TRAIN OPERATING COMPANY

The term 'train operating company' (abbreviated to TOC) is used in the United Kingdom to describe the various businesses operating passenger trains on the railway system of mainland Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand.
They have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993.
There are two types of TOC: the majority hold franchises let by the government to operate services, while there are also a small number of "open access" operators which hold licenses to provide supplementary services. The franchised operators have changed considerably since privatisation: previous franchises have been divided, merged, re-let to new operators, or renamed.
Franchises were initially let by the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising (OPRAF). This was in turn replaced by the Strategic Rail Authority, which has since been abolished. For England and Wales, franchising is now the responsibility of the Department for Transport in the majority of cases. In Scotland, it is the responsibility of the Scottish Executive. In two parts of England, local government agencies are responsible: in Merseyside, the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive lets the Merseyrail franchise, while Transport for London will oversee the new London Overground franchise.
The Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) provides a commonality for the TOCs and provides some centralised co-ordination. Its activities include the provision of a national timetable and online journey planner facility, and the operation of the various Railcard discount schemes. Eurostar is also a member of ATOC, though it is not itself a TOC.

Contents

History

Current TOCs

Future TOCs

Franchises

Open access operators

History

Upon privatisation in 1994, the three passenger-operating sectors of British Rail (InterCity, Network SouthEast and Regional Railways) were subdivided, and their existing operations were let as 23 franchises. Since then, numerous changes have taken place.
In 2001, a new franchise (now Arriva Trains Wales) was created based which included the majority of services in Wales, along with connecting services on the English side of the England/Wales border. The French-owned operator Connex, having already lost the South Central franchise in 2001, was removed as franchisee of the South Eastern franchise in 2003 on the grounds of "poor financial management".
A policy where the majority of services (both long-distance ) from each London terminal would all be operated by the same franchise has partially been enacted: since 2004, the 'one' franchise has covered nearly all services from Liverpool Street (as well as in East Anglia) , while since 2006 First Great Western has done similarly from Paddington station (and in the West of England). The creation of 'one' split the former West Anglia Great Northern in two, with the remaining half's services having been merged with the Thameslink franchise to form First Capital Connect in 2006.
In the North of England, in 2004 the two regional franchises Arriva Trains Northern (previously Northern Spirit) and First North Western) were replaced by TransPennine Express and Northern Rail, which operate (primarily) longer-distance and local services respectively.
In addition to the franchises, there are two "open access" operators: Heathrow Express and Hull Trains. Heathrow Express, which is owned by BAA, began operating an express service between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport in 1998. Since 2005, in a joint venture with First Great Western, they have provided the Heathrow Connect service, which also runs from Paddington to Heathrow, but serves intermediate stations. Hull Trains, which began operations in 2000, provides a service between London King's Cross and Hull, which supplements the franchised services run by GNER.

Current TOCs

As of 2007, there are 21 train operating companies, which are listed below.

★ Arriva Trains Wales

★ c2c

★ Central Trains

★ Chiltern Railways

★ First Capital Connect

★ First Great Western

★ First ScotRail

★ Gatwick Express

★ GNER

★ Heathrow Express ("open access" operator)

★ Hull Trains ("open access" operator)

★ Merseyrail

★ Midland Mainline

★ Northern Rail

★ 'one'

★ Silverlink

★ Southern

★ Southeastern

★ South West Trains

★ TransPennine Express

★ Virgin Trains (two franchises)

Future TOCs

Franchises

Further changes to franchising will mean the advent of new TOCs. From November 2007, the existing Central Trains, Midland Mainline, Silverlink and Virgin Cross-Country franchises will be replaced. CrossCountry services will operate long-distance services centred on Birmingham, East Midlands Trains will cover services across the East Midlands, London Midland will cover the West Midlands as well as connecting those areas to London, and a London Overground franchise will operate some suburban services in London. From December 2007, the InterCity East Coast franchise will be operated by National Express East Coast, replacing current operator GNER.

Open access operators

A number of proposals exist for future open-access services, although only one company has been granted a license. This is Grand Central Railway, which will operate services from Sunderland to London King's Cross from 2007. Other proposals include those of Wrexham & Shropshire, who propose a service between Wrexham, Shropshire and London Marylebone, and Grand Union Railway who propose services from London Euston to Bradford via Huddersfield.