Train operating company

In the railway system of Great Britain, a train operating company (TOC) is a railway undertaking that operates passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993.

There are two types of TOC: most hold franchises let by the Department for Transport (DfT) through a tendering system, to operate services on certain routes for a specified duration, while a small number of open-access operators hold licences to provide supplementary services on chosen routes. These operators can run services for the duration of the licence validity. The franchised operators have changed considerably since privatisation: previous franchises have been divided, merged, re-let to new operators, or renamed. Some privately operated franchises have been taken over by a state-owned operator of last resort, due to failing expectations, or events on the rail system as a whole, or since 2024 the government's intention to bring passenger rail services into state ownership. As of May 2026, all Welsh and Scottish TOCs, with eight in England, are state-owned.

The term is also sometimes used to describe companies operating passenger or freight rail services over tracks owned by another company or a national network owner.