Railway railroad (TOC) is a company that operates passenger trains on the British rail system under the collective National Rail brand. TOC has existed since the privatization of the network under the Railways Act 1993.
There are two types of TOC: most franchisees are left by the government, following offers from various companies, to operate services on a particular route for a given duration, while a small number of open access operators hold licenses to provide additional services on selected routes. This operator may run the service for the duration of the license. Franchise operators have changed a lot since privatization: previous franchises have been shared, merged, left to new carriers, or renamed.
The term is also sometimes used to describe a company that operates a passenger or rail service on rails owned by another company or a national network owner.
Video Train operating company
Management
Franchise was originally authorized by the Franchise Passenger Office (OPRAF). This in turn was replaced by the Strategic Rail Authority, which has since been removed. For England and Wales, franchising is now the responsibility of the Department of Transport in most cases. In Scotland, it is the responsibility of the Scottish Government. In two parts of the UK, local government agencies are responsible: in Merseyside, Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive allows Merseyrail franchises, while in London, Transport for London oversees new New Overground and Crossrail concessions.
The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) (formerly the Association of Railway Operations Companies) provides a common ground for TOC and provides some centralized coordination. Its activities include provision of travel schedules and online travel planners, and the operation of Railcard discount schemes. Eurostar is also a member of the RDG, though not a TOC.
Maps Train operating company
Organization
Due to historical and geographic reasons, the Great Britain rail network is divided into two independent systems: one in Great Britain (including the Isle of Wight), and one in Northern Ireland, closely linked to the Irish Republic rail system.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, passenger train services are operated by a number of companies, called the Railway Operations Company or TOC, usually on a regional franchise basis provided by the Department for the Railway Transport Group. Until 2005 this role was done by Strategic Rail Authority. Railway infrastructure in England, Scotland and Wales - including tracks and signaling - is owned and operated not by railroad companies but by Network Rail, which took over responsibility from Railtrack in 2002. Most passenger trains are owned by a small number of Rolling Stock Companies and leased to individual TOCs. However, a number of TOCs own and maintain some of their own inventory. Railway operators also operate most of the network stations, in their role as owners of the station facilities (SFO), where they lease related buildings and land from Network Rail. Network Rail manages several major railway stations and some stations are operated by London Underground or other companies.
All TOC passengers in the UK are privately owned. The majority of them hold a franchise to operate the rail service in certain parts of the railroad and are under the auspices of the National Rail brand. In addition, companies may bid for "lanes" (specific parts of the overall National Railway schedule) to operate their own services, which are not operated by franchises - these operators are classified as open access operators and not franchisees. Currently in the UK, there are two open access operators: Hull Trains runs services between London King's Cross and Hull, and Grand Central, which operates between London King's Cross and Sunderland as well as between London King's Cross and Bradford. In addition, there are operators that are outside the scope of National Rail, which operates a special service that is a recent addition to the British railway. The main examples are the Eurostar, which operates to the continent through the Channel Tunnel, and Heathrow Express, which runs the fast service from London to Heathrow Airport.
A number of metropolitan trains on the network are operated by local franchisees along with passenger transport executives or other civilian bodies responsible for managing public transport. One of these agencies, Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive, is responsible for one of three National Rail franchises not awarded by the central government, the Merseyrail franchise, while certain National Rail services in North London are under the control of Transport for London in November 2007 as London Overground. Two other franchises, the Scottish domestic franchise, currently operated by Abellio ScotRail, and the Welsh domestic franchise, operated by Arriva Trains Wales, were awarded by devolved executives from two constituent countries.
The Rail Delivery Group is the coordinating agency of a railroad company operating in the United Kingdom and has a Rail National brand, which uses the used British Rail's double-arrow logo and sets up a common ticketing structure. Many railroad companies that operate in fact are part of large companies that operate multiple franchises.
Current operator
Northern Ireland
The only railway company operating in Northern Ireland is NI Railways, a subsidiary of Translink, a public transportation company, which also runs Metro buses in Belfast and Ulsterbus coaches across the country. The Enterprise Belfast (Dublin) cross-border service is operated in conjunction with IarnrÃÆ'³d ÃÆ'â € ireann, the Republic of Ireland's national railway company.
Changes
After the privatization in 1994, three sectors of British Rail (InterCity, Network SouthEast and Regional Railways) passengers were divided, and their existing operations were left as 25 franchises:
1990s
1994
The privatization process begins when BR passenger sectors are divided into 25 shadow franchises - these are publicly owned TOCs operating in planned franchised areas before actual franchising is submitted for tenders:
Opening Channel Tunnel sees operations by Eurostar starting from London Waterloo to Paris and Brussels.
1996/97
The franchise process is implemented, with various private companies taking over the shadow franchise. Three are given for the purchase of management. Great Western Holdings Management is also awarded the North West Regional Railway franchise. The rest is shared between a handful of major transport operators:
In Northern Ireland, the NIR ceased using its own branding in the Enterprise service between Belfast and Dublin when purchasing a new rolling stock alongside IÃÆ'â € â„¢, instead of launching Enterprise as a separate brand name.
1998
Great Western Holdings, which operates Great Western Trains and North West Trains, became a FirstGroup 100% subsidiary when 24.5% shareholders bought partners. TOC was renamed First Great Western and First North Western.
Virgin Group sold 49% stake in Virgin Rail Group which operates CrossCountry and West Coast franchises to Stagecoach.
The completion of the railroad to Heathrow Airport caused Heathrow Express, an open access operator outside the franchise system, to start its services from London Paddington to Heathrow with operating rights up to 2023.
2000
Prism Rail that operates the LTS Train, Train Lines Valley, Wales & amp; Western franchise, and West Anglia Great Northern are purchased by National Express so that the latter has nine franchises. The first open access operator, Hull Trains, began running its services between King's Cross and Hull.
2001-2003
2001
In 2001, Connex, which has operated two franchises in southeastern England, was replaced as operator of the SouthCentral franchise network by Govia, which began operating under the name of South Central.
Also in 2001, the new franchise, Wales & amp; The border franchise was created by the incorporation of the Valley Lines and most of the services in Wales and Borders hosted by Wales & West. The new franchise was originally operated under the name Wales & amp; Border. Welsh Time & amp; Western services in western England are named Wessex Trains.
2003
Connex, after losing the South Central franchise in 2001, was removed as a franchisee of the South Eastern franchise in 2003 on the basis of poor financial management. It was replaced as a franchise holder by South Eastern Trains, a company wholly owned by Strategic Rail Authority, which will operate the franchise until it can be tendered again. New franchise holders Arriva Trains Wales and Merseyrail started operations. FirstGroup buys GB Railways which owns Anglia Railways and Hull Trains businesses.
2004-2006
2004
The policies under which most services (either long distance or commuter) of each London terminal will all be operated by the same franchise are partially enforced. In April 2004, One began operating the Greater Anglia franchise that incorporated between Anglia Railways and Great Great Eastern franchises with Great West Anglia Great Northern services radiating out from Liverpool Street. The rest continues to operate as WAGN. That same month, Thames Trains was replaced by First Great Western Link.
In the North of England, before 2004 there were two regional franchises, the Northeast Regional franchise and the Northwest Regional franchise. In 2004, this was transformed into a TransPennine franchise, for intercity services, and the Northern franchise, for local services provided to First TransPennine Express and Northern Rail. Some North West services were transferred to the Arriva Trains Wales franchise.
2005
The new operator, Heathrow Connect, jointly run by BAA and First Great Western, commenced operations to stop services between London Paddington and Heathrow Express Heathrow Express Airport.
2006
Three new integrated franchises started operations in April 2006:
- First Capital Connect, started operating the Thameslink/Great Northern franchise, on the cross-London Thameslink route and suburban services from London King's Cross and London Moorgate.
- First Great Western began operating a Western franchise that incorporates express and local services from London Paddington to the West of England by combining them with First Great Western Link and Wessex Trains.
- Southeastern began operating the Integrated Kent franchise taking over the services of London Victoria, London Charing Cross, London Cannon Street, and London Blackfriars to southeast London and Kent; the responsibility for high speed domestic services operated at High Speed ​​1 from London St Pancras is included in the franchise.
2007-2010
2007
Further integration took place in 2007. The first is the South Western franchise; it combines the original South West Trains franchise with the Island Line Trains franchise on the Isle of Wight and commenced operations in February 2007 under the name South West Train, with the Island Line maintained as a separate brand.
In November 2007, three new integrated franchises started operations:
- CrossCountry, taking over from Virgin CrossCountry and part of Central Trains, and operates a regional intercity service passing through the main terminal in London.
- East Midlands Trains replaces Midland Mainline and part of Central Trains which includes intercity services from London St Pancras as well as local services in East Midlands
- London Midland began operating the West Midlands franchise to replace Silverlink County and part of Central Trains and operate a stop service between London Euston and Northampton, in addition to local services in the West Midlands
In addition to the third, the new operator, London Overground Rail Operations, takes control of the Silverlink-operated route in London, combined with the East London line extension in 2011. The service is controlled directly by Transport for London, running the rail itself contracted to private companies as operating concessions. This is different from ordinary franchises, because rail operators are not controlled for strategic aspects of operations, such as pricing, time allocation, and procurement of stocks.
In December 2007, the National Express East Coast took over the management of the InterCity East Coast franchise from GNER. Grand Central also began operating services between London and Sunderland as open access operators.
2008
In February 2008, One was re-branded by National Express as the National Express East Anglia to make it in line with the East Coast franchise.
In April 2008, Wrexham & amp; Shropshire began operating open access services between Wrexham and London Marylebone.
In June 2008, Gatwick Express franchise was integrated with South Central's Southern operated franchise.
2009
The Government announces that the National Express East Coast will have their franchise to operate intercity services along the terminated ECML, with franchises passing into the hands of the public sector of the Directly Serviced Railway, which acts as the holding company for the East Coast.
2010
Grand Central's open access service from London to Bradford begins on May 23, 2010.
2011-2017
2011
Due to the continuing losses, Wrexham & amp; Shropshire ceased operations on January 28, 2011.
2012
Abellio Greater Anglia began operating the Greater Anglia franchise on February 5, 2012.
In September 2012, FirstGroup was awarded the right to operate a West Coast franchise that sparked a reaction from Virgin Trains. As a result of the Transport Ministry has given wrong information during the bidding process, the offer was withdrawn in October 2012 and Ã, Â £ 40 million of the offer fee was returned.
2014
In September 2014, Govia Thameslink Railway took over services previously operated by First Capital Connect as part of the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern franchises and branded them as Thameslink and Great Northern.
2015
In March 2015, Stagecoach and Virgin venture trading as Virgin Trains East Coast began operating the InterCity East Coast franchise.
In April 2015, the ScotRail franchise was shared with the Caledonian Sleeper service into a stand-alone franchise operated by Serco while the remaining services were taken over by Abellio ScotRail.
In May 2015, a number of metro routes run by Abellio Greater Anglia from London Liverpool Street were transferred to TfL to run as concessions similar to London Overground and Crossrail (under the name, TfL Rail). The routes transferred are to Shenfield, Enfield Town, Chingford and Cheshunt.
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In April 2016, FirstGroup's trade as TransPennine Express began operating TransPennine Express in its own right, having previously done so in a joint venture with Keolis. On the same date Arriva Rail North started operating the Northern franchise.
In November 2016, Arriva Rail London took over the London Overground concession from the London Overground Rail Operations.
2017
In March 2017, Abellio sold a 40% stake in Abellio Greater Anglia to Mitsui.
In August 2017, FirstGroup/MTR joint venture trading as the South Western Railway began operating the South Western franchise.
In December 2017, Abellio, East Japan Railway Company and Mitsui entered into a joint venture as West Midlands Trains began operating the West Midlands franchise.
current TOC
In December 2017, there were 24 railway operator companies.
Franchise
- Abellio ScotRail
- Arriva Welsh train
- c2c
- Sleeper Caledonian
- Chiltern Railway
- CrossCountry
- East Midlands Train
- Greater Anglia includes Stansted Express
- Great Western Railway
- Merseyrail
- North
- Southeast
- South West Railway
- TfL Rail (Path of Elizabeth)
- TransPennine Express
- Virgin Trains East Coast
- Virgin Trains West Coast
- West Midlands Trains commerce as West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern
Managed
Operators are paid to run the railway, do not collect rates:
- Arriva Rail London
- Trade of Govia Thameslink as Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink
Open access operators
- Eurostar
- Grand Central
- Heathrow Express
- Train Hull
Future TOCs
Franchise
In 2017, DfT announced that the InterCity West Coast franchise will be replaced by the West Coast Partnership which will include High Speed ​​service â € <â € <2.
Open access operators
East Coast Trains has been granted permission to operate services on the East Coast Main Line between London King's Cross and Edinburgh from May 2021.
Railtours
British Rail privatization allows the introduction of open access operators, where companies, after payment of fees, can purchase individual slots on the main line. This has led to the growth of companies offering rented trains, and to the train line. Most rail operators run services in some countries; However, there are few who operate national services. Normally, this will see a train consisting of a used BR rolling stock pulled by a locomotive hired from one of the hauling companies. Sometimes, locomotives of formerly preserved BR who are certified to run on the main line will be available for the charters.
Sea link
A number of coastal rail stations in the UK serve to provide connections to the ferry service to a number of destinations. Most ferry operators in this case arrange their schedules to run along with arrival and departure train services from the stations serving the ferry terminal. Some of them even offer integrated pricing for rail and ferry trips - since the Island Strip is part of the National Train network, passengers can buy tickets for trips to one of the stations on the Isle of Wight from other stations in the United Kingdom. These tickets also include travel expenses at Wightlink catamaran from Portsmouth Harbor to Ryde Pier Head. It is also possible to purchase ferry inclusive tickets from any station in the United Kingdom to Cowes or East Cowes on the Isle of Wight using the Red Funnel ferry, although there are no rail connections from these cities.
International carriers
There are two major international services operating on trains in the UK:
- Eurostar - runs between London St Pancras, Paris Gare du Nord and Bruxelles Gare du Midi/Brussels Zuidstation via the Channel Tunnel.
- Enterprise - operates on the Irish network between Belfast Central and Dublin Connolly.
The third service worth mentioning is Dutchflyer (GoLondon in the Netherlands). This is not a separate rail service, like any other, but a collaboration between Greater Anglia, Stena Line and Nederlandse Spoorwegen to provide integrated rail/sea/train services between eastern England (London Liverpool Street, Cambridge, Norwich) and the Netherlands (Amsterdam Centraal ) using a single ticket.
Further international services are provided by Venice Simplon Orient Express. Although this is primarily a train operator, with special trains to various locations in the United Kingdom, it also operates scheduled Orient Express services to destinations in Europe. It involves two separate trains; British Pullman departs from London Victoria and ends at Folkestone West, where passengers are transferred by trainers via the Channel Tunnel to Calais; at the Gare de Calais-Ville, they later joined the Orient Express then called on destinations including Paris, Vienna, Innsbruck, Venice and Rome.
In other countries
The distinction between railway operator companies and railway infrastructure companies is enforced by EU law and can be found in all EU member states.
In Germany, the rail operator company (Eisenbahnverkehrsunternehmen - EVU) is defined by the General Railways Act 1993, s. 2 (1) (Allgemeines Eisenbahngesetz (AEG), ratified December 27, 1993) as a company providing rail services. They are different from the Eisenbahninfrastrukturunternehmen (EIU), which owns and maintains the railway infrastructure. Although there are many private EVUs, which have acquired regional franchises, only a handful of existing long distance EVUs (the largest by DB Fernverkehr rates); infrastructure is also almost wholly owned by a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn.
See also
- List of companies operating trains in the United Kingdom
- Train transport in the United Kingdom
- Railway transport in Ireland
- Train Delivery Group
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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