List of railway lines in Great Britain

Railway lines in England and Wales, as of 2010

This is a list of railway lines in Great Britain that are currently in operation, split by country and region.

There are a limited number of main inter-regional lines, with all but one entering Greater London.[1] The line from London to the Channel Tunnel is the only line designated 'high speed', although the other main routes also operate limited-stop express services.

The bulk of the secondary network is concentrated in London and the surrounding East and South East regions; an area marketed by National Rail as London and the South East. The majority of these lines are radial to London.[2] There is a further concentration of routes around Birmingham in the West Midlands[3] and in the urbanised part of northern England that stretches from Liverpool in the west, via Greater Manchester to Leeds in the east.[4]

Some areas, such as Wales and Scotland, have relatively sparse railway provision.[1] There are local lines throughout all areas of Great Britain with some services designated as community railways.

  1. ^ a b "National Rail Timetable Map" (PDF). Association of Train Operating Companies. 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
  2. ^ "London and the South East Rail Services" (PDF). Association of Train Operating Companies. 17 May 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
  3. ^ "Birmingham West Midlands" (PDF). Association of Train Operating Companies. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
  4. ^ "Liverpool Leeds Manchester Sheffield" (PDF). Association of Train Operating Companies. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 26 December 2009.