{{Short description|Companies operating National Rail passenger services in Great Britain}} {{Use British English|date=September 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2025}}
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 government-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 public ownership. {{As of|2026|5}}, all Welsh and Scottish TOCs, with eight in England, are government-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.
==Management== Franchises were initially let by the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising (OPRAF). This was in turn replaced by the Strategic Rail Authority, which has since been abolished. For England, franchising is now the responsibility of the Department for Transport in the majority of cases. In Scotland, it is the responsibility of Transport Scotland. In Wales, since 2017, the responsibility for the specification and procurement of the Wales & Borders franchise belongs to Transport for Wales.<ref>{{cite web|last=Champion|first=Joseph|date=July 2016|title=Research Briefing Rail Franchising in Wales|url=https://senedd.wales/Research%20Documents/16-043%20Rail%20Franchising%20in%20Wales/16-043-Web-English.pdf|website=Senedd.wales|publisher=National Assembly for Wales Research Service}}</ref> In two parts of England, local government agencies are responsible: in Merseyside, the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive lets the Merseyrail franchise, while in London, Transport for London (TfL) oversees the new London Overground and Elizabeth line concessions.{{efn|London Underground, a wholly owned subsidiary of TfL, operates trains nearly all on its own network serving mostly its own stations. It is not a Train Operating Company by the definition here.}}
The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) (formerly the Association of Train Operating Companies) provides a commonality for the TOCs and provides some centralised co-ordination. Its activities include the provision of a national timetable and online journey planner facility, and the operation of the various Railcard discount schemes. Eurostar is also a member of the RDG, though it is not itself a TOC.
==Organisation== For historical and geographical reasons the railway network of the United Kingdom is split into two independent systems: one in Great Britain (including the Isle of Wight) and one in Northern Ireland, which is closely linked to the railway system of the Republic of Ireland.
=== Great Britain === In Great Britain, passenger train services are operated by a number of companies, referred to as ''Train Operating Companies'' or TOCs, normally on the basis of regional franchises awarded by the DfT Rail Group. Until 2005 this role was performed by the Strategic Rail Authority. The infrastructure of the railways in England, Scotland, and Wales – including tracks and signalling – is owned and operated not by the train companies but by Network Rail, which took over responsibility from Railtrack in 2002. Most passenger trains are owned by a small number of rolling stock companies (ROSCO) and are leased to the individual TOCs. However, a handful of TOCs own and maintain some of their own rolling stock. Train operating companies also operate most of the network's railway stations, in their role as Station Facility Owners (SFO), in which they lease the buildings and associated land from Network Rail.<ref>[http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/rus%20documents/route%20utilisation%20strategies/network/working%20group%202%20-%20stations/investmentinstations.pdf Investment in stations: a guide for promoters and developers] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401052346/http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/rus%20documents/route%20utilisation%20strategies/network/working%20group%202%20-%20stations/investmentinstations.pdf |date=1 April 2015}}, Network Rail, May 2011</ref> Network Rail manages some major railway stations and several stations are operated by London Underground or other companies.
Most passenger TOCs in Great Britain are privately owned. The majority of these hold franchises to operate rail services on specific parts of the railway and come under the auspices of the National Rail brand. In addition, companies are able to bid for ''paths''{{efn|Paths are specific train slots in the National Rail timetable.}} to operate their own services, which the franchises do not operate; these operators are classed as open-access operators and are not franchise holders.
Currently in Great Britain, there are three open-access operators: * Hull Trains, which runs services between {{rws|London King's Cross}} and {{rws|Hull Paragon}} * Grand Central, which operates between King's Cross and {{rws|Sunderland}} and between King's Cross and {{rws|Bradford Interchange}} * Lumo, which operates between King's Cross and {{rws|Edinburgh Waverley}}.
In addition, there are operators that fall outside the purview of National Rail, which operate specific services which are recent additions to Britain's railways. The main examples are Eurostar, which operates to continental Europe via the Channel Tunnel, and Heathrow Express, which runs fast services from {{rws|London Paddington}} to Heathrow Airport.
A number of metropolitan railways on the network are operated by the local franchise holder in conjunction with the passenger transport executive or other civic body responsible for administering public transport. One of these bodies, the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive (Merseytravel) is responsible for one of three National Rail franchises not awarded by central government, namely the Merseyrail franchise, while certain National Rail services in North London came under the control of TfL in November 2007 as London Overground. Two other franchises, the Scottish national franchise, currently operated by ScotRail, and the Welsh domestic franchise, operated by Transport for Wales, are awarded by the devolved governments of the two constituent nations.
The Rail Delivery Group is the coordinating body of the TOCs in Great Britain and owns the National Rail brand; it uses the former British Rail (BR) double-arrow logo and organises the common ticketing structure. Many of the TOCs are in fact parts of larger companies that operate multiple franchises.
===Current operators=== {|class="wikitable" |- !style="width: 20em;"|Parent !Train operating companies |- |Arriva UK Trains |Chiltern Railways (CH), CrossCountry (XC), Grand Central (GC) |- |DfT Operator (Department for Transport) |Greater Anglia (LE), c2c (CC), London North Eastern Railway (GR), Northern Trains (NT), Southeastern (SE), TransPennine Express (TP), South Western Railway (SW), West Midlands Trains (LM), Greater Thameslink Railway (GTR) |- |FirstGroup |Avanti West Coast (VT) (70%), First Rail London (LO), Great Western Railway (GW), Hull Trains (HT), Lumo (LD) |- |GTS Rail Operations |Elizabeth line (XR) |- |Scottish Rail Holdings (Scottish Government) |Caledonian Sleeper (CS), ScotRail (SR) |- |Serco |Merseyrail (ME) (50%) |- |Transport UK Group |East Midlands Railway (EM), Merseyrail (ME) (50%) |- |Transport for Wales (Welsh Government) |Transport for Wales Rail (AW) |- |Trenitalia |Avanti West Coast (VT) (30%) |}
=== Northern Ireland === The railway network in Northern Ireland is managed differently from that of the rest of the UK. The sole company that operates trains is NI Railways, which is a subsidiary of Translink, a publicly-owned transport corporation, which also runs the Metro buses in Belfast and Ulsterbus coaches around the country. NIR is not a TOC under the terms of the Railways Act 1993, which applies only to Great Britain. The cross-border service ''Enterprise'' (Belfast–Dublin) is jointly operated with Iarnród Éireann, the publicly owned national railway company of the Republic of Ireland.
==Changes== Upon privatisation in 1994, the three passenger-operating sectors of BR (InterCity, Network SouthEast and Regional Railways) were divided and their existing operations were let as 25 franchises:
===1990{{ndash}}1999=== ====1994==== The privatisation process began when BR's passenger sectors were divided into 25 train operating units which were gradually incorporated as publicly owned subsidiaries of the British Railways Board. They acted as shadow franchises<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.parliament.uk/briefingpapers/commons/lib/research/briefings/snbt-01157.pdf |title= Railways: privatisation, 1987-1996 |access-date=14 September 2010 |publisher= House of Commons Library |date=18 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101013201522/http://www.parliament.uk/briefingpapers/commons/lib/research/briefings/snbt-01157.pdf |archive-date=13 October 2010 }}</ref> prior to being put to tender:
InterCity {{columns-list|colwidth=22em| * CrossCountry * East Coast * Gatwick Express * Great Eastern * Great Western Railway * Midland Main Line * West Coast }} Network SouthEast {{columns-list|colwidth=22em| * Chiltern Lines * Island Line * LTS Rail * North London Railways * Network SouthCentral * SouthEastern * South Western Railway * Thameslink * Thames Trains * West Anglia Great Northern }}
Regional Railways {{columns-list|colwidth=22em| * Anglia Railways * Cardiff Railway Company * Central Trains * Mersey Rail Electrics * North West Regional Railways * Regional Railways North East * ScotRail * South Wales & West Railway }}
The opening of the Channel Tunnel saw operations by Eurostar begin from {{rws|Waterloo International}} to Paris and Brussels.
====1996/97==== The franchising process was implemented, with various private companies taking over the shadow franchises. Three were awarded to management buyouts. The Great Western Holdings' management also were awarded the North West Regional Railways franchise. The remainder were divided between a handful of major transport operators: {| class="wikitable" |+Initial franchisees and operating companies following British Rail privatisation |- !style="width: 20em;"|Franchise holder !Train Operating Company !Notes |- |Connex |Connex South Central, Connex South Eastern | |- |FirstBus |First Great Eastern |plus 24.5% shareholding in Great Western Holdings |- |GB Railways |Anglia Railways | |- |Go-Ahead Group |Thames Trains |Go-Ahead Group (65%), Management (35%) |- |Govia |Thameslink | |- |Great Western Holdings |Great Western Trains, North Western Trains |Management (51%), FirstBus (24.5%), 3i (24.5%) |- |M40 Trains |Chiltern Railways |Management (51%), John Laing (26%), 3i (23%) |- |MTL |Merseyrail Electrics, Northern Spirit | |- |National Express |Central Trains, Gatwick Express, Midland Mainline, ScotRail, Silverlink | |- |Prism Rail |LTS Rail, Valley Lines, Wales & West, WAGN | |- |Sea Containers |GNER | |- |Stagecoach Group |Island Line Trains, South West Trains | |- |Virgin Rail Group |Virgin CrossCountry, Virgin Trains West Coast | |}
In Northern Ireland, NIR stopped using its own branding on the ''Enterprise'' service between Belfast and Dublin, when it purchased new rolling stock in conjunction with IÉ, instead launching Enterprise as a separate brand name.
====1998==== * Great Western Holdings, which operated Great Western Trains and North West Trains, became a wholly-owned subsidiary of FirstGroup when the 24.5% shareholder bought out its partners. The TOCs were renamed First Great Western and First North Western. * Go-Ahead Group bought the remaining 35% share in Thames Trains. * Virgin Group sold a 49% share in Virgin Rail Group that operated the CrossCountry and West Coast franchises to Stagecoach. * The completion of the rail link to Heathrow Airport led to Heathrow Express, an open-access operator outside the franchising system, beginning its services from London Paddington to Heathrow with operating rights until 2023.
==== 1999 ==== * The shareholdings of ''M40 Trains'' were restructured with John Laing owning 84% of the company, with the remaining 16% held by former BR managers.
===2000{{ndash}}2009=== ====2000==== * MTL, which operated Merseyrail Electrics and Northern Spirit and Prism Rail that operated c2c (renamed from LTS Rail earlier in the year), Valley Lines Trains, Wales & West, and West Anglia Great Northern were purchased by Arriva and National Express respectively, resulting in the latter owning nine franchises. The two companies transferred to Arriva were renamed Arriva Trains Merseyside and Arriva Trains Northern. * The first open-access operator using the National Rail brand, Hull Trains, commenced running its services between King's Cross and Hull Paragon Interchange.
====2001==== * Connex, which had operated two franchises in the south-east of England, were replaced as the operator of the Network SouthCentral franchise by Govia, which began operating it under the name South Central.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/988016.stm Connex loses rail franchise] ''BBC News'' 24 October 2000</ref> * A new franchise, the Wales & Borders franchise was created by the amalgamation of Valley Lines and the majority of services in Wales and the Borders held by Wales & West. The new franchise was initially operated under the name Wales & Borders. The remainder of Wales & West's services in the west of England were renamed Wessex Trains.
==== 2002 ==== * John Laing bought out its partners in M40 Trains.
====2003==== * Connex, having already lost the South Central franchise in 2001, was removed as franchisee of the South Eastern franchise on the grounds of poor financial management. It was replaced as the franchise holder by South Eastern Trains, a company wholly owned by the Strategic Rail Authority, which would operate the franchise until it could be tendered again. * New franchise holders Arriva Trains Wales and Merseyrail began operating. * FirstGroup purchased GB Railways, which owned the Anglia Railways and Hull Trains businesses.
====2004==== * A policy where the majority of services (both long-distance and commuter) from each London terminal would all be operated by the same franchise was partially enacted. In April, ''One'' commenced operating the Greater Anglia franchise that combined the Anglia Railways and First Great Eastern franchises with the West Anglia Great Northern services radiating out from {{rws|London Liverpool Street}}. The remainder continuing to be operated as ''WAGN''.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/norfolk/3339841.stm First Group loses out on rail franchise] ''BBC News'' 22 December 2003</ref> * In the North of England, prior to 2004, there were two regional franchises, the North East Regional franchise and the North West Regional franchise. In 2004, these were altered into the TransPennine franchise, for inter-city services, and the Northern franchise, for local services that were awarded to First TransPennine Express and Northern Rail respectively. Some North West services were transferred to the Arriva Trains Wales franchise. * Thames Trains was superseded by First Great Western Link and ScotRail (National Express) by First ScotRail.
====2005==== * A new operator, Heathrow Connect, jointly run by BAA and First Great Western, began operating stopping services between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport, complementing the Heathrow Express.
====2006==== Three new integrated franchises began operating in April 2006: * First Capital Connect, began operating the Thameslink/Great Northern franchise, on the cross-London Thameslink route and suburban services from London King's Cross and {{rws|London Moorgate}}. * First Great Western began operating the Greater Western franchise that combined express and local services from London Paddington to the West of England by amalgamating it with First Great Western Link and Wessex Trains. * London & South Eastern Railway commenced operating the Integrated Kent franchise taking over services from {{rws|London Victoria}}, {{rws|London Charing Cross}}, {{rws|London Cannon Street}} and {{rws|London Blackfriars}} to south-east London and Kent; responsibility for high speed domestic services operated on High Speed 1 from {{rws|London St Pancras}} was included in the franchise.
====2007==== * The South Western franchise was created, merged with the original South West Trains franchise and Island Line Trains franchise on the Isle of Wight; it began operating in February, under the name ''South West Trains'', with ''Island Line'' retained as a separate brand.
* In November, three new integrated franchises began operating: ** CrossCountry, took over from Virgin CrossCountry and parts of Central Trains, and operates regional inter-city services that bypass the major London terminals.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6286904.stm Virgin loses Cross Country rail] ''BBC News'' 10 July 2007</ref> ** East Midlands Trains replaced Midland Mainline and parts of Central Trains encompassing inter-city services from London St Pancras as well as local services in the East Midlands. ** London Midland began operating the West Midlands franchise replaced Silverlink County and parts of Central Trains; it ran stopping services between {{rws|London Euston}} and {{rws|Northampton}}, in addition to local services in the West Midlands. * In addition to these three, a further new operator, London Overground Rail Operations, took control of the routes operated by Silverlink in London, which were combined with the extended East London line in 2011. Services are controlled directly by TfL, with running of the trains themselves contracted to a private company as an operating concession. This is different from an ordinary franchise, as the train operator is not given control of the strategic aspects of the operation, such as pricing, timetabling and rolling stock procurement. * In December, National Express East Coast took over the running of the InterCity East Coast franchise from GNER.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6945367.stm National Express wins rail route] ''BBC News'' 14 August 2007</ref> Grand Central also began operating its services between London and Sunderland as an open-access operator.
====2008==== * In January, Laing Rail, which owned M40 Trains and a 50% shareholding in London Overground Rail Operations, was sold to Deutsche Bahn, becoming part of the DB Regio Group. * In February, ''One'' was rebranded by National Express as National Express East Anglia to bring it into line with the East Coast franchise. * In April, Wrexham & Shropshire began operating open-access services between Wrexham and London Marylebone. * In June, the Gatwick Express franchise was integrated with the South Central franchise operated by Southern.
====2009==== * The government announced that National Express East Coast would have its franchise to operate inter-city services terminated, along the ECML; that the franchise would pass into the hands of public-sector company, Directly Operated Railways, which acted as the parent for East Coast.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8343769.stm |title= East Coast rail change confirmed |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091108084049/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8343769.stm |archive-date=8 November 2009 |work=BBC News |date=5 November 2009 |url-status= live}}</ref>
===2010{{ndash}}2019=== ====2010==== * Grand Central open-access services from London to Bradford Interchange began on 23 May 2010.<ref>[http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2010/05/20/an-historic-journey-to-london-with-grand-central-west-riding-service-86081-26481173/ An historic journey to London with Grand Central West Riding Service] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130420134219/http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2010/05/20/an-historic-journey-to-london-with-grand-central-west-riding-service-86081-26481173/ |date=20 April 2013 }} ''Huddersfield Daily Examiner'' 20 May 2010</ref>
====2011==== * DB Regio's operations in the UK were integrated into those of Arriva following the acquisition of the latter by Deutsche Bahn in the previous year. * Owing to continuing losses, Wrexham & Shropshire ceased operating on 28 January 2011.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-12284468 |title= Wrexham-Shropshire-London direct rail link to end |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160629142859/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-12284468 |archive-date=29 June 2016 |work=BBC News |date=26 January 2011 |url-status= live}}</ref>
====2012==== * Abellio Greater Anglia began operating the Greater Anglia franchise on 5 February 2012.<ref>[http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/abellio-awarded-greater-anglia-franchise.html Abellio awarded Greater Anglia franchise] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111023103520/http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/abellio-awarded-greater-anglia-franchise.html |date=23 October 2011 }} ''Railway Gazette International'' 20 October 2011</ref> * In September, FirstGroup was awarded the right to operate the West Coast franchise, which provoked a backlash from incumbent Virgin Trains West Coast. As a result of the Department for Transport having provided incorrect information during the bid process, the offer was withdrawn in October 2012 and £40 million of bid costs were refunded.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19880903 |title=West Coast Main Line: Taxpayers 'at risk' in rail bid |date=9 October 2012 |work=BBC News |access-date=10 October 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009115255/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19880903 |archive-date=9 October 2012}}</ref>
====2014==== * In September, Govia Thameslink Railway took over services formerly operated by First Capital Connect as part of the Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern franchise and branded them as Thameslink and Great Northern.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27534731 Govia wins Thameslink rail franchise] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524113041/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27534731 |date=24 May 2014 }} ''BBC News'' 23 May 2014</ref> Services operated by Southern, another Govia subsidiary, were merged into the new franchise in the following year. * Hull Trains became a wholly-owned subsidiary of FirstGroup, when the 80% shareholder bought out its partners.
====2015==== * In March, a Stagecoach and Virgin joint venture, trading as Virgin Trains East Coast, commenced operating the InterCity East Coast franchise.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/business-30222458 Stagecoach and Virgin win East Coast mainline rail franchise] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141128143803/http://www.bbc.com/news/business-30222458 |date=28 November 2014 }} ''BBC News'' 27 November 2014</ref> * In April, the ScotRail franchise was split with the Caledonian Sleeper services becoming a stand-alone franchise operated by Serco while the remaining services remained as the Abellio ScotRail franchise.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-27599963 Serco wins franchise for Caledonian sleeper train service] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529084953/http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-27599963 |date=29 May 2014 }} ''BBC News'' 28 May 2014</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-29531099 "Dutch firms wins ScotRail franchise from FirstGroup"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160421080619/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-29531099 |date=21 April 2016 }} ''BBC News'' 8 October 2014</ref> * In May, a number of metro routes run by Abellio Greater Anglia from London Liverpool Street were transferred to TfL to run as a concession similar to both London Overground and Crossrail (under the name, TfL Rail). The routes transferred were those to {{stnlnk|Shenfield}}, {{stnlnk|Enfield Town}}, {{stnlnk|Chingford}}, {{stnlnk|Cheshunt}}, {{stnlnk|Romford}} and {{stnlnk|Upminster}}.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/passenger/single-view/view/tfl-seeks-crossrail-operator.html |title= TfL seeks Crossrail operator |date= 12 March 2013 |work= Railway Gazette International |access-date= 15 March 2013 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130315071156/http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/passenger/single-view/view/tfl-seeks-crossrail-operator.html |archive-date= 15 March 2013 }}</ref>
====2016==== * In April, FirstGroup trading as TransPennine Express commenced operating the TransPennine Express in its own right, previously having done so in a joint venture with Keolis.<ref>[http://www.firstgroupplc.com/news-and-media/latest-news/2015/09-12-15.aspx FirstGroup plc welcomes award of TransPennine Express rail franchise] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093802/http://www.firstgroupplc.com/news-and-media/latest-news/2015/09-12-15.aspx |date=4 March 2016 }} FirstGroup 9 December 2015</ref> On the same date, Arriva Rail North commenced operating the Northern franchise. * In November, Arriva Rail London took over the London Overground concession from London Overground Rail Operations.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35841733 Arriva wins £1.5bn London Overground contract] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321012512/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35841733 |date=21 March 2016 }} ''BBC News'' 18 March 2016</ref>
====2017==== * In February, National Express sold its subsidiary c2c to Trenitalia. * In March, Abellio sold a 40% share in Abellio Greater Anglia to Mitsui.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-39341380 Abellio deal: Japanese firm Mitsui completes 40% Greater Anglia sale] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170529154551/http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-39341380 |date=29 May 2017}} ''BBC News'' 21 March 2017</ref> * In August, a FirstGroup/MTR joint venture trading as South Western Railway commenced operating the South Western franchise.<ref>[http://www.firstgroupplc.com/about-firstgroup/uk-rail/improving-south-western-railway.aspx South Western Railway] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822160003/http://www.firstgroupplc.com/about-firstgroup/uk-rail/improving-south-western-railway.aspx |date=22 August 2017 }} FirstGroup</ref> * In December, an Abellio, East Japan Railway Company and Mitsui joint venture, trading as West Midlands Trains, commenced operating the West Midlands franchise.
====2018==== * In May, the Government announced that Virgin Trains East Coast's contract would be terminated early due to financial difficulties. In June 2018, the company was replaced by the government-owned operator of last resort London North Eastern Railway. * In May, TfL Rail took over the Heathrow Connect services, which led to the introduction of Oyster and Contactless payment to Heathrow Airport for the first time on National Rail.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/Rail-News/tfl-takes-over-heathrow-connect-services-in-elizabeth-line-milestone-|title=TfL takes over Heathrow Connect services in Elizabeth line milestone|magazine=Rail Technology Magazine|access-date=25 November 2019}}</ref> * In October, Transport for Wales took over the Wales & Borders franchise from Arriva Trains Wales.
====2019==== * In August, East Midlands Railway took over the East Midlands franchise from East Midlands Trains.<ref>{{cite press release |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190410070003/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/more-seats-services-and-state-of-the-art-trains-for-passengers-on-new-east-midlands-railway |archive-date=10 April 2019 |url-status=live |title=More seats, services and state-of-the-art trains for passengers on new East Midlands railway |publisher=Department for Transport |date=10 April 2019 |url= https://www.gov.uk/government/news/more-seats-services-and-state-of-the-art-trains-for-passengers-on-new-east-midlands-railway}}</ref> * In December, Avanti West Coast began operating the new West Coast Partnership replacing Virgin Trains West Coast.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190814060832/https://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/FGP/14187853.html FirstGroup and Trenitalia welcome West Coast Partnership Award] FirstGroup 14 August 2019</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50704187 |work=BBC News |title=Avanti starts running West Coast Main Line |date=8 December 2019 |access-date=9 December 2019}}</ref>
===2020 onwards=== ====2020==== * On 1 March, operation of the Northern franchise transferred from Arriva Rail North to the UK government-owned Northern Trains. * The UK government took emergency action to support train operating companies by assuming their financial risks; this was because the COVID-19 pandemic caused passenger numbers to reduce to near zero. TOCs were not allowed to make timetable or staffing changes without government approval. The Office for National Statistics reclassified the companies as public non-financial corporations so borrowing and employees are counted in the public-sector. They were viewed as effectively temporarily renationalised.<ref name=guardian-20200731>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jul/31/ons-says-uk-rail-has-effectively-been-renationalised-during-pandemic |title=ONS says UK rail has effectively been renationalised during pandemic |last=Davies |first=Rob |newspaper=The Guardian |date=31 July 2020 |access-date=31 July 2020}}</ref>
====2021==== * On 7 February, the day-to-day operations of the Wales & Borders franchise were transferred to the Welsh-government-owned operator of last resort, Transport for Wales Rail, a subsidiary of Transport for Wales.<ref>{{cite news|date=22 October 2020|title=Transport for Wales rail services to be nationalised|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-54635421|access-date=7 November 2020}}</ref><ref name="TfW20210208">{{Cite press release |title=Welsh rail franchise now in public ownership |url= https://news.tfw.wales/news/welsh-rail-franchise-now-in-public-ownership |access-date=10 February 2021 |date=8 February 2021 |publisher= Transport for Wales }}</ref> * On 17 October, the South Eastern franchise was taken over from London & South Eastern Railway by government-owned operator of last resort Southeastern.<ref>[https://www.railjournal.com/financial/british-government-takes-over-southeastern-following-franchise-breach/ British government takes over Southeastern franchise following franchise breach] ''International Railway Journal'' 28 September 2021</ref> * On 25 October, Lumo commenced operating open-access services on the East Coast Main Line between London King's Cross and Edinburgh.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-36273407 |title= First Group to run Edinburgh to London budget rail service |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160516170802/http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-36273407 |archive-date=16 May 2016 |work=BBC News |date=12 May 2016 |url-status= live}}</ref>
====2022==== * On 1 April, ScotRail, owned by Scottish Rail Holdings for the Scottish Government, commenced operating the ScotRail franchise.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Operator of Last Resort to take over ScotRail franchise |magazine=RAIL |issue=927 |date=24 March 2021 |page=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=ScotRail to be nationalised |magazine=Rail Express |issue=300|date=May 2021|page=6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=17 March 2021|title=Scotland's train operator ScotRail to be nationalised |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-36273407 |access-date=17 March 2021}}</ref> * On 24 May, TfL Rail, operated by MTR, was rebranded as Elizabeth line, following the opening of the core section between Paddington and {{rws|Abbey Wood}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.crossrail.co.uk/construction/our-plan-to-complete-the-elizabeth-line/|title=Our Plan to Complete the Elizabeth Line|website=Crossrail|language=en|access-date=22 July 2019|archive-date=4 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704233718/http://www.crossrail.co.uk/construction/our-plan-to-complete-the-elizabeth-line/|url-status=dead}}</ref> * In December, Grand Union, an open-access operator, was authorised by the Office of Rail and Road to operate trains between London Paddington and {{rws|Carmarthen}} starting in December 2024.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-63819582 |title=Trains: Plans for new London-west Wales services approved |date=1 December 2022 |work=BBC News |location=Cardiff |publisher=BBC Cymru Wales |access-date=1 December 2022}}</ref>
====2023==== * On 28 May, after months of continued cancellations and service disruptions, FirstGroup's TransPennine Express contract was not renewed. DfT OLR Holdings's TransPennine Express took over the service.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 May 2023 |title=TransPennine Express loses contract over poor service |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65555262 |last1=Jordan|first1=Dearbail|last2=Austin|first2=Katy|last3=Espiner|first3=Tom|work=BBC News|location=London|access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref> * On 25 June, Scottish Rail Holdings took over the Caledonian Sleeper service from Serco.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-64802833 |title=Caledonian Sleeper rail service to be nationalised |work=BBC News |location=Glasgow |publisher=BBC Scotland |last=Bennett |first=Magnus |date=2 March 2023 |access-date=2 March 2023}}</ref>
====2024==== * In December, after the Starmer government passed legislation to renationalise passenger rail in Great Britain, the government announced that all operators would be taken back into public ownership, starting with three in 2025.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cityam.com/south-western-railway-c2c-and-greater-anglia-to-be-nationalised-in-2025/ |title=South Western Railway, c2c and Greater Anglia to be nationalised in 2025 |work=City AM |date=4 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Operators to move in-house every three months |magazine=RAIL |issue=1024 |date=11 December 2024 |page=14}}</ref>
====2025==== * On 25 May, First MTR South Western Trains Limited's contract expired and it was taken over by DfT Operator, the new name for DfT OLR Holdings.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 May 2025 |title=South Western Railway first rail firm renationalised by Labour |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ceqg73znzzeo |access-date=25 May 2025 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ceqlnrgjr79o |publisher=BBC News |title=South Western Railway to be renationalised by Labour |first1=Tom |last1=Espiner |date=3 December 2024 |access-date=3 December 2024}}</ref> The new nationalised operator is also trading as South Western Railway. * On 20 July, c2c services were taken over by the DfT Operator subsidiary operator of the same name.<ref name=dftoc2c202507>{{cite press release |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/london-to-essex-c2c-services-return-to-public-control-in-step-towards-great-british-railways |title=London to Essex c2c services return to public control in step towards Great British Railways |date=18 July 2025 |access-date=20 July 2025 |publisher=Department for Transport & DfT Operator Limited |website=Gov.uk}}</ref> * On 12 October, Greater Anglia services were taken over by the DfT Operator subsidiary operator of the same name.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgr5jvkw1v2o |title=Greater Anglia to be nationalised in October, says rail operator |date=9 May 2025 |work=BBC News}}</ref>
====2026==== * On 1 February, West Midlands Trains services were taken over by the DfT Operator subsidiary operator of the same name.<ref>{{Citenews|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y3z9yjpx9o|title=West Midlands Railway joins publicly owned network|date=30 January 2026}}</ref> * On 3 May, First Rail London took over from Arriva Rail London as the operator of London Overground services.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2025/december/first-rail-london-limited-named-as-tfl-s-preferred-operator-for-london-overground |title=First Rail London Limited named as TfL’s preferred operator for London Overground |publisher=Transport for London |date=10 December 2025|access-date=3 May 2026}}</ref> * On 31 May, DfT Operator company Greater Thameslink Railway took over from Govia Thameslink Railway as the operator of the Thameslink, Southern, Great Northern, and Gatwick Express services. <ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3p7x15xl7o Biggest rail operator nationalised: What it means] BBC News</ref>
==Railtours== {{Main|Railtour}}
The privatisation of British Rail allowed the introduction of open-access operators, in which companies, upon payment of a fee, could purchase individual slots on the main line. This has led to the growth in companies offering charter trains, and to the railtour. Most railtour operators run services in part of the country; however, there are a handful that operate services nationwide. Usually, these will see a train made up of ex-BR rolling stock pulled by a hired locomotive from one of the freight companies. Occasionally, a preserved ex-BR heritage railway locomotive that is certified to run on the main line will be made available for such charters.
==Sea links== A number of coastal railway stations in the United Kingdom serve to provide connections to ferry services to a number of destinations. Most of the ferry operators in these cases set their timetable to run in conjunction with the arrivals and departures of rail services from the stations serving the ferry terminals. A handful of these even offer integrated pricing for both rail and ferry travel because the Island Line is part of the National Rail network, passengers can purchase tickets for travel to any of the stations on the Isle of Wight from any other station in Great Britain. This ticket also covers the cost of passage on the Wightlink catamaran from {{rws|Portsmouth Harbour}} to Ryde Pier Head. It is also possible to purchase ferry inclusive tickets from any station in Great Britain to Cowes or East Cowes on the Isle of Wight using Red Funnel ferries, although there are no rail connections from these towns.
==International operators== There are two main international services which operate on the railways in the United Kingdom: * Eurostar – runs between London St Pancras, Paris Gare du Nord, {{rws|Brussels-Midi}} and Amsterdam Centraal through the Channel Tunnel. * Enterprise – operates on the Irish network between {{rws|Belfast Grand Central}} and {{rws|Dublin Connolly}}.
A third service is Dutchflyer (GoLondon in the Netherlands). This is not a separate rail service, but a collaboration between Greater Anglia, Stena Line and Nederlandse Spoorwegen to provide an integrated rail/sea/rail service between eastern England ({{rws|London Liverpool Street}}, {{rws|Cambridge}}, {{rws|Norwich}}) and Amsterdam Centraal using a single ticket.
A further international service is provided by Venice Simplon Orient Express. Although this is primarily a railtour operator with special trains to various locations in the United Kingdom, it also operates the scheduled Orient Express service to destinations in Europe. This involves two separate trains; the ''Belmond British Pullman'' departs from London Victoria and terminates at {{rws|Folkestone West}}, where passengers transfer by coach through the Channel Tunnel to Calais; at Gare de Calais-Ville, they then join the ''Orient Express'' which then calls at various destinations including Paris, Vienna, Innsbruck, Venice and Rome.
==In other countries== The differentiation between train operating companies and railway infrastructure companies was enforced by European Union legislation and can be found in all EU member countries.
In Germany, train operating companies (''Eisenbahnverkehrsunternehmen'' – EVU) are defined by General Railways Act 1993, s. 2(1) (Allgemeines Eisenbahngesetz (AEG), enacted 27 December 1993) as companies providing train services. They are distinct from ''Eisenbahninfrastrukturunternehmen'' (EIU), which own and maintain the railway infrastructure. While there are many private EVU, that have obtained regional franchises, only a handful of long-distance EVU exist (the largest by fare being DB Fernverkehr); the infrastructure is also almost completely owned by Deutsche Bahn subsidiaries.
==See also== * List of companies operating trains in the United Kingdom * Rail Delivery Group * Rail transport in Great Britain * Rail transport in Ireland.
==Notes== {{Notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{UK TOCs|current|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
* Category:Post-privatisation British railway companies Category:Privatisation of British Rail Category:Railway companies of the United Kingdom Category:Rail transport operators