The railway network is owned by Network Rail, which is responsible for the majority of the railway infrastructure. Rail services are provided under franchises awarded by the government.
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ScotRail Trains Limited (SRT) is owned by the Scottish Government and overseen by Scottish Rail Holdings Limited (SRH Ltd).
Network Rail owns, operates and develops Britain's railway infrastructure. That's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations.
It is owned, maintained and operated by DB Cargo UK. The Royal Train comprises a dedicated set of claret liveried sleeper, dining and lounge carriages.
Who owns and runs the UK's railways? Britain's rail network was first nationalised by Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee in 1948 and then privatised again under Sir John Major's Conservatives in 1993. Network Rail, which runs railway infrastructure in England, Scotland, and Wales, is publicly owned.
Devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different responsibilities for the railway in their respective countries. In Scotland, Schedule 5, Part II, Head E of the Scotland Act 1998, as amended, prescribes those areas reserved to the UK Parliament; everything else is devolved.
Transport Scotland has responsibility for the majority of rail powers in Scotland, while responsibility for safety regulation across Great Britain remains with the Office of Rail and Road.
Ownership of the British railway system has been hotly contested since it was first nationalised by Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee in 1948, then reprivatised by Conservative Prime Minister John Major in 1993.