Network Rail . Train Operating Companies . Freight Operating Companies .
Rolling Stock Companies . Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) . Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) . Health and Safety Executive (HSE) . Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB)

Network Rail is responsible for the rail infrastructure, train operating companies (TOCs) run passenger services, freight operating companies (FOCs) provide freight services and rolling stock companies (ROSCOs) lease rail vehicles to the train operators.

The British Rail Industry is regulated by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) and receives strategic guidance from the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA). Safety on the railways is regulated by the Health and Safety Executive and monitored by the Rail Safety and Standards Board.

Central Trains (www.centraltrains.co.uk) Central Trains operates 7,200 trains providing fast and frequent local rail services throughout the East and West Midlands, as well as long distance services from the Midlands to South Wales the North West of England, East Anglia and the East Coast. Every week around half a million people travel to over 300 destinations serviced by some 2000 staff.

Chiltern Railways (www.chilternrailways.co.uk)
Chiltern Railways provides train services along the M40 corridor between London Marylebone and Kidderminster via Leamington Spa, Warwick, Solihull and Birmingham Snow Hill. Services are also provided between London Marylebone and Aylesbury as well as Amersham via the Metropolitan underground line.

Eurostar (www.eurostar.com) Eurostar operates train services between London Waterloo and Paris/Brussels with links through to other European destinations. It uses the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, the first part of which was officially opened in September 2003, and the Channel Tunnel.

First Great Western (www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk)
First Great Western provides train services between London Paddington and South Wales via Bristol Parkway and South West England via Bristol.

First Great Western Link (www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/link)
First Great Western Link trains operate on the main routes in and out of London Paddington covering the Thames Valley to Slough, Reading, Didcot and Oxford, and also the Kennet Valley to Newbury and Bedwyn. It also provides services to Hereford, Worcester, Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick, as well as from Reading, Guildford and Dorking to Gatwick Airport.

Gatwick Express (www.gatwickexpress.co.uk)
Gatwick Express provides a high-speed, dedicated service between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport every 15 minutes of the day. The journey takes approximately 30 minutes and tickets can be bought onboard, at Victoria, at Gatwick or through travel agents. Other high-speed services connect London Paddington with Heathrow Airport and London Liverpool Street with Stansted Airport

Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) (www.gner.co.uk) GNER provides high-speed train services along a route of almost 1,000 miles on the East Coast Main Line between London King's Cross and the East Midlands, Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland. The company operates 42 trains and carries some 15 million passengers each year. It provides 117 train journeys each day and manages 12 major stations.

Hull Trains (www.hulltrains.co.uk)
Hull Trains provides regular train services carrying 330,000 passengers each year between London King's Cross and Grantham, Doncaster, Selby and Hull.

Island Line (www.island-line.co.uk)
Island Line provides rail services on eight and half miles of track on the Isle of Wight serving the island towns of Ryde, Brading Sandown, Lake and Shanklin.

Merseyrail (www.merseyrail.org)
Merseyrail operates the 6.5-mile underground system in Central Liverpool and the 75 miles of overground lines from Liverpool to Southport, Ormskirk, Kirkby, Hunts Cross on the Northern Line, and New Brighton, West Kirby, Chester and Ellesmere Port on the Wirral Line. 30 million passenger journeys each year are made on the Merseyrail network.

Midland Mainline (www.midlandmainline.com)
Midland Mainline operates train services between Yorkshire (Leeds, Wakefield, Doncaster, Sheffield), the East Midlands (Nottingham, Derby Loughborough, Leicester) Bedfordshire (Bedford, Luton) and London St.Pancras.

Northern Rail (www.northernrail.org) Northern Rail is the largest train operator in the UK. It operates some 2500 local and regional passenger services across the North of England and North Wales, providing nearly 70 million passengers journeys a year. The company also manages 472 stations across its network.

‘ one’ Anglia (www.oneanglia.com)
'one', Anglia covers stations and services between London Liverpool Street, Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich as well as local services starting and finishing in Norwich and Ipswich including all stations to Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Sheringham, Felixstowe, Cambridge and Peterborough and services to Harwich International.

‘ one’ West Anglia (www.onewestanglia.com)
'one', West Anglia covers all stations and services between London Liverpool Street to Cambridge, Chingford, Enfield Town and Hertford East except Stansted Express services.

‘ one’ Great Eastern (www.onegreateastern.com)
'one' Great Eastern covers stations and services between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield, Southend Victoria, Southminster and Upminster via Ilford. Great Eastern also covers services to Colchester, Ipswich, Clacton, Walton-on-Naze, Braintree, Harwich Town and Colchester Town, as well as the Sudbury branch from Marks Tey.

First Scotrail (www.firstgroup.com/scotrail)
First ScotRail provides 95% of the train services over the Scottish rail network catering for over 60 million passenger journeys a year. It caters for thousands of commuters who use the railway to get to and from work on a daily basis. The company also caters for the leisure traveller carrying many tourists on its famous railway lines, including The West Highland Line, The Kyle Line and The North Line. It operates the Sleeper services from Scotland to London Euston.

Silverlink Trains (www.silverlink-trains.com)
The Silverlink Trains network is divided into two. Silverlink County runs between London Euston and Northampton stopping at county towns such as Milton Keynes, Hemel Hempstead and Watford. Silverlink Metro provides train services on suburban routes running through West, North and East London.

South Eastern Trains (www.setrains.co.uk)
South Eastern Trains provides over 1700 train services a day across a large part of South East England carrying over 120 million passengers each year. It runs an intensive network of suburban and inter-urban services in South East London, Kent and parts of Sussex. It operates from several London stations- Victoria, Charing Cross, Cannon Street, Blackfriars and London Bridge.

Southern (www.southernrailway.com)
Southern provides a mix of suburban and main line train services in South London and to the South Coast operating out of London Victoria, London Bridge and Charing Cross. Its main service is to Brighton with Gatwick Airport serviced from the same line.

South West Trains (www.swtrains.co.uk)
South West Trains runs 1,635 trains every weekday, serving 207 stations and employing around 5,250 staff. London Waterloo is the hub of its network and some 143 million passenger journeys a year are made on routes through Hampshire, Surrey, Dorset, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Devon, Somerset, Cornwall, East and West Sussex and Greater London, serving a mixture of commuters and longer-distance travellers.

First Capital Connect
First Capital Connect provides commuter and leisure train services for a large population to the North and South of London with the main route from Bedford to Brighton passing through the heart of London. It also serves the London suburban area on the Wimbledon - Sutton - Carshalton line.

TransPennine Express (www.firstgroup.com/tpexpress) TransPennine Express operates inter-city train services across the North of England, from the East Coast to the Lake District, from the North East to Yorkshire, and across Lancashire to Merseyside. Major towns and cities served by TransPennine Express include Newcastle, Middlesbrough, York, Scarborough, Hull, Leeds, Huddersfield, Doncaster, Sheffield, Preston, Manchester, Manchester International Airport and Liverpool.

Virgin Trains (Cross Country and West Coast) (www.virgintrains.co.uk) Virgin Cross Country provides frequent train services from Birmingham to Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and Bristol with regular services to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Newcastle in the north and Brighton, Bournemouth and Penzance in the south and west. Virgin Cross Country links 115 towns and cities and carries 16 million people a year. Virgin West Coast provides high-speed train services from London Euston to Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Scotland. Over 15 million people travel on Virgin Train's services on the West Coast route every year.

Wagn (www.wagn.co.uk)
Wagn (West Anglia Great Northern) operates train services over one main route. The Great Northern services run between London King’s Cross and Moorgate to Stevenage and Hitchin either direct via Welwyn Garden City or via the Hertford Loop line and then on from Hitchin to Peterborough, Cambridge and the Fenline to Kings Lynn.

Wessex Trains (www.wessextrains.co.uk)
Wessex Trains operates train services between major towns and cities in South and South West England as well as some services to and from South Wales. It has a fleet of 70 trains providing 500 services a day and 10 million journeys every year. The company operates 125 stations throughout a network of 900 miles, all supported by 900 members of staff.

The three major rolling stock companies are:

Angel Trains (www.angeltrains.co.uk)
Angel Trains finances the construction and supply of new railway rolling stock as well as the modernising or rebuilding of existing stock. It has invested 3.8 billion euros in new trains and owns and leases 5,000 vehicles in the UK and Continental Europe.

Porterbrook Leasing (www.porterbrook.co.uk)
Porterbrook Leasing has a rolling stock fleet of over 5,000 various vehicles that it leases to train and freight operators. Since 1996, Porterbrook has invested in over 2700 new vehicles with a total value of approximately £1.5 billion.

Eversholt Leasing
Owns and leases passenger and freight rolling stock. The company is owned by Forward Trust.

As the railway industry's economic regulator, the Office's principal function is to regulate Network Rail's stewardship of the national network. The ORR also licenses operators of railway assets, approves agreements for access by operators to track, stations, and light maintenance depots, and enforces domestic competition law.

The SRA provides overall strategic direction and leadership for Britain’s railways. It lets and manages passenger franchises as well as developing and sponsoring major infrastructure projects. It also manages freight grants, publishes an annual strategic plan and is responsible for some aspects of consumer protection. In July 2004 the Government announced the SRA would be wound up with 18 months.

The Railway Inspectorate of HSE is responsible for enforcing statutory requirements and accepting Railway Safety Cases. Other responsibilities include giving safety guidance to railway operators, undertaking inspection of new lines, monitoring safety equipment and investigating accidents

RSSB is an independent organisation providing leadership in the development of the long-term safety strategy and policy for the railway industry. The company's prime objective is to lead and facilitate the railway industry's work to achieve continuous improvement in the health and safety performance of the railways in Great Britain, and thus to facilitate the reduction of risk to passengers, employees and the public.