55-520: Arriva UK Trains Limited is the company that oversees Arriva's train operating companies in the United Kingdom. It gained its first franchises in February 2000. These were later lost, though several others were gained. In January 2010, with the take-over of Arriva by Deutsche Bahn , Arriva UK Trains also took over the running of those formerly overseen by DB Regio UK Limited. Arriva currently runs
110-476: A derogation to operate the rolling stock, the access rights lapsed in June 2017. Alliance applied for altered paths with InterCity 225 sets to commence operating from September 2019. As these are not able to tilt, their speed would be restricted to 110 mph. Due to the lower speed, the revised service would only call at Milton Keynes, Nuneaton, Preston, Kirkham & Wesham and Poulton-le-Fylde. In June 2018,
165-687: A 100% FirstGroup subsidiary 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
220-850: A 50% shareholding in the now closed Wrexham & Shropshire open access operation and a 50% shareholding in London Overground Rail Operations. The Tyne & Wear Metro contract with DB Regio did not renew, and Nexus took over the operation of the Tyne & Wear Metro in April 2017. Arriva UK Trains wishes to expand the number of UK Rail businesses it operates by developing open access operations and successfully bidding for further Department for Transport Rail Franchises. As part of this strategy in November 2011 Arriva bought open-access operator Grand Central for an undisclosed price. Disappointingly in
275-554: 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. A policy where the majority of services (both long-distance and commuter) from each London terminal would all be operated by
330-501: A national network owner. 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,
385-610: 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. 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
440-674: A result of the Deutsche Bahn purchase, Laing Rail Limited was renamed DB Regio UK Limited in April 2008. DB Regio UK continued to expand when in February 2009 it was shortlisted and on 3 December 2009 awarded a contract to operate the Tyne & Wear Metro , taking over operations on 1 April 2010. Following the purchase of Arriva by Deutsche Bahn in August 2010, Arriva UK Trains expanded to take over Deutsche Bahn's existing DB Regio UK division which consisted of Chiltern Railways , DB Regio Tyne & Wear ,
495-626: A wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London , 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
550-583: Is a railway undertaking operating 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
605-684: Is closely linked to the railway system of the Republic of Ireland. 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 –
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#1732859207125660-472: 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 stations , in their role as station facility owners (SFO), in which they lease
715-748: The Department for Transport . Following this run of failure Arriva was publicly critical of the government's prequalification process and called for it to be abolished. However Arriva was shortlisted to bid for the aborted Greater Western franchise in March 2012 and the Caledonian Sleeper and Crossrail franchises in 2014. In June 2014 Alliance successfully concluded negotiations with Network Rail for access paths to run between Euston and Blackpool / Huddersfield and Leeds from 2017 using Pendolino trains. However, in January 2015 and despite Network Rail support,
770-792: The Greater Anglia franchise on 5 February 2012. In September 2012, 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 refunded. In September 2014, Govia Thameslink Railway took over services formerly operated by First Capital Connect as part of
825-530: The InterCity East Coast franchise. Alliance Rail Holdings Alliance Rail Holdings was a railway company developing plans to operate passenger trains in the United Kingdom through its subsidiaries Great North Western Railway Company Limited (GNWR) and Grand Southern Railway (GSR). Despite various proposals, the company did not run any passenger services. Alliance had undertaken detailed timetabling and economic work to support its applications to
880-594: The London Overground concession from November 2007 until November 2016. Arriva now operate the concession in its own right as Arriva Rail London . CrossCountry operates long-distance cross-country routes. The New Cross Country franchise runs from 11 November 2007 until October 2027. Grand Central is a open-access operator operating from London King's Cross to Bradford Interchange and Sunderland. The operator runs from 18 December 2007 until December 2026. Chiltern Railways operates commuter and regional routes on
935-830: 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 only applies 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. Upon privatisation in 1994, the three passenger-operating sectors of British Rail ( InterCity , Network SouthEast and Regional Railways ) were divided, and their existing operations were let as 25 franchises: 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
990-698: The North East Regional franchise and the North West Regional franchise . In 2004, these were altered into the TransPennine franchise, for intercity 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. In the same year, Thames Trains
1045-425: The Office of Rail & Road (ORR). Alliance was headed by Richard McClean who is also managing director of Grand Central . A new development team was announced on 12 August 2010. The venture was wholly owned by Arriva . On 23 February 2023, the company was legally dissolved. Great North Western Railway ( GNWR ) was planned to become an open-access train operating company . GNWR was granted permission by
1100-653: The Office of Rail & Road to operate up to five return services per day between London Euston and Blackpool North , via the West Coast Main Line , to commence in September 2019. However, in June 2019, it was revealed the services would be operated by sister company Grand Central from spring 2020 instead of September 2019. In 2010, GNWR lodged an application to operate services from London Euston to Bradford Interchange , Whitehaven , Windermere , Southport and Morecambe . However, these were rejected in 2011 by
1155-538: The Office of Rail Regulation refused all proposed GNWR services and the application for reasons that included protection of the revenues of Virgin Trains (the operator of the former InterCity West Coast franchise) and thence payments to the Department for Transport . Also because of capacity issues. This followed a proposed in December 2013 to run services between King's Cross and Skipton via Garforth and Keighley , but
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#17328592071251210-592: The Office of Rail and Road approved the new application for a 7-year track access application for 5 direct services from Blackpool North to London Euston , calling at Poulton-le-Fylde , Kirkham and Wesham , Preston , Nuneaton and Milton Keynes Central from September 2019. An option for a 6th service in the future was available. Until cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic , Grand Central (rather than Great North Western Railway) planned to operate five daily return services between London Euston and Blackpool North via
1265-558: The Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern franchise and branded them as Thameslink and Great Northern. Services operated by Southern , another Govia subsidiary, were merged into the new franchise in the following year. Hull Trains became a 100% subsidiary of FirstGroup when the 80% shareholder bought out its partners. In March 2015, a Stagecoach and Virgin joint venture trading as Virgin Trains East Coast commenced operating
1320-449: The West Coast Main Line , calling at Milton Keynes Central , Nuneaton , Preston , Kirkham and Wesham and Poulton-le-Fylde . In November 2016, Alliance began consultation on a proposed London Waterloo to Southampton service. It was proposed to operate seven off-peak services per day from December 2017, calling at Wimbledon , Hook , Basingstoke , Winchester and Eastleigh , with two peak services proposed from December 2018. It
1375-700: 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,
1430-548: The British Railways Board. They acted as shadow franchises prior to being put to tender: The opening of the Channel Tunnel saw operations by Eurostar begin from London Waterloo to Paris and Brussels . 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
1485-534: The Chiltern Main Line. The Chiltern Railways Franchise runs from 21 July 1996 to December 2027. Arriva TrainCare operates train maintenance depots at Bristol Barton Hill TMD , Cambridge , Crewe , Eastleigh and Newcastle upon Tyne . In January 2008 it was announced that subject to regulatory approval, Deutsche Bahn would purchase Laing Rail which had itself just started operating the London Overground concession in partnership with MTR Corporation . As
1540-635: The East Coast franchise. In April 2008, Wrexham & Shropshire began operating open access services between Wrexham and London Marylebone . In June 2008, the Gatwick Express franchise was integrated with the South Central franchise operated by Southern . The government announced that National Express East Coast would have its franchise to operate intercity services along the ECML terminated, and that
1595-569: The North West Regional Railways franchise. The remainder were divided between a handful of major transport operators: 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. Great Western Holdings , which operated Great Western Trains and North West Trains, became
1650-664: The ORR announced Alliance Rail's amended application to operate six trains per day from London Euston to Blackpool calling at Milton Keynes , Nuneaton , Tamworth , Lichfield Trent Valley , Crewe , Preston , Kirkham & Wesham and Poulton-le-Fylde had been successful. A 10-year access agreement was awarded with operations to commence in May 2018. These services were to have been operated by fellow Arriva subsidiary Grand Central . The application proposed using 125 mph tilting Class 390 Pendolinos , however with Alliance unable to negotiate
1705-462: The ORR. An amended application was lodged in 2011. In June 2014, GNWR successfully concluded negotiations with Network Rail for access paths from London Euston to Blackpool , Huddersfield and Leeds from 2017 using Pendolino trains. However, in January 2015 and despite Network Rail support, the ORR refused these proposed GNWR services citing capacity issues and failing the not primarily abstractive test, meaning most of its revenue would be at
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1760-566: 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 train operating companies in Great Britain and owns the National Rail brand, which uses the former British Rail double-arrow logo and organises
1815-466: The buildings and associated land from Network Rail. 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" (specific parts of
1870-449: The common ticketing structure. Many of the train operating companies are in fact parts of larger companies which operate multiple franchises. The railway network in Northern Ireland is managed differently from the rest of the UK. The sole company in Northern Ireland that operates trains is NI Railways , who are a subsidiary of Translink , the publicly owned transport corporation, which also runs
1925-518: 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 either to failing expectations or to events on the rail system as a whole. The term is also sometimes used to describe companies operating passenger or freight rail services over tracks owned by another company or
1980-490: The expense of existing users rather than new custom. In 2010, it was proposed that services be operated by dual-mode (diesel + electric) Polaris trains, capable of 140 mph (230 km/h). Sixteen trainsets were expected to be ordered, with a capacity of up to 350 passengers each. However, the Polaris deal was not finalised and Alliance indicated that it was investigating purchasing Pendolinos from Alstom . In August 2015,
2035-487: The following railway companies with operational dates listed: Franchises: Open Access Operator: Concessions: Maintenance: Arriva Trains Merseyside ran urban rail services on Merseyside from February 2000 until March 2003 and Arriva Trains Northern ran local rail services in Northern England from February 2000 until December 2004. Both franchises were lost to Serco-Abellio . Arriva Trains Wales operated
2090-514: The franchise would pass into the hands of public-sector company, Directly Operated Railways , which acted as the parent for East Coast . Grand Central open-access services from London to Bradford began on 23 May 2010. 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. Abellio Greater Anglia began operating
2145-401: The franchising system, beginning its services from London Paddington to Heathrow with operating rights until 2023. The shareholdings of M40 Trains were restructured with John Laing owning 84% of the company with the remaining 16% held by former BR managers. MTL which operated Merseyrail Electrics and Northern Spirit and Prism Rail that operated c2c (renamed from LTS Rail earlier in
2200-570: The last full financial year before the purchase, Grand Central's seven return trains a day lost £8.5m leaving an overall deficit of £35m. Alliance Rail Holdings continues to develop new open access proposals following the rejection of their initial plans by the Office of Rail Regulation in 2011. During 2012 Arriva's applications to bid for the InterCity West Coast , Greater Anglia , Essex Thameside and Thameslink franchises were all rejected by
2255-539: The majority of rail services in Wales, operating the Wales & Borders franchise from 7 December 2003 until 13 October 2018. This franchise was lost to KeolisAmey Wales . Arriva Rail North operated the Northern franchise from April 2016 to 29 February 2020. This franchise was terminated and handed to the government-owned Northern Trains . London Overground Rail Operations , a 50/50 joint venture with MTR Corporation operated
Arriva UK Trains - Misplaced Pages Continue
2310-594: The name Wales & Borders . The remainder of Wales & West's services in the west of England were renamed Wessex Trains . John Laing bought out its partners in M40 Trains. Connex , having already lost the South Central franchise in 2001, was removed as franchisee of the South Eastern franchise in 2003 on the grounds of poor financial management. It was replaced as the franchise holder by South Eastern Trains ,
2365-578: The overall 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 London King's Cross and Hull , Grand Central , which operates between King's Cross and Sunderland and between King's Cross and Bradford , and Lumo , which operates between King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley . In addition, there are operators that fall outside
2420-404: 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 London to Heathrow Airport . A number of metropolitan railways on the network are operated by the local franchise holder in conjunction with
2475-678: The rejection was that the Class 442s were no longer available. The proposal also generated only between £0.17 and £0.22 of new revenue for each pound abstracted from the incumbent operators, and the ORR requires it to be over £0.30, so it failed the "not primarily abstractive" test. GNER, resurrecting the name of the defunct Sea Containers subsidiary lodged an application to operate from London King's Cross to Cleethorpes , Bradford Forster Square , Ilkley and Edinburgh from 2018. These were rejected in May 2016. It also proposed in 2009 to operate services from London King's Cross to Scarborough via
2530-670: The responsibility for the specification and procurement of the Wales & Borders franchise belongs to Transport for Wales . 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. ( London Underground ,
2585-501: 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 2007, National Express East Coast took over
2640-532: The running of the InterCity East Coast franchise from GNER . Grand Central also began operating its services between London and Sunderland as an open access operator. In January 2008, 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 2008, One was re-branded by National Express as National Express East Anglia to bring it into line with
2695-517: The same franchise was partially enacted. In April 2004, 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 Liverpool Street . The remainder continuing to be operated as WAGN . In the North of England, prior to 2004 there were two regional franchises,
2750-522: The south-east of England, were replaced as the operator of the Network SouthCentral franchise by Govia , who began operating it under the name South Central . Also in 2001, 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
2805-505: 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 . In 2001, Connex , which had operated two franchises in
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#17328592071252860-411: Was rejected in 2014, by the Office of Rail Regulation. Alliance submitted an amended application which was accepted in August 2015, and plan from 2018 to commence operating services from London Euston to Poulton-le-Fylde after the Office of Rail and Road granted access rights for 10 years. Train operating company In the railway system of Great Britain , a train operating company ( TOC )
2915-473: Was set to use Class 442 trains. Network Rail had identified available paths for Grand Southern to use. In March 2017, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) told Grand Southern to delay the application until the outcome of the South Western franchise was known. In March 2018, the ORR released an update confirming a delay to the application. The application was eventually rejected in August 2018. The reason for
2970-488: Was superseded by First Great Western Link and ScotRail (National Express) by First ScotRail . 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. Three new integrated franchises began operating in April 2006: Further integrations occurred in 2007. The first of these
3025-506: Was the South Western franchise ; this merged the original South West Trains franchise with the Island Line Trains franchise on the Isle of Wight and began operating in February 2007 under the name South West Trains, with Island Line retained as a separate brand. In November 2007, three new integrated franchises began operating: In addition to these three, a further new operator, London Overground Rail Operations , took control of
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