Network Rail - Network Rail Route Plans - H

Network Rail - H

Network Rail Route Plans

Network Rail regularly publishes a Strategic Business Plan detailing their policies, processes and plans, as well as financial expenditure and other data. The most recent complete business plan was published in January 2013. Within these plans the rail network is divided into ten “devolved routes” or “operational routes”, with a Route Plan for each being published annually.

Each route or other plan covers a number of railway lines usually defined by geographical area and the routes are further subdivided into 17 “strategic routes”, each divided into Strategic Route Sections (SRS) and given an SRS number and name.

The plans also detail the geography of routes, stations, major junctions, capacity constraints and other issues and provide data on freight gauge, electrification, line speed, number of tracks, capacity and other information. The plans also detail the expected future demand and development of each route, their predicted expenditure and their maintenance and investment requirements.

The devolved routes were introduced in 2011, and the 17 strategic routes labelled "A" to "Q" were introduced in 2010. From 2004 to 2009, the network had been divided into 26 strategic routes numbered "1" to "26". In 2003, the network had been divided into 41 strategic routes numbered "1" to "41".

The 2011 devolved routes and strategic routes are organised as in the table below:

Network Rail Devolved Routes

Devolved Route: South East A

Strategic Route: Kent and High Speed One

Primary Routes: London Charing Cross - Ashford International
Primary Routes: London St Pancras International - Channel Tunnel

Other Destinations: Canterbury East, Dover Priory, Folkestone Central, Hastings, London Bridge, London Cannon Street, Maidstone East, Margate, Rochester, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge

Former Strategic Routes 2004-09:

1. Kent

Devolved Route: South East B

Strategic Route: Sussex

Primary Routes: London Victoria - Brighton

Other Destinations: Chichester, Clapham Junction, Dorking, Eastbourne, London Blackfriars, London Bridge, London St Pancras International, Redhill

Former Strategic Routes 2004-09:

2. Brighton Main Line & Sussex

Devolved Route: Wessex C

Strategic Route: Wessex

Primary Routes: London Waterloo - Southampton Central

Other Destinations: Ascot, Basingstoke, Bournemouth, Clapham Junction, Dorchester South, Exeter St Davids, Guildford, Kew Bridge, Poole, Portsmouth Harbour, Salisbury, Shanklin, Shepperton, Staines, Weymouth, Windsor & Eton Riverside, Woking

Former Strategic Routes 2004-09:

3. South West Main Line

4. Wessex Routes

Devolved Route: Anglia D

Strategic Route: East Anglia

Primary Routes: London Liverpool Street - Norwich

Other Destinations: Cambridge, Ely, Felixstowe, Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Harwich Town, Ipswich, Kings Lynn, Southend Victoria

Former Strategic Routes 2004-09:

5. West Anglia

7. Great Eastern

Devolved Route: Anglia E

Strategic Route: North London Line

Primary Routes: None

Other Destinations: Barking, Gospel Oak, Richmond, Stratford

Former Strategic Routes 2004-09:

6. North London Line and Thameside (part)

Devolved Route: Anglia F

Strategic Route: Thameside

Primary Routes: None

Other Destinations: Fenchurch Street, Shoeburyness, Southend Central

Former Strategic Routes 2004-09:

6. North London Line and Thameside (part)

Devolved Route: London North Eastern and East Midland G

Strategic Route: Strategic Route: East Coast Main Line and North East

Primary Routes: London King's Cross - Leeds and Edinburgh Waverley

Other Destinations: Doncaster, Durham, Lincoln Central, Newcastle, Peterborough, Whitby, York

Former Strategic Routes 2004-09:

8. East Coast Main Line

9. North East Routes (part)

11. South Cross-Pennine, South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire (part)

Devolved Route: London North Eastern and East Midland H

Strategic Route: Cross-Pennine, Yorkshire & Humber and North West (East section)

Primary Routes: Chesterfield - Barnetby

Other Destinations: Barnsley, Bradford Interchange, Huddersfield, Hull, Leeds, Scarborough, Sheffield, Skipton, York

Former Strategic Routes 2004-09:

9. North East Routes (part)

10. North Cross-Pennine, North and West Yorkshire

11. South Cross-Pennine, South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire (part)

Devolved Route: London North Eastern and East Midland I

Strategic Route: East Midlands

Primary Routes: London St Pancras International - Nottingham, Derby, Chesterfield
Primary Routes: Burton-on-Trent - Derby

Other Destinations: Bedford, Leicester, Matlock, Skegness

Former Strategic Routes 2004-09:

19. Midland Main Line and East Midlands

Devolved Route: Western J

Strategic Route: London and West

Primary Routes: London Paddington - Oxford, Bristol Parkway, Severn Tunnel, Taunton

Other Destinations: Heathrow Central, Heathrow Terminal 4, Newbury, Reading, Didcot Parkway, South Ruislip, Swindon, Windsor & Eton Central

Former Strategic Routes 2004-09:

12. Reading to Penzance (part)

13. Great Western Main Line (part)

Devolved Route: Western K

Strategic Route: West of England

Primary Routes: Swindon - Bristol Temple Meads
Primary Routes: Bristol Parkway - Plymouth
Primary Routes: Bristol Temple Meads - Cheltenham Spa

Other Destinations: Barnstaple, Bath Spa, Exeter St Davids, Gloucester, Penzance, Taunton

Former Strategic Routes 2004-09:

12. Reading to Penzance (part)

13. Great Western Main Line (part)

Devolved Route: Wales L

Strategic Route: Wales

Primary Routes: Severn Tunnel - Swansea

Other Destinations: Aberdare, Aberystwyth, Bangor, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Caerphilly, Cardiff Central, Carmarthen, Crewe, Fishguard Harbour, Gloucester, Hereford, Holyhead, Llandudno, Merthyr Tydfil, Milford Haven, Newport, Pembroke Dock, Port Talbot Parkway, Pwllheli, Rhyl, Rhymney, Shrewsbury, Tenby, Treherbert, Wrexham General

Former Strategic Routes 2004-09:

13. Great Western Main Line (part)

14. South and Central Wales and Borders

15. South Wales Valleys

22. North Wales and Borders

Devolved Route: London North Western H

Strategic Route: Cross-Pennine, Yorkshire & Humber and North West (West section)

Primary Routes: Crewe - Manchester Piccadilly
Primary Routes: Liverpool South Parkway - Liverpool Lime Street

Other Destinations: Barrow-in-Furness, Blackburn, Blackpool North, Bolton, Burnley Central, Buxton, Carlisle, Colne, Lancaster, Manchester Victoria, Morecambe, Preston, Settle, Southport, Todmorden, Warrington Central, Wigan Wallgate, Windermere

Former Strategic Routes 2004-09:

20. North West Urban

23. North West Rural

Devolved Route: London North Western M

Strategic Route: West Midlands and Chilterns

Primary Routes: Birmingham New Street - Oxford, Cheltenham Spa, Rugby, Burton-on-Trent and Stafford

Other Destinations: Banbury, Bicester Village, Coventry, High Wycombe, Kidderminster, London Marylebone, Nuneaton, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, Wolverhampton, Worcester Foregate Street

Former Strategic Routes 2004-09:

16. Chilterns

17. West Midlands

Devolved Route: London North Western N

Strategic Route: West Coast Main Line

Primary Routes: London Euston - Liverpool South Parkway, Cheadle Hulme & Carstairs

Other Destinations: Bedford St Johns, Bletchley, Carlisle, Chester, Crewe, Lancaster, Macclesfield, Milton Keynes Central, Northampton, Preston, Rugby, Runcorn, St Albans Abbey, Stafford, Stoke-on-Trent, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western

Former Strategic Routes 2004-09:

18. West Coast Main Line

Devolved Route: London North Western O

Strategic Route: Merseyside

Primary Routes: None

Other Destinations: Chester, Ellesmere Port, Kirkby, Liverpool Central, Liverpool Lime Street, Liverpool South Parkway, New Brighton, Ormskirk, Southport, West Kirby

Former Strategic Routes 2004-09:

21. Merseyrail

Devolved Route: Scotland P

Strategic Route: Scotland East

Primary Routes: Edinburgh Waverley - Carstairs & Falkirk High

Other Destinations: Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow Queen Street High Level, Inverness, Kyle of Lochalsh, Stirling, Thurso, Wick

Former Strategic Routes 2004-09:

24. East of Scotland

25. Highlands (part)

Devolved Route: Scotland Q

Strategic Route: Scotland West

Primary Routes: Carstairs - Glasgow Central

Other Destinations: Ardrossan Harbour, Ayr, Dumbarton Central, Dumfries, Fort William, Glasgow Queen Street Low Level, Greenock Central, Helensburgh Central, Largs, Mallaig, Oban, Stranraer

Former Strategic Routes 2004-09:

25. Highlands (part)

26. Strathclyde and South West Scotland

Network Rail Overview

Network Rail Type: Government-owned company/non-departmental public body

(incorporated as a private company limited by guarantee without share capital)

Network Rail Industry: Rail infrastructure and asset management

Network Rail Predecessor: Railtrack

Network Rail Founded: October 2002, 21 years ago

Network Rail Successor: Great British Railways (from 2024)

Network Rail Headquarters: 1 Eversholt Street

London

NW1 2DN

Network Rail Key People:

Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill (chairman)

Andrew Haines (CEO)

Ric Scott (Highland Area LOM)

Network Rail Products: Public transport

Network Rail Revenue: £6.6 billion (2019)

Network Rail Owner: HM Government (Department for Transport)

Network Rail Number of Employees: 42,099 (2020)

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