National Rail in the context of PlusBus

The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest railway system in the world. The first locomotive-hauled public railway opened in 1825, which was followed by an era of rapid expansion. Most of the track is managed by Network Rail, which in 2024 had a network of 9,848 miles (15,849 km) of standard-gauge lines, of which 3,810 miles (6,130 km) were electrified. In addition, some cities have separate metro, light rail and tram systems, among them the historic London Underground and the Glasgow Subway. There are also many private railways, some of them narrow-gauge, which are primarily short lines for tourists. The main rail network is connected with that of continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel and High Speed 1, opened in 1994 and 2007 respectively.

In 2024, there were 1.612 billion journeys on the National Rail network, making the British network the fifth most used in the world (Great Britain ranks 23rd in world population). Unlike a number of other countries, rail travel in the United Kingdom has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years, with passenger numbers approaching their highest ever level (see usage figures below). This has coincided with the privatisation of British Rail, but the cause of this increase is unclear. The growth is partly attributed to a shift away from private motoring due to growing road congestion and increasing petrol prices, but also to the overall increase in travel due to affluence. Passenger journeys in Britain grew by 88% over the period 1997–98 to 2014 as compared to 62% in Germany, 41% in France and 16% in Spain.

Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom.

TfL is the successor organisation of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and several other bodies in the intervening years. Since the current organisation's creation in 2000 as part of the Greater London Authority (GLA), TfL has been responsible for operating multiple urban rail networks, including the London Underground and Docklands Light Railway, as well as London's buses, taxis, principal road routes, cycling provision, trams, and river services. It does not control all National Rail services in London, although it is responsible for London Overground and Elizabeth line services. The underlying services are provided by a mixture of wholly owned subsidiary companies (principally London Underground), by private-sector franchisees (the remaining rail services, trams and most buses) and by licencees (some buses, taxis and river services). Fares are controlled by TfL, rail services fares calculated using numbered zones across the capital.

London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, it now serves a large part of Greater London as well as Hertfordshire, with 113 stations on the six lines that make up the network.

The Overground forms part of the United Kingdom's National Rail network but it is under the concession control and branding of Transport for London (TfL). Operation has been contracted to Arriva Rail London since 2016. TfL previously assigned orange as a mode-specific colour for the Overground in branding and publicity including the roundel, on the Tube map, trains and stations.

Newcastle (also known as Newcastle Central and locally as Central station) is a railway station in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a principal stop on the East Coast Main Line, around 268 miles (432 km) north of London King's Cross. It is the primary National Rail station serving the city and an interchange for local services provided by the Tyne and Wear Metro network, whose Central station is situated directly underground. The station is the busiest in Tyne & Wear and in North East England; it is the seventh busiest in Northern England.

Services on the East Coast Main Line run from London to Edinburgh, via York and Berwick. There is a frequent service across the Pennines to Manchester and Liverpool. Cross-country services connect the city with the West Midlands and South West of England. The station is also on the Durham Coast Line, with connections to Gateshead, Sunderland, Hartlepool, Stockton and Middlesbrough; and the Tyne Valley Line to Hexham and Carlisle. Additional direct destinations from the station include Aberdeen, Glasgow, Durham, Darlington, Leeds, Sheffield, Derby, Birmingham, Reading, Bristol, Exeter and Plymouth.

Marple is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is on the River Goyt, 9 miles (14 km) south-east of Manchester, 9 miles (14 km) north of Macclesfield and 4 miles (6 km) south-east of Stockport. At the 2021 census, the built up area had a population of 12,970.

It lies within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire (although its district Marple Bridge was historically partially in Derbyshire), and became part of Greater Manchester in 1974. The town lies along the Peak Forest Canal, which contains the Marple Lock Flight and Marple Aqueduct. The Roman Lakes, to the south-east of the town centre, attracts anglers and walkers. The town is served by two railway stations: Marple and Rose Hill Marple, providing access to the rail network in Greater Manchester, a direct line to Sheffield and beyond. It is also close to the Middlewood Way, a shared use path following the former Macclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway line south from Rose Hill to Macclesfield.

In the railway system of Great Britain, a train operating company (TOC) 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 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 to failing expectations, or events on the rail system as a whole, or since 2024 the government's intention to bring passenger rail services into public ownership. As of July 2025, all Welsh and Scottish TOCs, and six English TOCs are government-owned.

Stratford is a major multi-level interchange station serving the town of Stratford and the mixed-use development known as Stratford City, in the London Borough of Newham, East London for London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and Elizabeth line services. National Rail services also operate on the West Anglia Main Line and the Great Eastern Main Line, 4 miles 3 chains (6.5 km) from Liverpool Street.

It is the seventh busiest railway station in Britain, the second busiest station in London outside the London station group, and is the busiest station on the London Underground network outside London fare zone 1.

Stratford International is a National Rail station in Stratford and a separate Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station nearby, located in East Village in London. Despite its name, no international services stop at the station; plans for it to be served by Eurostar trains never came to fruition. However, there are plans to use it as a terminus for Eurostar competitor Gemini Trains from 2029 (see International services). The National Rail platforms are served by Southeastern trains on the High Speed 1 route originating at London St Pancras International (which is served by Eurostar). On the DLR, it is a terminus – one of seven end-of-the-line termini – for local services via Canning Town and London City Airport.

Construction of the National Rail station was completed in 2006, but it only opened in 2009 to serve Southeastern services on HS1. In 2011, an extension of the DLR was opened to connect Stratford International to the wider London public transport network, and to the main Stratford station to the south. The DLR station is physically separate and located just across the road from the HS1 station. Oyster cards and contactless payment cards are valid for travel to and from Stratford International, with the DLR station in London fare zone 2 and 3, but special fares apply at the HS1 station.

Wembley Central is an interchange station in Wembley, north-west London. It is situated on the east-west High Road and is near to both Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena. The station, which is in London fare zone 4, provides Bakerloo line services of the London Underground, Lioness line services of the London Overground, and National Rail services operated by Southern on the West Coast Main Line.

The Settle–Carlisle line (also known as the Settle and Carlisle (S&C)) is a 73-mile-long (117 km) main railway line in northern England. The route, which crosses the remote, scenic regions of the Yorkshire Dales and the North Pennines, runs between Settle Junction, on the Leeds–Morecambe line, and Carlisle, near the English-Scottish borders. The historic line was constructed in the 1870s and has several notable tunnels and viaducts such as the imposing Ribblehead.

The line is managed by Network Rail. All passenger services are operated by Northern apart from temporary diverted services (due to closures of the West Coast Main Line) and are part of the National Rail network. Stations serve towns such as Settle in North Yorkshire, Appleby-in-Westmorland in Cumbria and small rural communities along its route.

Transport for Wales Rail Limited, branded as Transport for Wales and TfW Rail (Welsh: Trafnidiaeth Cymru and TrC Trenau), is a Welsh publicly owned train operating company, a subsidiary of Transport for Wales (TfW), a Welsh Government-owned company. It commenced operations of the day to day services of the Wales & Borders franchise on 7 February 2021, as an operator of last resort, succeeding KeolisAmey Wales.

Transport for Wales Rail manages 248 National Rail stations, including all 223 in Wales, and operates all passenger mainline services wholly within Wales, and services along the England–Wales border, many of which run into or through England.

Below is a list of the busiest railway stations in Europe. Train stations with more than 30 million passengers per year are shown.

Only data from national networks is shown. Notably, the London stations only include figures on the National Rail network and not journeys on the London Underground network, while the Paris stations include all journeys on the SNCF mainline network and RER, but not RER operated by the RATP and the Paris Métro. The number of platforms does not include rapid transit systems, referring exclusively to mainline or commuter rail platforms.

The London station group is a group of 18 railway stations served by the National Rail network in central London, England. The group contains all 14 terminal stations in central London, either serving major national services or local commuter routes, and 4 other through-stations that are considered terminals for ticketing purposes. All current stations in the group fall within London fare zone 1. A ticket marked "London Terminals" allows travel to any station in the group via any permitted route, as determined by the National Routeing Guide.

Most London terminal stations were developed in the mid-19th century during the initial boom of rail transport. Many stations were built around the edge of central London, stopping at what is now the London Inner Ring Road, because it was prohibitively expensive to build right into the centre, and because each railway was owned by a private company competing with the others. The creation of the London Underground provided a practical connection to the various terminals, which continues to be the case as of the 21st century. Many of the stations have been upgraded and modernised to provide a greater capacity and connections to the network; the first London terminal, London Bridge has been rebuilt and expanded on numerous occasions, and of the major 19th century terminals, only Broad Street and Holborn Viaduct have closed. The latter was replaced by the nearby City Thameslink.

Ashford International railway station is a National Rail station in the town of Ashford, Kent, England. It connects several railway lines, including High Speed 1 and the South Eastern Main Line. Services are operated by Southeastern and Southern.

The station opened in 1842 as Ashford by the South Eastern Railway (SER) as a temporary terminus of the line from London to Dover via Croydon. Connections to Folkestone, Canterbury and Hastings opened within ten years. It was renamed Ashford (Kent) in 1923. There have been two significant rebuilds; in the 1960s for the South Eastern Main Line electrification, and to accommodate international services in the 1990s. The station was renamed as Ashford International in 1996. International services were reduced following the completion of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and the opening of Ebbsfleet International in 2007, but were partially restored before being suspended indefinitely in 2020. Domestic services along High Speed 1 to St Pancras have been running since 2009.

Fare zone 1 is the central zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used by the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and National Rail. For most tickets, travel through Zone 1 is more expensive than journeys of similar length not crossing this zone. The zone contains all the central London districts, most of the major tourist attractions, the major rail terminals, the City of London, and the West End. It is about 6 miles (10 km) from west to east and 4 miles (6 km) from north to south, approximately 17 square miles (45 km).

Rail service fares in Greater London and the surrounding area are calculated in accordance with the London fare zones system managed by Transport for London. Within London, all London Underground, National Rail, London Overground, Elizabeth Line and Docklands Light Railway stations are assigned to six fare zones. Fare zone 1 covers the central area and fare zones 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 form concentric rings around it. Some National Rail stations and almost all Transport for London served stations outside Greater London in the home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey are either included in fare zones 4, 5 or 6 or in extended zones beyond these. Transport for London fare zones are also known simply as zones or travelcard zones, referring to their use in calculating prices for travelcards. London fare zones are also used for calculating the cost of single and return paper tickets on Transport for London services, National Rail single and return paper tickets within the London area, Oyster card and contactless pay-as-you-go fares and caps, and season tickets. Before Londonwide flat fares were introduced in 2004, fare zones were used on the London Buses network.

The Oyster card is a payment method for public transport in London and some surrounding areas. A standard Oyster card is a blue credit-card-sized stored-value contactless smart card. It is promoted by Transport for London (TfL) and can be used as part of London's integrated transport network on travel modes including London Buses, London Underground, the Docklands Light Railway (DLR), London Overground, Tramlink, some river boat services, and most National Rail services within the London fare zones. Since its introduction in June 2003, more than 86 million cards have been used.

Oyster cards can hold period tickets, travel permits and, most commonly, credit for travel ("Pay as you go"), which must be added to the card before travel. Passengers touch it on an electronic reader when entering – and in some cases when leaving – the transport system in order to validate it, and where relevant, deduct funds from the stored credit. Cards may be "topped-up" by continuous payment authority, by online purchase, at credit card terminals or by cash, the latter two methods are available at stations and convenience stores. The card is designed to reduce the number of transactions at ticket offices and the number of paper tickets. Cash payment has not been accepted on London buses since 2014.

Wimbledon is an interchange station in the centre of Wimbledon for London Underground, London Trams and National Rail services, and is the only station in London that provides an interchange between the London Underground and Tramlink.

It serves as a junction for services from the Underground's District line, two National Rail operators (South Western Railway and Thameslink), and Tramlink services. The station is in London fare zone 3. It is 7 miles 19 chains (11.6 km) from London Waterloo on the South West Main Line.