List of Train Companies Operating Trains in the United Kingdom

List of Companies Operating Trains in the United Kingdom

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 Train Operators in Great Britain
Train Operator	Type of Train Operator	Train Franchise	Parent(s) of Train Operator	Passenger Satisfaction	Start Date	Train Operator Replaced By	Train Code
Arriva Rail London (Trading as: London Overground)	TfL concession	London Overground	Arriva UK Trains	87%	13 November 2016	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 Government	-	25 June 2023	First ScotRail	CS
Chiltern Railways		Chiltern Railways	Arriva UK Trains	88%	21 July 1996	Network SouthEast (Chiltern Division)	CH
CrossCountry		New CrossCountry	Arriva UK Trains	85%	11 November 2007	Central Trains (Birmingham - Stansted), (Cardiff - Nottingham) Virgin CrossCountry	XC
East Midlands Railway		East Midland	Abellio	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) Heathrow Connect Heathrow Express (Heathrow Central - Heathrow T4 shuttle) TfL Rail (Liverpool Street - Shenfield), (Paddington - Heathrow T4/T5	XR
Eurostar	Open access	-	Eurostar International	-	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	Open access	-	Arriva UK Trains	95%	18 December 2007	-	GC
Greater Anglia (also operating Stansted Express)	Franchise	East Anglia	Abellio (60%) Mitsui (40%)	77%	16 October 2016	National Express East Anglia	LE
Great Western Railway	Franchise	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	Open access	-	FirstGroup	92%	25 September 2002	-	HT
London North Eastern Railway	Franchise	InterCity East Coast	DfT OLR Holdings	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 (Trading as Northern)	Franchise	Northern	DfT OLR Holdings	77%	1 March 2020	Arriva Rail North	NT
ScotRail		ScotRail	Scottish Government	-	1 April 2022	Abellio ScotRail	SR
Southeastern		South Eastern	DfT OLR Holdings	-	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 Trains (Trading as TransPennine Express)		TransPennine Express	DfT OLR Holdings	-	28 May 2023	TransPennine Express (2016-2023)	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	Abellio (70%) JR East (15%) Mitsui (15%)	79%	10 December 2017	London Midland	LM

In Great Britain there are also a number of light rail systems.

Great Britain has many train operating companies that have ceased to exist for various reasons, including withdrawal of the franchise, the term of the franchise has expired, bankruptcy or merger.

Defunct Train Operating Companies
Train Operator Ceased Trading	Type of Train Operator	Franchise Train Company	Parent(s) Train Company	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 201	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
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	Connex	26 May 1996	9 November 2003	South Eastern Trains	CX
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 Rai	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	Franchise	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	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	National Express	2 March 1997	10 November 2007	London Midland London Overground Rail Operations	SS
Southeastern		Integrated Kent	Govia	1 April 2006	16 October 2021	SE Trains (trading as 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	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	Virgin Rail Group	9 March 1997	7 December 2019	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	WN
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 Irish brands are used:

Northern Ireland Railways
Iarnród Éireann, who operates the Enterprise service from Dublin Connolly to Belfast Lanyon Place on the Belfast-Dublin line with Northern Ireland Railways and also 2 Northern Commuter services a day to/from Newry.

UK Railtour Operators

See also: Railtours in Great Britain
Compass Tours
DPS Railtours
Pathfinder Tours
Scottish Railway Preservation Society
Venice-Simplon Orient Express (British Pullman and Northern Belle services)
Vintage Trains
West Coast Railways
Locomotive Services Limited
Luxury railtours
Belmond Grand Hibernian (From August 2016)
Steam Dreams (Emerald Isle Explorer)

Northern Ireland Railtour Operators

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

Freight Operators in Great Britain

See also: Rail Freight in Great Britain
Colas Rail
DCRail
Direct Rail Services
DB Cargo UK (formerly English Welsh & Scottish Railway)
Freightliner
GB Railfreight
Mendip Rail

Franchised Passenger Operator Structure in Great Britain
Sector of British Rail	Train Franchise	Pre-Grouping Train Company	Original Privatised Train Operator	Current Train 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 Railways	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	-

Passenger Rail Franchising Companies in Great Britain (TOCs)