List of companies operating trains in the United Kingdom

There are several companies operating trains in the United Kingdom. These include the 23 operators of franchised passenger services, which are officially referred to as "train operating companies" or TOCs, as distinct from "freight operating companies".

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

There are also several heritage lines and light rail systems.

Defunct operating companies
Operating companies have ceased to exist for various reasons, including premature withdrawal of the franchise; the natural term of the franchise has expired; bankruptcy; or merger.

Future operators

 * Crossrail, a concession to be let by TfL managing the cross-London Maidenhead/Heathrow to Shenfield/Abbey Wood line. It will take over control of its first services from 2015 with the full franchise operating from 2018.
 * Renaissance Trains, former shareholder in Wrexham & Shropshire, has proposed running services to several destinations under various brand names:
 * Glasgow Trains proposed to run services between Glasgow to Blackpool, Liverpool and Nottingham.
 * Humber Coast & City Railway proposed to run services from Cleethorpes and Lincoln to Stratford, London via Peterborough and Cambridge.
 * Alliance Rail Holdings proposes Great North Eastern Railway and Great North Western Railway services from 2015
 * Go! Cooperative (GOCO) proposes open-access services between Westbury (Wiltshire) and Birmingham Moor Street from 2013.
 * Deutsche Bahn, the German national railway company, plans to utilise the Channel Tunnel and High Speed 1 to link London with Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Cologne originally from December 2013., but has been delayed until December 2015

Passenger operators in Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland passenger trains are 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

 * Branch Line Society
 * Compass Tours
 * DPS Railtours
 * NENTA Train Tours
 * Pathfinder Tours
 * Railway Touring Company
 * Scottish Railway Preservation Society
 * Statesman Rail
 * Steam Dreams
 * UK Railtours
 * Venice-Simplon Orient Express (British Pullman and Northern Belle services)
 * Vintage Trains

In Northern Ireland
 * Railway Preservation Society of Ireland
 * Irish Traction Group
 * The Modern Railway Society of Ireland

Freight operators

 * Colas Rail
 * Devon and Cornwall Railways
 * Direct Rail Services
 * DB Schenker (formerly English, Welsh and Scottish Railway)
 * Freightliner
 * GB Railfreight
 * Mendip Rail