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Who is part of National Rail?

National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales.



In 2026, "National Rail" is the commercial name and brand used to represent the collective network of over 25 private and state-owned train operating companies (TOCs) in Great Britain. It is not a single company that owns trains, but rather a unifying brand for the passenger rail system. Key members include major long-distance operators like Avanti West Coast, LNER, and GWR, as well as regional carriers like ScotRail, Transport for Wales, and Southeastern. The physical infrastructure—the tracks, signals, and stations—is owned and managed by Network Rail. In 2026, the system is in a transitional phase toward becoming "Great British Railways" (GBR), a new public body designed to simplify the network. However, for the average traveler, National Rail remains the go-to portal for checking timetables, purchasing "Anytime" or "Advance" tickets, and managing railcards that work across all these different companies as if they were a single, integrated service.

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