List of companies operating trains in the United Kingdom

This article is about companies operating trains on Network Rail lines. For other companies, see List of British heritage and private railways.

There are many companies operating trains in the United Kingdom, including the operators of franchised passenger services, officially referred to as train operating companies (TOCs), as distinct from freight operating companies.

Passenger operators in Great Britain

Current operators

Operator	Type	Franchise	Parent(s)	Passenger satisfaction [1]	Start date	Replaced	Code
Arriva Rail London (Trading as: London Overground)	TfL concession	London Overground	Arriva UK Trains	87%	13 November 2016 [2] [3] [4]	London Overground Rail Operations	LO
Avanti West Coast	Franchise	West Coast Partnership	FirstGroup (70%) Trenitalia (30%)	84%	8 December 2019	Virgin Trains West Coast	VT
c2c		Essex Thameside	Trenitalia	84%	26 May 1996	Network SouthEast (London, Tilbury & Southend Division)	CC
Caledonian Sleeper		Caledonian Sleeper	Scottish Rail Holdings	—	25 June 2023	Caledonian Sleeper (Serco)	CS
Chiltern Railways		Chiltern Railways	Arriva UK Trains	88%	21 July 1996	Network SouthEast (Chiltern Division)	CH
CrossCountry		New CrossCountry		85%	11 November 2007	Central Trains (Birmingham – Stansted), (Cardiff – Nottingham) Virgin CrossCountry	XC
East Midlands Railway		East Midlands	Transport UK Group	83%	18 August 2019	East Midlands Trains Northern Trains (Barton-on-Humber – Cleethorpes)	EM
Elizabeth line	TfL concession	Crossrail	MTR Elizabeth line	89%	31 May 2015 (as TfL Rail)	Greater Anglia (Liverpool Street – Shenfield) Great Western Railway (Paddington – Reading) Heathrow Connect Heathrow Express (Heathrow Central – Heathrow T4 shuttle)	XR
Eurostar	Open access	—	Eurostar Group	—	14 November 1994	—	ES
Govia Thameslink Railway (Trading as: Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink)	Franchise	Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern	Govia	80%	14 September 2014	First Capital Connect Southern	SN, TL, GN, GX
Grand Central [5]	Open access	—	Arriva UK Trains	95%	18 December 2007	—	GC
Greater Anglia (also operating Stansted Express)	Franchise	East Anglia	Transport UK Group (60%) Mitsui (40%)	77%	16 October 2016 [6]	National Express East Anglia	LE
Great Western Railway		Greater Western	FirstGroup	86%	1 April 2006	First Great Western First Great Western Link Wessex Trains	GW
Heathrow Express	Open access	—	Heathrow Airport Holdings	94%	23 June 1998	—	HX
Hull Trains		—	FirstGroup	92%	25 September 2002	—	HT
London North Eastern Railway	Franchise	InterCity East Coast	DfT Operator	91%	24 June 2018	Virgin Trains East Coast	GR
Lumo	Open access	—	FirstGroup	—	25 October 2021	—	LD
Merseyrail	Merseytravel contract	Merseyrail	Serco-Abellio	90%	20 July 2003	Arriva Trains Merseyside	ME
Northern Trains	Franchise	Northern	DfT Operator	77%	1 March 2020	Arriva Rail North	NT
ScotRail		ScotRail	Scottish Rail Holdings	—	1 April 2022	Abellio ScotRail	SR
Southeastern		South Eastern	DfT Operator	—	17 October 2021	Southeastern (Govia)	SE
South Western Railway (also operating Island Line)		South Western	FirstGroup (70%) MTR Corporation (30%)	75%	20 August 2017	South West Trains	SW, IL
TransPennine Express		TransPennine Express	DfT Operator	–	28 May 2023	TransPennine Express (FirstGroup)	TP
Transport for Wales Rail		Wales & Borders	Transport for Wales	—	7 February 2021	KeolisAmey Wales	AW
West Midlands Trains (Trading as: West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway)		West Midlands	Transport UK Group (70%) JR East (15%) Mitsui (15%)	79%	10 December 2017 [7]	London Midland	LM

There are also a number of light rail systems.

Future operating companies

Future operating companies that have been announced by the Department for Transport. These will be the first nationalised operators to take over passenger services since the passing of the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act in 2024, which makes public ownership the default option for passenger services.

Operator	Type	Region	Parent	Date commencing	Replacing	Code
South Western Railway (also operating Island Line)	State-owned operator	South Western	DfT Operator	29 May 2025 [8]	South Western Railway (FirstGroup, MTR)	SW, IL
c2c		Essex Thameside		20 July 2025 [9]	c2c (Trenitalia)	CC
Greater Anglia (also operating Stansted Express)		East Anglia		TBC	Greater Anglia (Transport UK Group, Mitsui)	LE

Defunct operating companies

Operating companies have ceased to exist for various reasons, including withdrawal of the franchise, the term of the franchise has expired, bankruptcy or merger.

Operator	Type	Franchise	Parent(s)	Date started	Date ceased	Replaced by	Code
Abellio ScotRail	Franchise	ScotRail	Abellio	1 April 2015	31 March 2022	ScotRail (Scottish Government)	SR
Anglia Railways		Anglia	GB Railways	5 January 1997	31 March 2004	One	AR
Arriva Trains Wales		Wales & Borders	Arriva UK Trains	8 December 2003	13 October 2018 [10]	KeolisAmey Wales	AW
Arriva Trains Merseyside	Merseytravel contract	Merseyrail		February 2000	20 July 2003	Merseyrail	ME
Arriva Trains Northern	Franchise	Regional Railways North East		2 March 1997	12 December 2004	First TransPennine Express Northern Rail	AN
Arriva Rail North		Northern		1 April 2016	29 February 2020	Northern Trains	NT
Caledonian Sleeper (Serco)		Caledonian Sleeper	Serco	31 March 2015	24 June 2023	Caledonian Sleeper (Scottish Rail Holdings)	CS
Central Trains		Central	National Express	2 March 1997	10 November 2007	CrossCountry East Midlands Trains London Midland	CT
Connex South Central		Network SouthCentral	Connex	13 October 1996	16 June 2001	Southern	CX
Connex South Eastern		South Eastern		26 May 1996	9 November 2003	South Eastern Trains
East Coast		InterCity East Coast	Directly Operated Railways	14 November 2009	28 February 2015	Virgin Trains East Coast	GR
East Midlands Trains		East Midlands	Stagecoach	11 November 2007	17 August 2019	East Midlands Railway	EM
First Capital Connect		Thameslink Great Northern	FirstGroup	1 April 2006	13 September 2014	Govia Thameslink Railway	FC
First Great Eastern		Great Eastern	FirstGroup	5 January 1997	31 March 2004	National Express East Anglia	GE
First Great Western Link		Thames	FirstGroup	1 April 2004	31 March 2006	First Great Western	FK
First North Western		North West Regional Railways	FirstGroup	2 March 1997	12 December 2004	Arriva Trains Wales First TransPennine Express Northern Rail	NW
First ScotRail		Scotrail	FirstGroup	17 October 2004	31 March 2015	Abellio ScotRail	SR
First TransPennine Express		TransPennine Express	FirstGroup (55%) Keolis (45%)	1 February 2004	31 March 2016	TransPennine Express	TP
Gatwick Express		Gatwick Express	National Express	28 April 1996	22 June 2008	Southern	GX
Great North Eastern Railway		InterCity East Coast	Sea Containers	28 April 1996	8 December 2007	National Express East Coast	GR
Great Western Trains		Great Western	Great Western Holdings	4 February 1996	March 1998	First Great Western	GW
Heathrow Connect	Open Access	—	Heathrow Airport Holdings, FirstGroup	12 June 2005	19 May 2018	TfL Rail	HC
Island Line	Franchise	Island Line	Stagecoach	13 October 1996	3 February 2007	South West Trains	IL
London Midland		West Midlands	Govia	11 November 2007	9 December 2017	West Midlands Trains	LM
London Overground Rail Operations	TfL concession	London Overground	Arriva UK Trains (50%) MTR Corporation (50%)	11 November 2007	12 November 2016 [11]	Arriva Rail London	LO
Merseyrail Electrics	Merseytravel contract	Merseyrail	MTL	19 January 1997	February 2000	Arriva Trains Merseyside	ME
Midland Mainline	Franchise	Midland Main Line	National Express	28 February 1996	10 November 2007	East Midlands Trains	ML
National Express East Anglia		Greater Anglia		1 April 2004	5 February 2012	Greater Anglia	LE
National Express East Coast		InterCity East Coast		9 December 2007	13 November 2009	East Coast	GR
Northern Rail		Northern Rail	Serco-Abellio	12 December 2004	31 March 2016	Arriva Rail North	NT
Northern Spirit		Regional Railways North East	MTL	2 March 1997	February 2000	Arriva Trains Northern	NS
North Western Trains		North West Regional Railways	Great Western Holdings	2 March 1997	March 1998	First North Western	NW
ScotRail		ScotRail	National Express	31 March 1997	17 October 2004	First ScotRail	SR
Silverlink		North London Railways		2 March 1997	10 November 2007	London Midland London Overground Rail Operations	SS
Southeastern		Integrated Kent	Govia	1 April 2006	16 October 2021	Southeastern	SE
South Eastern Trains		South Eastern	Strategic Rail Authority	9 November 2003	31 March 2006	Southeastern	SE
South West Trains		South Western	Stagecoach	4 February 2007	19 August 2017 [12]	South Western Railway	SW
Southern		South Central	Govia	26 August 2001	25 July 2015	Govia Thameslink Railway	SN
Thames Trains		Thames	Go-Ahead Group	13 October 1996	31 March 2004	First Great Western Link	TT
Thameslink		Thameslink	Govia	2 March 1997	31 March 2006	First Capital Connect	TR
TransPennine Express		TransPennine Express	FirstGroup	1 April 2016	28 May 2023	TransPennine Trains (trading as TransPennine Express)	TP
KeolisAmey Wales		Wales & Borders	Keolis/Amey	14 October 2018	6 February 2021	Transport for Wales Rail	AW
Valley Lines		Valley Lines	National Express	13 October 1996	13 October 2001	Wales & Borders	VL
Virgin Trains East Coast		InterCity East Coast	Virgin Group (10%) Stagecoach (90%)	1 March 2015	23 June 2018	London North Eastern Railway	GR
Virgin CrossCountry		CrossCountry	Virgin Rail Group	5 January 1997	10 November 2007	CrossCountry First TransPennine Express Virgin Trains West Coast	VXC
Virgin Trains West Coast		InterCity West Coast		9 March 1997	7 December 2019 [13]	Avanti West Coast	VT
West Anglia Great Northern (West Anglia Main Line and Lea Valley Lines)		West Anglia Great Northern	National Express	5 January 1997	31 March 2004	One	WN
West Anglia Great Northern (Great Northern and Fenline routes)		West Anglia Great Northern	National Express	5 January 1997	31 March 2006	First Capital Connect
Wales & Borders		Wales & Borders	National Express	14 October 2001	7 December 2003	Arriva Trains Wales	WB
Wales & West		Wales & West	National Express	13 October 1996	13 October 2001	Wales & Borders Wessex Trains	WW
Wessex Trains		Wessex	National Express	14 October 2001	31 March 2006	First Great Western	WE
Wrexham & Shropshire	Open access	Wrexham to London	DB Regio	28 April 2008	28 January 2011	Ceased due to lack of profitability	WS

Passenger operators in Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, passenger trains are NI/Ireland government-owned by Translink or the National Transport Authority. The following brands are used:

• Northern Ireland Railways
• Enterprise service from Dublin Connolly to Belfast Grand Central on the Belfast-Dublin line joint venture between Northern Ireland Railways and Iarnród Éireann.

UK Railtour operators

See also: Railtour

• Pathfinder Tours
• Scottish Railway Preservation Society
• Venice-Simplon Orient Express (British Pullman and Northern Belle services)
• Vintage Trains
• West Coast Railways
• Locomotive Services Limited (Including Steam Dreams, InterCity, Blue Pullman, Saphos Trains, and Statesman Rail)
• Hanson and Hall

Luxury railtours

• Belmond Royal Scotsman
• Belmond Brittanic Explorer (From 2025)

In Northern Ireland

• Enthusiast railtours
• Railway Preservation Society of Ireland
• Irish Railway Record Society
• The Modern Railway Society of Ireland

Defunct:

• Compass Tours
• Belmond Grand Hibernian

Freight operators

• Colas Rail
• DCRail
• Direct Rail Services
• DB Cargo UK (formerly English Welsh & Scottish Railway)
• Freightliner
• GB Railfreight
• Mendip Rail
• RailAdventure

Franchised passenger operator structure in Great Britain

Sector of British Rail	Franchise	Pre-grouping company	Original privatised operator	Current operator(s)
InterCity	Caledonian Sleeper	N/A	ScotRail	Caledonian Sleeper
	East Midlands	Midland Railway	Midland Mainline	East Midlands Railway
	Greater Western	Great Western Railway	Great Western Trains	Great Western Railway
	InterCity East Coast	Great Northern Railway	Great North Eastern Railway	London North Eastern Railway
	New CrossCountry	N/A	Virgin CrossCountry	CrossCountry
	West Coast Partnership	London & North Western Railway	Virgin Trains West Coast	Avanti West Coast
Network SouthEast	Chiltern	Great Central Railway	Chiltern Railways
	East Anglia	Great Eastern Railway	Anglia Railways	Greater Anglia
	Essex Thameside	London, Tilbury & Southend Railway	LTS Rail	c2c
	South Eastern	South Eastern & Chatham Railway	Connex South Eastern	Southeastern
	South Western	London & South Western Railway	South West Trains	South Western Railway
	Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern	London, Brighton & South Coast Railway	Thameslink Connex South Central West Anglia Great Northern (Great Northern and Fenline routes)	Thameslink Southern Great Northern (Govia Thameslink Railway)
	West Midlands	N/A	Central Trains	West Midlands Railway London Northwestern Railway (West Midlands Trains)
Regional Railways	Wales & Borders	Predominantly London & North Western Railway	Wales & Borders	Transport for Wales Rail
	TransPennine Express		North Western Trains	TransPennine Express
	Northern		Northern Spirit	Northern Trains
	ScotRail	Caledonian Railway, Glasgow & South Western Railway, Great North of Scotland Railway, Highland Railway and North British Railway	ScotRail	ScotRail

See also

• Passenger rail franchising in Great Britain (for detailed information about the history of each franchise)

References

1. "National Rail Passenger Survey Spring 2020". Transport Focus. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
2. Arriva wins £1.5bn London Overground contract BBC News 18 March 2016
3. Transport for London announces intention to award London Overground contract to Arriva Archived 8 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine Arriva 18 March 2016
4. TfL confirm London Overground contract with Arriva signed Railway Technology Magazine 18 April 2016
5. In May 2010 Grand Northern services began, branded Grand Central to allow a single fleet pool to be used.
6. "Railway plan puts new focus on passengers". Department for Transport. 26 March 2013.
7. "Rail franchise schedule" (PDF). Department of Transport. 19 July 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
8. "Public ownership: Railway passenger services". GOV.UK. 4 December 2024.
9. "Public ownership: Railway passenger services". GOV.UK. 4 December 2024.
10. "ASLEF - Franchise Information". Archived from the original on 24 January 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
11. Transport for London. "Media". tfl.gov.uk.
12. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/533363/swf-itt.pdf ^{[ dead link ‍]}
13. "FirstGroup replaces Virgin to run West Coast route". BBC Sport. 14 August 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.

External links

• List of Train Operating Companies on the National Rail website Archived 4 January 2006 at the Wayback Machine
• Map of Train Operating Companies on the National Rail website
• Barry Doe's colour-coded map showing operator(s) on each route (Large PDF)