Direct Rail

With direct rail you can find train times and train fares to and from more than 2500 train stations with all Train Operating Companies, also known as TOCs.

With more than 33 train companies across the UK, use our quick guide to find out a bit of information on each of them as well as the stations they manage.

  • Abellio Greater Anglia

    Abellio run the franchise for train services in East Anglia under the brand name Abellio Greater Anglia.

  • Arriva Trains Wales

    Arriva Trains Wales is part of the Arriva group and owned by Deutsche Bahn - a leading pan-European public transport operator with more than 50,000 employees and operations across 14 European countries.

  • c2c

    C2C are owned by the National Express Group and operate the Essex Thameside franchise on the London, Tilbury & Southend line.

  • Caledonian Sleeper

    The Scotrail Caledonian Sleeper service links London Euston, North West England and over 40 locations in Scotland including Inverness, Fort William, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow operating six nights a week (Sunday to Friday).

  • Chiltern Railways

    Chiltern Railways is part of the Arriva Group and have operated the popular Chiltern mainline franchise along the M40 corridor since 1996.

  • Cross Country

    CrossCountry cover more of the UK rail network than any other train operating company.

  • Docklands Light Railway

    The driverless Docklands Light Railway serves parts of East and South East London.

  • East Coast

    East Coast operates fast and frequent train services on the East Coast Main Line between London King’s Cross, the East Midlands, Yorkshire, North East England and Scotland.

  • East Midlands Trains

    East Midlands Trains is a long-distance UK train operating company serving passengers travelling to and from London, from South Yorkshire, through the East Midlands, visiting the East of England or the North.

  • First Capital Connect

    First Capital Connect operates trains between London, Brighton, Bedford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King's Lynn over the UK's busiest rail network.

  • First Great Western

    The First Great Western franchise which started in April 2006 comprises the former First Great Western, First Great Western Link and Wessex Trains businesses.

  • First Hull Trains

    First Hull Trains were established at the turn of the millennium and now offer 7 weekday and 5 weekend services to more than 750,000 passengers annually.

  • First TransPennine Express

    First TransPennine Express is a dedicated intercity service linking key cities and major towns in the North of England with around 300 services daily.

  • Gatwick Express

    Gatwick Express is the fastest and only non-stop train service running between central London and Gatwick Airport.

  • Grand Central

    Grand Central Railway is one of a handful of ‘open-access’ operators running rail services in the UK (which means they do not receive subsidy from, or pay any premium to the Department for Transport).

  • Heathrow Connect

    Heathrow Connect is the stopping service between Heathrow Airport and London Paddington calling at local stations in west London with a journey time of around 26 minutes.

  • Heathrow Express

    Heathrow Express is the non-stop service between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport.

  • Island Line

    Island Line is the eight and a half mile railway that which runs on the Isle of Wight, serving the Island towns of Ryde, Brading, Sandown, Lake and Shanklin.

  • London Midland

    London Midland began operating in 2007 and runs train services through the heart of England from London in the south, to Birmingham in the Midlands and Liverpool in the North West.

  • London Overground

    London Overground trains travel through 21 London boroughs as well as southern Hertfordshire serving 83 stations across 6 lines under the umbrella of Transport for London.

  • London Underground

    The famous London Underground or the Tube as its better known has 11 lines covering around 300 miles, serving 270 stations and welcomes up to 3.5 million passengers onto its trains every day Under the Transport for London umbrella, London Underground uses a zonal fare system to calculate fares.

  • MerseyRail

    Merseyrail operate on the Wirral and Northern Lines within Merseyside, one of the most punctual and reliable railway networks in the UK, with consistently high scores for customer satisfaction, Merseyrail run up to 800 trains per day and carry around 100,000 passengers on an average week day.

  • Metrolink

    Metrolink is the light railway system in Greater Manchester consisting of six lines radiating from Manchester city centre and terminating at Altrincham, Ashton-under-Lyne, Bury, Didsbury, Eccles, and Rochdale.

  • Network Rail

    Network rail run, maintain and develop Britain’s rail tracks, signalling, bridges, tunnels, level crossings, viaducts and 17 key stations Whilst Network Rail does not itself run passenger services, ultimately both Network Rail and the train operating companies have the shared responsibility of delivering train services to the travelling public..

  • Night Riviera

    First Great Western’s Night Riviera service runs on a single route between London Paddington and Penzance with 1 train in each direction.

  • Northern Rail

    Northern run the Northern rail franchise services across the north of England and are owned by a joint venture between Serco Group plc, the international services company, and Abellio, a subsidiary of NS Dutch Railways.

  • ScotRail

    ScotRail is the brand name of the Scottish franchised rail services managed by First Scotrail.

  • South West Trains

    South West Trains operates up to 1,600 trains a day on the network in the South and South West of England serving more than 200 train stations.

  • Southeastern

    Southeastern operate a rail network in the south east of England covering commuter routes to south-east London, Kent, and parts of East Sussex as well as the UK’s first high speed domestic train service.

  • Southern

    Southern operate the South Central rail franchise for travellers in south London, between central London and the South coast, through East and West Sussex, Surrey and parts of Kent and Hampshire.

  • Stansted Express

    Stansted Express is operated by Greater Anglia and provides the fastest route between Stansted Airport and central London.

  • Tyne and Wear Metro

    The Tyne and Wear Metro is the North East's very own light rail system.

  • Virgin Trains

    Virgin Trains operate long distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between Greater London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland connecting the major cities of London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Glasgow.