National Rail

National Rail is a brand name describing the 26 railway companies (TOCs - Train Operating Companies) of the British railway system, which use the infrastructure of Network Rail, maintained by Railtrack. The organising body of National Rail is ATOC - the Association of Train Operating Companies. Previously British Rail was the UK state rail operator.

Passenger train services are mainly run by franchises named after the area they serve (eg South Central, Great Western, etc.), but railtour operators and freight distribution companies (such as Freightliner and EWS) also exist.

External link National Rail website (http://www.nationalrail.co.uk)