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The National Rail Network
Since 1995, Britain's rail network has been run by 20+ private companies. However, the government makes sure they work together as National Rail, with coordinated fares, ticketing & information. You can find train times & fares for all operators all on one website, and you can buy a ticket between any two stations, with tickets normally valid on any operator's trains.
24 privately owned Train Operating Companies (TOCs) operate trains on the UK rail network. The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) provides a common voice for the TOCs and some degree of central coordination: the provision, for example, of a national timetable, journey planner, and enquiry service.
Passenger train services in the UK are, in the main, structured on the basis of regional franchises awarded by the Department for Transport (DFT) to Train Operating Companies. Some slight variations include Merseyrail where the franchise is awarded by Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive and Scotrail where the DfT awards on the advice of the Scottish Government. There were initially 25 such franchises, but the number of different operating companies is smaller as some firms, including First Group, National Express Group and Stagecoach Group, have more than one franchise. In addition some franchises have since been combined. There are a number of local or specialised rail services operated on an 'open access' basis outside the franchise arrangements. Examples include the Heathrow Express and Hull Trains.
Most UK railway stations date from the Victorian era and are located on the edge of town centres. Major stations are generally in large cities, with a particular concentration in London, but some important railway junction stations lie in smaller cities, for example Crewe station and Carlisle station. Other places expanded into towns and cities because of the railway network, Swindon for example was little more than a village prior to the Great Western Railway siting their locomotive works there.
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