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There are several rail companies that provide passenger services in England. They are listed below with a brief description of the areas and destinations that they serve. For information on rail services in, to and from London and the London airports, go to the Railways in London page or use the navigation bar to the left.
The National Rail Network web site is a portal providing access to all the major rail companies and on-line schedule information and reservation services. This web site also provides advisory information regarding possible service problems, so it or an applicable rail operator's web site should be checked prior to any journey.
The National Rail Network has many links to places of interest in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales which will be very helpful for planning travel by rail. Some of the individual operators below have detailed maps on their web sites for their particular areas of service.
One Railway operates main line services from London (Liverpool Street) to Cambridge, Colchester, Harwich, Ipswich, Norwich and Peterborough in East Anglia. There are also connecting services to London-Stansted Airport and London-Luton Airport.
The Arriva Trains Wales network extends to Manchester and Liverpool in the north, to Wales in the west and to Plymouth and Penzance in southwestern England. Trains operate from London's Waterloo station and call at Reading, Salisbury, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff, Swansea, Fishguard and Pembroke Dock (for ferry service to Ireland). Routes also operate from Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool to Shrewsbury and Aberystwyth, Porthmadog and Pwllheli on the west coast of Wales and to Crewe, Chester, Rhyl, Llandudno, Bangor and Holyhead (for ferry service to Ireland) in North Wales. North-to-south services run from Manchester, Liverpool and Chester to Hereford, Bristol, Bath, Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance.
Trains that operate between London and Wales stop at Reading where connections can be made to London-Heathrow and London-Gatwick airports. There are also connecting services to Manchester and Birmingham airports.
C2C trains operate from Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street in London to Southend in Essex and other points along the north side of the River Thames.
Central Trains serve the Midlands and East Anglia in England and extend westward to Wales. Major cities include Birmingham, Chester, Cambridge, Cardiff, Coventry, Cleethorpes, Crewe, Ely, Gloucester, Leicester, Lincoln, Liverpool, Manchester, Norwich, Nottingham, Stratford-upon-Avon. There is also a connecting line to London-Stansted airport.
Chiltern Railways operate between London (Marylebone), Birmingham and Aylesbury, serving several stations in central England.
Eurostar trains operate from London (St. Pancras Station) to Paris, other destinations in France, and Brussels. The trains have an intermediate stop at Ashford in Kent, between London and the Chunnel, the under-channel crossing.
Eurotunnel has a rail service using the Chunnel (Channel Tunnel) to transport automobiles between England and France.
First Great Eastern serves the southern area of East Anglia from Liverpool Street station in London.
First Great Western trains operate from London (Paddington) to the Cotswolds, southwestern England and to Wales. Major cities include Bath, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Exeter, Fishguard, Gloucester, Hereford, Newport, Newquay, Oxford, Pembroke, Penzance, Plymouth, Reading, Swansea, Swindon, Taunton, Torquay and Worcester.
First North Western routes serve the northwestern area of England. Major cities include Barrow-in-Furness, Blackpool, Carlisle, Chester, Crewe, Lancaster, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, and Windermere. There is also service to Manchester airport.
Great North Eastern Railway (GNER) operates trains from London (King's Cross) to the northeast of England and Scotland. Major cities served by this line include Peterborough, York, Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The Heart of Wales Railway is as much a tourist rail line as it is a vital train service operating from Swansea in the south of Wales to Llanelli, Ammanford, Llandeilo, Llandovery, Llandeindod Wells and Knighton to Shrewsbury in the West Midlands.
Hull Trains operate from London (King's Cross) to Hull on the east coast calling at Grantham, Doncaster, Selby and Brough en route.
The Island Line serves the Isle of Wight on England's south coast.
The Midland Mainline operates from London (St. Pancras) to the East Midlands and Yorkshire. It serves York, Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Derby and Leicester among other destinations. There are connecting service from London-Luton Airport and East Midlands Airport near Loughborough to this line.
Silverlink Trains operate from London (Euston) to Birmingham (International Airport and New Street) and other parts of the Midlands. This line calls at Birmingham International Airport and there is an airport bus link from the Watford Junction station.
South Eastern Trains operate from London to south London, Kent and parts of east Sussex, including London-Gatwick Airport. Stations in London include King's Cross Thameslink, City Thameslink, Blackfriars, Victoria, Charing Cross, Cannon Street, Farringdon, London Bridge, Waterloo East
South West Trains operate from London Waterloo to the south and west of England calling at Basingstoke, Reading, Southampton, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Dorchester, Exeter, Plymouth, Penzance and Watford Junction. There are connecting services from Southwest stations to London-Heathrow, London-Gatwick and Southampton airports.
Southern Railway has a network that covers southern England to the southwest and southeast of London. One line between London Bridge and Brighton connects with London-Gatwick Airport. Other stations in London include Waterloo, Victoria and Clapham Junction.
Thameslink trains serves points from Bedford to the north of London to Brighton on the south coast. There are connecting services to London-Gatwick Airport and London-Luton Airport.
The Thames Trains network serves south-central England from London (Paddington) to Stratford-on-Avon, Oxford, Hereford, Bristol, Reading and London-Gatwick Airport. Connecting service from Reading is available to London-Heathrow Airport.
The Virgin Trains system is the closest to a national system in that it serves England (except East Anglia and the southeast), Scotland and Wales. Virgin Trains serve London Euston station and London-Gatwick Airport. Major line stations include Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Brighton, Cardiff, Carlisle, Glasgow, Cheltenham, Chester, Coventry, Crewe, Derby, Darlington, Doncaster, Dundee, Durham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Gloucester, Holyhead, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Newport, Oxford, Penzance, Plymouth, Rugby, Southampton, Torquay, Watford and York.
WAGN Railway serves a large area north of London from Kings Cross, Moorgate and Liverpool Street stations. There are connecting services to London-Luton Airport and London- Stansted Airport
Wessex Trains serve southern England between Brighton and Penzance on the south coast and Worcester, Bristol, Newport and Cardiff to the north. Other major stations include Bath, Swindon, Eastleigh (for Southampton Airport), Southampton, Portsmouth, Chichester, Brighton, Weymouth, Dorchester, Exmouth, Exeter, Taunton, Torquay, Plymouth, Newquay, Penzance, St. Ives.
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