Rail Industry Contacts

This page lists the contact details for many of the organisations involved in the running of Britain’s railway system.

• Train Operating Companies
• Freight Operating Companies
• Passenger Groups
• Passenger Transport Executives
• Unions
• Regulatory Bodies
• Associations
• Training Organisations
• Others

Please note that the following links are external to this website. Rail Safety and Standards Board is not responsible for the contents or reliability of the these websites and does not necessarily endorse the views expressed within them.

While we make considerable efforts to ensure the following listings are comprehensive and up to date, we cannot completely guarantee this. If you have corrections or further suggestions for inclusion please e-mail us: enquiries@rssb.co.uk

Train Operating Companies

Train operating companies are responsible for running passenger rail services on Britain’s railways.

• Arriva Trains Wales - http://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/
• C2C - http://www.c2c-online.co.uk/
• Chiltern Railways - http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk
• Cross Country - http://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk
• East Midland Trains - http://www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk
• Eurostar - http://www.eurostar.com
• First Capital Connect - http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk
• First Great Western - http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/
• First Transpennine Express - http://www.tpexpress.co.uk
• Gatwick Express - http://www.gatwickexpress.com
• Grand Central - http://www.grandcentralrail.co.uk
• Heathrow Express - http://www.heathrowexpress.co.uk/
• Hull Trains - http://www.hulltrains.co.uk/
• Island Line - http://www.island-line.co.uk/
• London Midland - http://www.londonmidland.com
• London Overground (Corporate) - http://www.lorol.co.uk
• London Overground (Travel) - http://www.tfl.gov.uk/overground
• London Underground - http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl
• Merseyrail - http://www.merseyrail.org
• National Express East Coast - http://www.nationalexpresseastcoast.com
• Northern - http://www.northernrail.org
• One Railway - http://www.onerailway.com/
• ScotRail - http://www.firstscotrail.com/
• Southern - http://www.southernrailway.com/
• South Eastern - http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/
• South West Trains - http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/
• Virgin Trains - http://www.virgintrains.co.uk/

Freight Operating Companies

Aside from companies running passenger rail services, these are the other companies which hold a Safety Case with Network Rail.

• Direct Rail Services - http://www.directrailservices.com/
• English Welsh & Scottish Railway - http://www.ews-railway.co.uk/
• Freightliner Ltd - http://www.freightliner.co.uk/
• Grant Rail - http://www.grantrail.co.uk/

Passenger Groups

These are groups either run by or for members of the general public who use Britain’s railways.

• Passenger Focus - http://www.passengerfocus.org.uk/

Passenger Transport Executives

These publicly funded bodies are responsible for promoting and organising public transport services in specific local areas.

• Centro, West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive - http://www.centro.org.uk/
• Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive - http://www.gmpte.gov.uk/
• Merseytravel Passenger Transport Executive - http://www.merseytravel.gov.uk
• Metro, West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive - http://www.wymetro.com/
• Nexus, Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive - http://www.nexus.org.uk/
• South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive - http://www.sypte.co.uk/
• Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive - http://www.spt.co.uk/

Unions

Listed here are trades unions whose membership is substantially or wholly based in the railway industry.

• International Transport Workers' Federation - http://www.itf.org.uk/
• National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers - http://www.rmt.org.uk/
• The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen - http://www.aslef.org.uk/
• Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association - http://www.tssa.org.uk/

Regulatory Bodies

These are organisations which have a supervisory and regulatory role over the railway industry.

• Department for Transport - http://www.dft.gov.uk/
• The Office of Rail Regulation - http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/

Associations

These are independent bodies which are concerned with various aspects of the railways in Britain, often through the bringing together of shared interests.

• Association of Train Operating Companies - http://www.atoc.org/
• British International Freight Association - http://www.bifa.org/
• Confederation of Passenger Transport UK - http://www.cpt-uk.org/
• Heritage Railway Association - http://www.hra.gb.com/
• Institute of Logistics and Transport - http://www.iolt.org.uk/
• Institution of Railway Operators - http://www.railwayforum.com/
• Institution of Railway Signal Engineers - http://www.irse.org/
• Light Rail Transit Association - http://www.lrta.org/
• Locomotive and Carriage Institution - http://www.lococarriage.org.uk/
• Rail Freight Group - http://www.rfg.org.uk/
• Railway Development Society - http://www.railfuture.org.uk/
• Railway Forum - http://www.railwayforum.com/
• Railway Industry Association - http://www.riagb.org.uk/
• Railway Industry Fire Association - http://www.railway-technology.com/
• Scottish Association for Public Transport - http://www.transformscotland.org.uk/
• Transport 2000 - http://www.transport2000.org.uk/
• Transport Trust - http://www.thetransporttrust.org.uk/

Training Organisations

These organisations provide educational courses and resources on subjects relevant to the railway industry.

• Advanced Railway Research Centre - http://www.shef.ac.uk/acse/
• Rail Industry Training Council (now the Centre for Rail Skills) - http://www.cfrs.org.uk/
• University of Leeds, Institute for Transport Studies - http://www.its.leeds.ac.uk/
• University of Sheffield, Advanced Railway Research Centre - http://www.shef.ac.uk/
• University of Sheffield, Department of Mechanical Railway Systems Group - http://www.shef.ac.uk/
• University of York, Institute of Railway Studies - http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/irs/

Others

• British Transport Police - http://www.btp.police.uk/
• National Rail Enquiries Online - http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/planmyjourney
• Parliamentary Advisory Committee on Transport Safety - http://www.pacts.org.uk/
• Railway Benefit Fund - http://www.railwaybenefitfund.org.uk/
• The Education Site - http://www.the-education-site.com/rail/safety.html
  This site gives details of the history of railway transport and how the industry is organised today. The information and resource material provided is related to key areas of the National Curriculum.

Railway Crime

These websites have been developed through partnerships established from all the companies and organisations within the rail industry in order to reduce the levels of crime on the UK rail network. The partners include Network Rail, train operating companies, freight operating companies, British Transport Police and the rail unions.

• No Messin! - http://www.no-messin.com/
  Network Rail initiative
• Track Off - http://www.trackoff.org/
  Targets teachers and young people with information for use by teachers and pupils as part of the national curriculum.