Network Rail owns, operates and develops Britain’s railway – 32,000 kilometres of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and thousands of signals, level crossings and stations– including the largest 20 that we manage.

In partnership with train operators we help people take more than 1.7bn journeys by rail every year - double the number of 1996 - and move hundreds of millions of tonnes of freight, saving almost 8m lorry journeys. We’re investing £50bn in the railway to deliver more frequent, more reliable, safer services and brighter and better stations.

Britain has one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings of any rail system in the world and is the safest railway in Europe.

Since 2002, we’ve been part of the latest chapter in the nearly 200-year history of Britain’s railway

• 1825 saw the first passenger service using steam locomotives on the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
• In 1830 George Stephenson opened the first regular passenger service in the world, linking Canterbury to the seaside town of Whitstable.
• The 1840s were the biggest decade of railway growth. A complete network was laid down with many towns and villages having a railway connection.
• In 1883, the first electrified railway service was opened in Brighton.
• During World War Two, Britain’s railways played a key role in the transportation of troops and evacuees around the country. The then ‘Big Four’ individual railway companies joined together to effectively become one organisation.
• In 1948, Britain’s railways were nationalised to become British Railways.
• From 1965 until 1994 the railway was run under the trading name of British Rail who operated and maintained all aspects of Britain’s railways – including the trains.
• On 1 April 1994 Railtrack took control of Britain’s railway infrastructure as part of government legislation to privatise Britain’s railways. Railtrack was listed on the London Stock Exchange and the FTSE 100 list. Railtrack owned the infrastructure in the same way Network Rail does now, but maintenance and services were provided by local contractors.
• On 3 October 2002 Network Rail replaced Railtrack making it the owners of Britain’s railway infrastructure.

Rail was invented in Britain and that’s why we’re so proud to be playing our part in its modern story, honouring this legacy while delivering a better railway for Britain’s future.

We’re committed to continuing the great success story of rail in Britain, following in the spirit of engineering inspiration, innovation and determination that underpins two centuries of history.

Key facts

Modernisation using smarter ways of working has delivered more frequent, more reliable, safer services and brighter and better stations

• Provide a safe and efficient national railway network that carries over 1.8 billion passenger journeys, 16.6 billion tonne kilometres of freight and 7 million train movements every year
• Own, maintain and operate 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and embankments and thousands of signals
• Operate 20 major stations which handle 800 million passenger journeys and own 2,500 other stations, which are leased to train operators
• Employ 42,000 people in asset management, operations, maintenance, renewals, and enhancement projects

Network Rail Consulting is a member of APTA, the American Public Transportation Association.

APTA is the leading force in advancing public transportation in the United States of America. APTA members are public organizations that are engaged in the areas of bus, paratransit, light rail, commuter rail, subways, waterborne passenger services and high-speed rail. For more information on APTA go to www.apta.com