borders, to Carlisle. The line was built by the North British Railway; the stretch from Edinburgh to Hawick opened in 1849 and the remaind ...

from

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

Tweedbank Tweedbank is a large village south-east of Galashiels in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It is part of the county of Roxburghshire. It is an outer suburb or satellite development of Galashiels, on the other (eastern) side of the River Tweed. T ...

in the Scottish Borders has been rebuilt after approval by the Scottish Parliament, which reopened on 6 September 2015. This project, also known as the

Borders Railway The Borders Railway connects the city of Edinburgh with Galashiels and Tweedbank in the Scottish Borders. The railway follows most of the alignment of the northern part of the Waverley Route, a former double-track line in southern Scotland ...

, restored rail services to communities which have lacked access to the National Rail network since the

Beeching cuts The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the M ...

. ** The

Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme The Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme or EGIP was an initiative funded by Transport Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government to increase capacity on the main railway line between Edinburgh and Glasgow, with new, longer electric train ...

or "EGIP" was an initiative started by the Scottish Government to upgrade the main railway line between Edinburgh and Glasgow via Falkirk High. The route via Shotts was then to follow. It was expected to cost around £650 million. In May 2017, a further delay was announced due to a safety critical component on the via Falkirk High route needing to be replaced. * The line between

Glasgow Queen Street railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = Queen Street railway station (geograph 6687389).jpg , caption = Main entrance in 2020 , borough = Glasgow , country = Scotland , coordinates = , grid_name = Grid reference , grid_posit ...

and

Edinburgh Waverley railway station Edinburgh Waverley railway station (also known simply as Waverley; gd, Waverley Dhùn Èideann) is the principal railway station serving Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the second busiest station in Scotland, after Glasgow Central. It is the north ...

via Falkirk High railway station was electrified and electric trains started running in December 2017. * The rolling programme of electrification in Scotland saw lines from Edinburgh and Glasgow electrified to Stirling, Dunblane and Alloa. * The Edinburgh to Glasgow Central line via Shotts was completed on time and on budget.

Wales

* The Welsh Assembly Government re-opened the Vale of Glamorgan Line between Barry and Bridgend in 2005 and the Ebbw Valley Railway between Ebbw Vale Parkway and Cardiff Central in 2008. An extension of the line to Ebbw Vale Town opened in 2015.

Current developments

(HS2) is a planned

high-speed railway High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, line ...

which will initially link the cities of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, followed by further extension to North West England and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

. Construction of the first phase of HS2 began in 2017 with a planned opening date of 2026, while completion of the entire network is expected in 2033. Phase One of HS2 will run between

and the proposed new Birmingham Curzon Street station. Phase two will create two branches: a western leg to Manchester Piccadilly, and an eastern leg to the proposed Leeds New Lane station via the

East Midlands Hub East Midlands Hub was a planned new railway station on the Leeds Branch of High Speed 2. It was intended to be located on the existing railway sidings in Toton, situated between Nottingham and Derby. The station would have been located adjace ...

(serving

and Leicester) and

Meadowhall Interchange Meadowhall Interchange is a transport interchange located in north-east Sheffield, consisting of a combined heavy rail station, tram stop and bus and coach station. The second-busiest heavy rail station in the city in terms of passenger numb ...

(serving

). Phase 2A from

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

to Crewe received Royal Assent on 11 February 2021. * The

Thameslink Programme The Thameslink Programme, originally Thameslink 2000, was a £6billion project in south-east England to upgrade and expand the Thameslink rail network to provide new and longer trains between a wider range of stations to the north and to the ...

started in 2009 and is expected to be completed in December 2019. The project includes the lengthening of platforms, station remodelling, new railway infrastructure (e.g. viaducts) and additional rolling stock, which will allow

Govia Thameslink Railway Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is a train operating company that operates the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) rail franchise in England. Within the franchise, GTR runs the Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Gatwick Expr ...

to expand their Thameslink services further north and south. *The

Northern Hub The Northern Hub was a rail upgrade programme between 2009 and 2020 in Northern England to improve and increase train services and reduce journey times between its major cities and towns, by electrifying lines and removing a major rail bottlenec ...

is a rail project across

Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

aimed at stimulating economic growth by increasing train services, reducing journey times and electrifying lines between the major cities and towns in the north. The project was announced as the Manchester Hub, entailing a series of upgrades to cut journey times between cities in Northern England by alleviating rail bottlenecks around Manchester. Central to the project is the resolution of rail bottlenecks around

Manchester city centre Manchester City Centre is the central business district of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England situated within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way which collectively form an inner ring road. ...

allowing more capacity and faster journey times between the northern cities. The construction of two through platforms at Piccadilly will allow an increase to 14 trains per hour from 10. Manchester Victoria station is being modernised to become the east–west rail interchange in northern England. Services from

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

and beyond will be diverted from the Cheshire Lines route via Warrington Central and Manchester Piccadilly to the electrified line via Newton-le-Willows and Manchester Victoria. *On the Great Western Main Line, Network Rail plans to spend £5 billion on modernising the GWML and its South Wales branch plus other associated lines like the North Cotswolds which was completed in 2011. The modernisation plans were announced at separate times but their development time-scales overlap each other to represent a comprehensive modernisation plan for the Great Western and its associated lines during the second decade of the 21st century. The modernisation includes:

electrification 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 histor ...

, resignalling, new

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can ...

and station upgrades. According to Network Rail, the modernisation started in June 2010 and will end in 2017. On 8 November 2016 the government announced that several elements of the Great Western Main Line electrification programme would be indefinitely deferred due to cost overruns and delays. This was confirmed by Chris Grayling in July 2017 stating specifically Cardiff -Swansea electrification was cancelled and bi-mode availability made this possible without disruptive electrification works. *

is a railway line under construction in London and its environs. It is expected to begin full operation in 2021 with a new east–west route across Greater London. Work began in 2009 on the central section of the line—a new tunnel through central London—and connections to existing lines that will become part of Crossrail. Crossrail's aim is to provide a high-frequency commuter/suburban passenger service that will link parts of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, via central London, to

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

and South East London. * Scotland ** Scotland has committed to a rolling programme of electrification to decarbonise the network by 2045 but with an even more aggressive target for decarbonisation of the passenger network by 2035. The first announced project is the electrification of the route to

Barrhead Barrhead ( sco, Baurheid, gd, Ceann a' Bharra) is a town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, southwest of Glasgow city centre on the edge of the Gleniffer Braes. At the 2011 census its population was 17,268. History Barrhead was formed when ...

and

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...

. As well as electrification, double tracking from Busby to East Kilbride is planned as well as lengthening platforms at existing stations. Part of the project scope includes relocating

Hairmyres Hairmyres is an area of East Kilbride in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, situated on the west side of the town, close to the main road to Eaglesham and Kilmarnock (also with access to the major A726 Queensway/Glasgow South Orbital dual carriagewa ...

station and a complete rebuild of East Kilbride station. ** Scotland has also published a plan and split it into components identified as: in delivery, in development or under active consideration. As of 2021 projects in delivery include improvements to

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Station and other renewals in the

Carstairs Carstairs (, Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteal Tarrais'') is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Carstairs is located east of the county town of Lanark and the West Coast Main Line runs through the village. The village is served by Carstairs r ...

area and also Motherwell. The electrification to East Kilbride is also included in this category. The branch line to Levenmouth is being reopened but the electrification work is to enable

Battery electric multiple unit A battery electric multiple unit (BEMU), battery electric railcar or accumulator railcar is an electrically driven multiple unit or railcar whose energy is derived from rechargeable batteries driving the traction motors. Prime advantages of these ...

operation rather than full electrification. In 2021 projects considered in development are mainly those that support the decarbonisation agenda. New electrification will require new 25kV Grid Feeders and upgrading existing ones to handle the increased electrical load. Partial electrification of the

are included here along with

and

Haymarket Haymarket may refer to: Places Australia * Haymarket, New South Wales, area of Sydney, Australia Germany * Heumarkt (KVB), transport interchange in Cologne on the site of the Heumarkt (literally: hay market) Russia * Sennaya Square (''Hay Squ ...

Dalmeny Dalmeny ( gd, Dùn Mheinidh, IPA: �t̪uːnˈvenɪʝ is a village and civil parish in Scotland. It is located on the south side of the Firth of Forth, southeast of South Queensferry and west of Edinburgh city centre. It lies within the tradit ...

and

Leven Leven may refer to: People * Leven (name), list of people with the name Nobility * Earl of Leven a title in the Peerage of Scotland Placenames * Leven, Fife Leven ( gd, Inbhir Lìobhann) is a seaside town in Fife, set in the east Central ...

. Projects classed as under active consideration again are almost exclusively those supporting the decarbonisation agenda and include most if not all future phases of decarbonisation plan. All of Scotland's seven cities are included and thus include improvements and electrification the routes out of

including to the

Central Belt The Central Belt of Scotland is the Demography of Scotland, area of highest population density within Scotland. Depending on the definition used, it has a population of between 2.4 and 4.2 million (the country's total was around 5.4 million in ...

and Inverness. The

Highland Main Line The Highland Main Line is a railway line in Scotland. It is long and runs through the Scottish Highlands linking a series of small towns and villages with Perth at one end and Inverness at the other. Today, services between Inverness and Edi ...

from

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

to Inverness is also included in the plan. This obviously requires continuation of the previous scheme from

Dunblane Dunblane (, gd, Dùn Bhlàthain) is a small town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links ...

and

. So Dunblane to Hilton junction and

along with all the other necessary infrastructure improvements such as route clearance are part of the infrastructure upgrade plan. The

Fife Circle The Fife Circle Line is the local rail service north from Edinburgh. It links towns of south Fife and the coastal towns along the Firth of Forth before heading to Edinburgh. Operationally, the service is not strictly a circle route, but, rather ...

line and extensions to Longannet and Dundee and

are all part of this. Electrification in Ayrshire and south west of

are under active consideration too. * Wales ** The Welsh Assembly Government proposes to extend the Ebbw Valley line between Ebbw Vale and Cardiff into Newport in the future. The Assembly Government is also looking into opening the Hirwaun to Aberdare route in the Cynon Valley. In addition to further progress on the

South Wales Metro The South Wales Metro () is an integrated heavy rail, light rail and bus-based public transport services and systems network in South East Wales around the hub of . The first phase was approved for development in October 2013. Works are current ...

, and

North Wales Metro The North Wales Metro (; originally the North East Wales Metro; ) is a rail and bus transport improvement programme in north Wales. Styled as a "Metro", it is conceptually a multi-modal system with a combination of bus, heavy rail, and light rail ...

Timeline of improvements

2015

*May: The

Todmorden Curve The Calder Valley line (also previously known as the Caldervale line) is a railway route in Northern England between the cities of Leeds and Manchester as well as the seaside resort of Blackpool. It is the slower of the two main rail routes ...

reopened, allowing direct trains to operate between

and east Lancashire. The Curve had been closed in 1965 with the tracks lifted in 1972. *December: Apperley Bridge station reopened, after being closed in 1965. It is the first of two stations between

and Shipley in West Yorkshire to be reopened.

2016

* February: The first of 27 Class 387/2 ''Electrostar'' units were introduced on the

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, ...

route between

London Victoria Victoria station, also known as London Victoria, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Victoria, in the City of Westminster, managed by Network Rail. Named after the nearby Victoria Street (not the Q ...

and

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...

, replacing the Class 442s. * March: The Norton Bridge flyover on the

was brought into use. * June: The first of 115 Class 700 ''Desiro City'' units entered service on

Thameslink Thameslink is a 24-hour main-line route in the British railway system, running from , , , and via central London to Sutton, , , Rainham, , , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying ...

. * June: Kirkstall Forge station opened. * July: The new Bromsgrove station opened. * December: The westernmost segment of the western section of

East West Rail East West Rail is a major project to establish a strategic railway connecting East Anglia with Central, Southern and Western England. In particular, it plans to build (or rebuild) a line linking Oxford and Cambridge via Bicester, Milton Keyn ...

opened, extending the line from

Oxford Parkway Oxford Parkway railway station is a railway station at Water Eaton, Oxfordshire, on the Oxford–Bicester line. Full regular weekday service began on Monday 26 October 2015, although the first passengers travelled the previous day on a Sunday t ...

to Oxford, and thus establishing a new Oxford-Marylebone service via .

2017

* April: Ilkeston station in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, served by trains between Nottingham and Leeds, opened and Low Moor station on the

Caldervale line The Calder Valley line (also previously known as the Caldervale line) is a railway route in Northern England between the cities of Leeds and Manchester as well as the seaside resort of Blackpool. It is the slower of the two main rail rou ...

between Bradford and Halifax reopened after being closed in 1965. * April: Redoubling of track from Rossett to Chester on the

Shrewsbury to Chester Line Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

was completed. * May: Cambridge North station opened. * May: Electric 387 trains started running between London Paddington and Maidenhead following completion of electrification work. * June: The first of 66 Class 345 ''Aventra'' units entered service on

. These replaced the 44

TfL Rail TfL Rail was the concession which operated commuter services on two separate railway lines in London, England and its environs whilst the Crossrail construction project linking these lines was underway. On 24 May 2022, upon the opening of th ...

Class 315 units that previously operated this service. * August: The first of 30 Class 707 ''Desiro City'' units entered service with

South West Trains Stagecoach South Western Trains Limited, trading as South West Trains (SWT), was an English train operating company owned by Stagecoach, which operated the South Western franchise between February 1996 and August 2017. SWT operated the majorit ...

. * October: The first Class 800 ''Intercity Express'' trains were introduced on the Great Western Main Line. * December: The

opened to passenger traffic. * December: As part of the

, the first electric trains ran from Edinburgh to Glasgow via Falkirk High.

2018

* January: The line from Preston to Blackpool South including Kirkham and Wesham reopened on time with completely new signaling. * January: Electric trains started running between Paddington and Didcot following completion of electrification work on this section of the Great Western Main Line. * January: Infrastructure work on the Thameslink project allows 20 trains per hour between Blackfriars and St Pancras. * January: The first passenger train ran on the completed Bermondsey dive-under. * April: Kenilworth station opened on the line between Leamington Spa and Coventry. * May: The first electric trains ran between Preston and Blackpool North. * May: Services between

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

and

Heathrow Terminal 4 Heathrow Terminal 4 is an airport terminal An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from an aircraft. Within the ter ...

as well as Heathrow Central and Heathrow Terminal 4 transferred from

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 ...

. * May: Resignalling on the

Halton Curve Halton Curve (now formally known as the Frodsham Single Line) is a short bi-directional railway line which links the Chester–Warrington line to the Weaver Junction–Liverpool line within the borough of Halton, Cheshire. The route, which is ...

that allows trains to travel in both directions (previously trains could only travel on the line in a northbound direction) from Chester to

Liverpool Lime Street Liverpool Lime Street is a terminus railway station and the main station serving the city centre of Liverpool. Opened in August 1836, it is the oldest still-operating grand terminus mainline station in the world. A branch of the West Coast ...

(via Runcorn) was completed, allowing trains to run from May 2019. * May: Electrification of the

to Bromsgrove was completed, allowing electric trains to run in July 2018. * June: Maghull North station opened on

Merseyrail Merseyrail is a Urban rail in the United Kingdom, commuter rail network serving the Liverpool City Region and adjacent areas of Cheshire and Lancashire. Merseyrail operates 66 railway stations across two lines – the Northern Line (Merseyrail ...

's Northern line. * July:

Class 385 The British Rail Class 385 ''AT200'' is a type of electric multiple unit built by Hitachi Rail for Abellio ScotRail. A total of 70 units have been built, divided into 46 three-car and 24 four-car sets. Based on the design of the Hitachi A-train, ...

electric trains started running on the Edinburgh to Glasgow route. * August: Class 802 trains entered service with Great Western Railway on certain GWR routes, mainly from London Paddington via Newbury/Exeter St. David's to Plymouth/Penzance. * August: Mark 5A coaches hauled by Class 68 locomotives began testing on the mainline prior to their introduction with

TransPennine Express TransPennine Express (TPE), legally First TransPennine Express Limited, is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the TransPennine Express franchise. It runs regional and inter-city rail services between the major ci ...

. * September:

Great Northern Great Northern may refer to: Transport * One of a number of railways; see Great Northern Railway (disambiguation). * Great Northern Railway (U.S.), a defunct American transcontinental railroad and major predecessor of the BNSF Railway. * Great ...

started introducing Class 717 trains on services to and from

Moorgate Moorgate was one of the City of London's northern gates in its defensive wall, the last to be built. The gate took its name from the Moorfields, an area of marshy land that lay immediately north of the wall. The gate was demolished in 1762, bu ...

. * December: Electric trains started running on the Stirling-Dunblane-Alloa line. * December: Four-tracking of the Great Western Main Line at

Filton Bank Filton Bank is the name given to a section of the Bristol to Birmingham line in Bristol, England, roughly between and stations. Description The line runs from Dr Days Junction where the Great Western Main Line branches off from the Brist ...

between Dr Days Junction and Filton Abbey Wood was completed. * December: Manchester to Preston electrification was completed and

Virgin Pendolino The British Rail Class 390 ''Pendolino'' is a type of electric high-speed passenger train operated by Avanti West Coast in the United Kingdom, leased from Angel Trains. They are electric multiple units using Fiat Ferroviaria's tilting train ...

test trains ran.

2019

* April: Electrification of the

Shotts Line The Shotts Line is a suburban railway line linking and via in Scotland. It is one of the four rail links between the two cities. Between Glasgow Central and , the line is shared with the West Coast Main Line (WCML), before branching off tow ...

between Edinburgh and Glasgow was completed, allowing electric trains to run from May. * April: Vivarail Class 230 units started operating on the Marston Vale line for

West Midlands 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 ...

. * April:

Mark 5 Mark 5 is the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Taken with the calming of the sea in , there are "four striking works hichfollow each other without a break": an exorcism, a healing, and the raisin ...

coaches entered service on the

Caledonian Sleeper ''Caledonian Sleeper'' is the collective name for overnight sleeper train services between London and Scotland, in the United Kingdom. It is one of only two currently operating sleeper services on the railway in the United Kingdom, the other b ...

. * May: Electric trains started running on the

Chase Line The Chase Line is a suburban railway line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs from its southern terminus, Birmingham New Street, to Walsall, and then Rugeley in Staffordshire, where it joins the Trent Valley Line. The name of the li ...

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

. * May: Class 710 ''Aventra'' units entered service for

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...

on the

Lea Valley Lines The Lea Valley lines are two commuter lines and two branches in north-east London, so named because they run along the Lower Lea Valley of the River Lea. They were part of the Great Eastern Railway, now part of the ''Anglia Route'' of Network ...

, Gospel Oak to Barking Line,

Watford DC Line The Watford DC line is a suburban line from London Euston to Watford Junction in Watford, Hertfordshire. Its services are operated by London Overground. The line runs beside the West Coast Main Line (WCML) for most of its length. The London ...

and the

Romford to Upminster Line Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romfor ...

. * May: The first Class 800 ''Super Express'' trains were introduced on the East Coast Main Line. * June: Refurbished Class 442 units entered service with South Western Railway on London Waterloo to Portsmouth/Southampton services. * July: The first Class 195 ''Civity'' and Class 331 ''Civity'' units started running services on

Arriva Rail North Arriva Rail North, branded as Northern by Arriva (legal name Arriva Rail North Limited) was a train operating company in Northern England which began operating the Northern franchise on 1 April 2016 and inherited units from the previous operato ...

's network. * July: Greater Anglia started their complete fleet replacement by introducing their first Class 755 units. * September: Class 801 units made their debut for London North Eastern Railway on London to Leeds services. * November: The first of twelve 5-car

Class 397 The British Rail Class 397 '' Civity'' is a class of electric multiple unit built by Spanish rolling stock manufacturer CAF for lease to TransPennine Express by Eversholt Rail Group. A total of twelve five-car units were built to operate serv ...

''Civity'' trains entered service for

. * December: Services between Paddington and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

transferred from Great Western Railway to Crossrail. *December:

Robroyston Robroyston ( gd, Baile Raibeart Ruadh) is a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, located around 3 miles (5 km) north-east of the Glasgow city centre, city centre. To the north, it directly adjoins Auchinairn (part of Bishopbriggs) in the neighbour ...

and Warrington West stations open with the December timetable change. * December: All of the '' Pacer'' ( Class 142, Class 143 and

Class 144 The British Rail Class 144 ''Pacer'' was a diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger train built at Derby between 1986 and 1987. BR, seeking to procure improved derivatives of the earlier Class 141, placed an order with the manufacturers British R ...

) units were to be withdrawn from service by the end of December 2019 unless they receive modifications to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act of 2005. However, it has been confirmed that some will remain in service past the December 2019 deadline. * December: The

is scheduled for completion, allowing for 24 trains per hour between Blackfriars and St Pancras. * December: Class 387s specially converted for use on the route will enter service for

2020

* January: The first Class 745 trains began operating for Greater Anglia. * January: The first electric trains ran on the Great Western Main Line to Cardiff. * February:

Worcestershire Parkway railway station Worcestershire Parkway is a split-level railway station where the Cotswold and Cross Country lines cross near Norton, Worcester, England. It opened on 23 February 2020. Purpose The Cross Country Route from Birmingham to Cardiff, Bristol a ...

opened. * November: Greater Anglia introduced the Class 720 into service.

2021

* January: Electrification of the

to Corby is completed. *May:

Class 769 The British Rail Class 769 ''Flex'' is a type of bi-mode multiple unit (BMU) and tri-mode multiple unit (TMU) which is currently being converted by Brush Traction, and running in service with Transport for Wales Rail and Northern Trains. The t ...

bi-mode units converted from electric Class 319 trains were introduced into service with Northern. *May: The final Pacer unit (a Class 143) ran its final service for

Transport for Wales Transport for Wales (TfW; cy, Trafnidiaeth Cymru; cy, TrC, label=none) is a not-for-profit company owned by the Welsh Government and managed at arms length by its appointed board. TfW oversees the Transport for Wales Group (TfW Group) consi ...

. *October: Open access operator

started running services on the ECML.VTEC and FirstGroup granted East Coast Main Line paths
'' Railway Gazette International'' 12 May 2016 * December: Kettering to Market Harborough electrification officially announced and starts. * December: Work starts on Bolton (Lostock) to Wigan upgrade and electrification. *December:

Soham railway station Soham railway station is a station on the Ipswich–Ely line, serving the town of Soham in Cambridgeshire. The original station operated between 1879 and 1965. It was reopened in 2021. History Soham station originally opened on 1 September 187 ...

reopened.

2022

* May: The central section of

(

Abbey Wood Abbey Wood is an area in south east London, England, straddling the border between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Charing Cross. Toponymy The area takes its name from Lesnes Abbey Woo ...

) opened. * July: Barking Riverside station opened on the Gospel Oak to Barking line * October:

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 ...

started introducing their new fleet of Class 196 trains. * November: CAF Class 197 Civity DMUs began entering service with

. * South Western Railway start introducing their new Class 701 trains. *

start introducing the first of 52 new four-car Class 777 trains to replace the three-car Class 507 and Class 508 trains they currently operate. *

c2c Trenitalia c2c Limited,Companies House extract company no 789726 ...

start introducing their new fleet of six 10-car Bombardier Class 720 trains. * Stadler Class 398 Citylink tram-trains and Class 231 & Class 756 Flirt trains are due to begin operating with

. * Brent Cross West station is due to open on the Thameslink route in North London.

2023

Avanti West Coast Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that operates the West Coast Partnership franchise. During November 2016, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced the Inter ...

will begin introducing their new fleet of Class 805 & Class 807 units. * Class 810 units will come into service for East Midlands Railway. * New stations are planned to open at

Willenhall Willenhall is a market town situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands, England, with a population taken at the 2011 census of 28,480. It is situated between Wolverhampton and Walsall, historically in the county of ...

and

Darlaston Darlaston is an industrial town in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in the West Midlands of England. It is located near Wednesbury and Willenhall. Topography Darlaston is situated between Wednesbury and Walsall in the valley of the Riv ...

introduce the first Class 730 trains

2024

* Services due to start running on the western section of the

from Oxford to Bletchley. *

ETCS The European Train Control System (ETCS) is the signalling and control component of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS). It is a replacement for legacy train protection systems and designed to replace the many incompatible s ...

signalling will be installed on the ECML between London and Peterborough. * Bolton (Lostock) to Wigan electrification scheduled for completion.

Present locomotives and rolling stock

Diesel locomotives

* BR Class 73 is an electro-diesel locomotive which allows electrified and non electrified route workings.

Electric locomotives

^a BR Class 73 and 88 are electro-diesel locomotives which allow both electrified and non electrified route workings.

Diesel multiple units

AC electric multiple units

Dual AC/DC electric multiple units

DC electric multiple units

Bi-mode diesel/electric multiple units

Coaches

'' Details of withdrawn locomotives and rolling stock: See article Withdrawn British Rail stock ''

Government policy

Reform under the Labour government (1997–2010)

Reform under the Coalition government (2010–2015)

The Conservative government (2015–present)

Fare increases

Rail strikes

Infrastructure projects

COVID-19 pandemic effect on railways in Great Britain

Infrastructure projects

Completed projects

England

Scotland

Wales

Current developments

Timeline of improvements

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

Present locomotives and rolling stock

Diesel locomotives

Electric locomotives

Diesel multiple units

AC electric multiple units

Dual AC/DC electric multiple units

DC electric multiple units

Bi-mode diesel/electric multiple units

Coaches

Future rolling stock

See also

References

Further reading