There are several companies operating trains in the United Kingdom. These include the operators of passenger services, which are, rather confusingly, officially referred to as "train operating companies" or TOCs, as distinct from "freight operating companies".

Passenger operators in Great Britain

Current passenger operators

The following operate the services that comprise the National Rail network in Great Britain.

Operator	Type	Franchise	Parent(s)	Start date	Expiry date	Replaced
Arriva Trains Wales/ Trenau Arriva Cymru	Franchise	Wales and Borders	Arriva Group	2003-12-088 December 2003	2018-00-002018	Wales and Borders
c2c	Franchise	Thamesside	National Express Group	1996-05-2626 May 1996	2011-00-002011	Network SouthEast (London, Tilbury and Southend Division)
Caledonian Sleeper	Branded Service	ScotRail	First Group	2004-10-1717 October 2004	2014-00-002014
Chiltern Railways	Franchise	Chiltern	Laing Rail	1996-07-2121 July 1996	2022-00-002022	Network SouthEast (Chiltern Division)
CrossCountry	Franchise	Cross Country	Arriva Group	2007-11-1111 November 2007	2016-04-011 April 2016	Central Trains (Birmingham - Stansted & Cardiff - Nottingham route) & Virgin Trains (Cross Country franchise)
East Coast	Franchise	InterCity East Coast	Directly Operated Railways	2009-11-1414 November 2009	2011-00-002011	National Express East Coast
East Midlands Trains	Franchise	East Midlands	Stagecoach Group	2007-11-1111 November 2007	2015-03-3131 March 2015	Central Trains (Liverpool - Norwich & East Midlands routes) & Midland Mainline
Eurostar	Open-Access	N/A	Eurostar Ltd., SNCF & NMBS/SNCB	1994-11-1414 November 1994
First Capital Connect	Franchise	Great Northern/ Thameslink	First Group	2006-04-011 April 2006	2015-00-002015	Thameslink & West Anglia Great Northern Railway (Great Northern and Fenline routes)
First Great Western	Franchise	Greater Western	First Group	2006-04-011 April 2006	2016-00-002016	First Great Western, First Great Western Link, Wessex Trains
First Hull Trains	Open-Access	N/A	First Group & Renaissance Trains	2000-09-2525 September 2000	2012-00-002012
First ScotRail	Franchise	ScotRail	First Group	2004-10-1717 October 2004	2014-00-002014	ScotRail
First TransPennine Express	Franchise	TransPennine	First Group & Keolis	2004-02-011 February 2004	2012-00-002012/2017	Arriva Trains Northern & First North Western
Gatwick Express	Branded Service	South Central	Govia	2008-06-2222 June 2008	2015-07-00July 2015/July 2017
Grand Central	Open-Access	N/A	Equishare Partners	2007-12-1818 December 2007	2011-00-002011
Heathrow Connect	Open-Access	N/A	BAA & First Group	2005-06-1212 June 2005
Heathrow Express	Open-Access	N/A	BAA	1998-06-2323 June 1998
Island Line Trains	Branded Service	South Western	Stagecoach Group	2007-02-044 February 2007	2017-02-00February 2017
London Midland	Franchise	West Midlands	Govia	2007-11-1111 November 2007	2015-09-1919 September 2015	Central Trains (Birmingham routes) & Silverlink (Northampton Line)
London Overground	TfL contract	London Overground	MTR Corporation/Deutsche Bahn	2007-11-1111 November 2007	2014-00-002014/2016	Silverlink (North London Lines)
Merseyrail	Merseytravel contract	Merseyrail	Serco Group & NedRailways	2003-07-2020 July 2003	2028-00-002028	Arriva Trains Merseyside
National Express East Anglia	Franchise	Greater Anglia	National Express Group	2004-04-011 April 2004	2011-03-3131 March 2011	'one' brand (see below), formerly Anglia Railways, First Great Eastern & West Anglia Great Northern Railway (West Anglia Main Line and Lea Valley Lines)
Night Riviera	Branded Service	Greater Western	First Group	2006-04-011 April 2006	2016-00-002016
Northern Rail	Franchise	Northern	Serco Group & NedRailways	2004-12-1212 December 2004	2013-09-00September 2013	Arriva Trains Northern & First North Western
North Yorkshire Moors Railway	Open-Access	N/A	Yorkshire Moors Railway Enterprises plc	2007-04-00April 2007		(additional —Grosmont—Whitby services)
Southeastern	Franchise	Integrated Kent	Govia	2006-04-011 April 2006	2014-03-3131 March 2014	South Eastern Trains
Southern	Franchise	South Central	Govia	2001-08-2626 August 2001	2015-07-00July 2015/July 2017	Connex South Central
South West Trains	Franchise	South Western	Stagecoach Group	2007-02-044 February 2007	2017-02-00February 2017	South West Trains & Island Line
Stansted Express	Branded service	Greater Anglia	National Express Group	2004-04-011 April 2004	2011-03-1131 March 2011
Virgin Trains	Franchise	InterCity West Coast	Virgin Group & Stagecoach Group	1997-03-099 March 1997	2012-03-3131 March 2012	InterCity (West Coast Division)
West Coast Railway Company	Open-Access	N/A		1998		(additional Fort William—Mallaig services)
Wrexham & Shropshire	Open-Access	N/A	DB Regio/Renaissance Trains	28 April 2008	2014

There are also several heritage lines and light rail systems.

Defunct operating companies

A number of operating companies have ceased to exist for a number of reasons, including premature withdrawal of the franchise; the natural term of the franchise has expired; bankruptcy; or there has been a merger.

Operator	Type	Franchise	Parent(s)	Date started	Date ceased	Replaced by
Anglia Railways	Franchise	Anglia	GB Railways	5 January 1997	1 April 2004	'one' (Now National Express East Anglia)
Arriva Trains Merseyside	Franchise	Merseyside	Arriva Group	1999	June 2003	Merseyrail
Arriva Trains Northern	Franchise	Regional Railways North East	Arriva Group	2001	12 December 2004	Split into Northern Rail & TransPennine Express
Central Trains	Franchise	Central	National Express Group	2 March 1997	11 November 2007	Split into CrossCountry, East Midlands Trains & London Midland
Central Citylink	Branded Service	Part of Central	National Express Group	2 March 1997	11 November 2007	Split into CrossCountry, East Midlands Trains & London Midland
Connex South Central	Franchise	South Central	Connex	1996	2001	Southern
Connex South Eastern	Franchise	South Eastern	Connex	1996	9 November 2003	South Eastern Trains
First Great Eastern	Franchise	Great Eastern	First Group	January 1997	1 April 2004	'one' (Now National Express East Anglia)
First Great Western Link	Franchise	Thames	First Group	April 2004	1 April 2006	Merged with First Great Western
First North Western	Franchise	North West Regional Railways	First Group	2 March 1997	12 December 2004	Split into Northern Rail & TransPennine Express
Gatwick Express	Franchise	Gatwick Express	National Express Group	April 28, 1996	June 22, 2008	Southern (continued as sub brand)
Great North Eastern Railway	Franchise	InterCity East Coast	Sea Containers	April 1996	08 December 2007	National Express East Coast
Great Western Trains	Franchise	Great Western	Great Western Holdings	1996	1998	First Great Western
Island Line	Franchise	Island Line	Stagecoach Group	1996	3 February 2007	Merged with South West Trains
Merseyrail Electrics	Franchise	Merseyrail	MTL	1997	February 2000	Arriva Trains Merseyside
Midland Mainline	Franchise	Midland Main Line	National Express Group	April 1996	11 November 2007	East Midlands Trains
National Express East Coast	Franchise	InterCity East Coast	National Express Group	2007-12-0909 December 2007	2009-11-1313 November 2009	East Coast
Northern Spirit	Franchise	Regional Railways North East	MTL	1997	February 2000	Arriva Trains Northern
North Western Trains	Franchise	North West Regional Railways	Great Western Holdings	2 March 1997	1998	First North Western
ScotRail	Franchise	ScotRail	National Express Group	1997	17 October 2004	First ScotRail
South Eastern Trains	Franchise	South Eastern	Strategic Rail Authority	9 November 2003	1 April 2006	Southeastern
Silverlink (previously known as North London Railways)	Franchise	North London Railways	National Express Group	2 March 1997	11 November 2007	Split into London Midland & London Overground
Thames Trains	Franchise	Thames	Go-Ahead Group	October 1996	1 April 2004	First Great Western Link
Thameslink	Franchise	Thameslink	Govia	2 March 1997	1 April 2006	First Capital Connect
Valley Lines	Franchise	Valley Lines	National Express Group	1995	14 October 2001	Merged with Wales and Borders
Virgin Trains (Cross Country franchise)	Franchise	Cross Country	Virgin Group & Stagecoach Group	5 January 1997	11 November 2007	CrossCountry, Virgin Trains (West Coast franchise), First TransPennine Express
West Anglia Great Northern Railway (West Anglia Main Line and Lea Valley Lines)	Franchise	West Anglia Great Northern	National Express Group	April 2004	1 April 2004	'one' (Now National Express East Anglia)
West Anglia Great Northern Railway (Great Northern and Fenline routes)	Franchise	West Anglia Great Northern	National Express Group	April 2004	1 April 2006	First Capital Connect
Wales and Borders	Franchise	Wales and Borders	National Express Group	14 October 2001	7 December 2003	Arriva Trains Wales
Wales and West	Franchise	Wales and West	Prism Rail	1997	14 October 2001	Split into Wales and Borders & Wessex Trains
Wessex Trains	Franchise	Wessex	National Express Group	14 October 2001	1 April 2006	Merged with First Great Western

Future Operators

Open-Access

• Grand Northern Trains - Grand Central's parent, Grand Union, will begin operating services between London and Bradford from early 2010. These services were won uder the name Grand Northern, although they will actually be branded as Grand Central, to allow a single fleet pool to be used.

Prospective operators

• Renaissance Trains, the owner of Wrexham & Shropshire, has proposed running services to several destinations under a number of brand names:
  • Glasgow Trains has proposed to run services between Glasgow to Blackpool, Liverpool and Nottingham.
  • Humber Coast & City Railway are planning to run services between Cleethorpes and Lincoln to Stratford, London via Peterborough and Cambridge.

Passenger Operators in Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland passenger trains are still government-owned, under the auspices of Translink. The following brands are used:

• Northern Ireland Railways - (domestic services)
• Enterprise - (Belfast-Dublin service, jointly operated by Iarnród Éireann)

Railtour operators

• Compass Tours
• DPS Railtours
• Stobart Pullman
• Pathfinder Tours
• Scottish Railway Preservation Society
• Venice-Simplon Orient Express
• Vintage Trains
• Retro Railtours
• Green Express Railtours
• Kingfisher Railtours

In Northern Ireland

• Railway Preservation Society of Ireland
• Irish Traction Group
• The Modern Railway Society of Ireland

Freight operators

• Direct Rail Services (incorporating Stobart Rail service)
• DB Schenker Rail (replaced English, Welsh and Scottish Railway)
• Fastline
• Freightliner
• FirstGBRf
• Mendip Rail

References

• List of Train Operating Companies on the National Rail website
• Barry Doe's colour-coded map showing operator(s) on each route (Large PDF)