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This is a list of railway lines in Great Britain that are currently in operation, split by country and
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
. There are a limited number of main inter-regional lines, with all but one entering
Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
. The line from London to the
Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (), sometimes referred to by the Portmanteau, portmanteau Chunnel, is a undersea railway tunnel, opened in 1994, that connects Folkestone (Kent, England) with Coquelles (Pas-de-Calais, France) beneath the English Channel at ...
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 East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...
and South East regions; an area marketed by
National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, a group representing passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the passenger services previously provided by ...
as ''London and the South East''. The majority of these lines are radial to London. There is a further concentration of routes around
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
in the West Midlands and in the urbanised part of northern England that stretches from
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
in the west, via
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...
to
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
in the east. Some areas, such as
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
and
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, have relatively sparse railway provision. There are local lines throughout all areas of Great Britain with some services designated as
community rail Community rail in United Kingdom, Britain is the support of railway lines and stations by local organisations, usually through community rail partnerships (CRPs) comprising railway operators, local councils, and other community organisations, an ...
ways.


England


London

This is a list of routes entirely contained within
Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
.


Terminus


South East England

This is a list of all routes that enter the
South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England that are in the ITL 1 statistical regions of England, top level category for Statistics, statistical purposes. It consists of the nine counties of england, ...
region.


South West

This is a list of all routes that enter the
South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...
region.


Terminus


North West England

This is a list of all routes that enter the
North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of 7,4 ...
region.


West Midlands

This is a list of all routes that enter the West Midlands region.


East of England

This is a list of all routes that enter the
East of England East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact ...
region.


East Midlands

This is a list of all routes that enter the
East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (except for North Lincolnshire and North East ...
region.


Yorkshire and North East

This is a list of all routes that enter the
Yorkshire and the Humber Yorkshire and the Humber is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It is one of the three regions covering Northern England, alongside the North West England and North East England regio ...
and
North East England North East England, commonly referred to simply as the North East within England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of County DurhamNorthumberland, , Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and part of northern North Yorkshire. ...
regions.


Scotland


Scotrail Intercity lines

*
Edinburgh–Dundee line The Edinburgh–Dundee line is a railway, railway line linking Edinburgh with Dundee via the Forth Bridge and the Tay Rail Bridge, Tay Bridge. A branch runs to Perth. Passenger services are operated by ScotRail, Caledonian Sleeper, CrossCoun ...
* Glasgow–Edinburgh via Falkirk line * Glasgow–Dundee line *
Highland Main Line The Highland Main Line is a railway line in Scotland. It is long and runs through the central Scottish Highlands, mainly following the route of the A9 road (Scotland), A9, and linking a series of small towns and villages with Perth, Scotland, ...
* Dundee–Aberdeen line * Aberdeen–Inverness line


Glasgow commuter lines

*
Argyle Line The Argyle Line is a suburban railway located in West Central Scotland. The line serves the commercial and shopping districts of Glasgow's central area, and connects towns from West Dunbartonshire to South Lanarkshire. Named for Glasgow's Arg ...
*
Ayrshire Coast Line The Ayrshire Coast Line is one of the lines within the Strathclyde suburban Railway, rail network in Scotland. It has 26 stations and connects the Ayrshire coast to Glasgow. There are three branches, to , and , all running into the high leve ...
* Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line * Cathcart Circle Lines *
Croy Line The Croy Line is a suburban railway route linking Glasgow Queen Street and Croy in Scotland. It is part of the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport network. Following completion of the project to reopen the line to Alloa to passenger ser ...
* Cumbernauld Line *
Inverclyde Line The Inverclyde Line is a railway line running from Glasgow Central station through Paisley (Gilmour Street) and a series of stations to the south of the River Clyde and the Firth of Clyde, terminating at Gourock and Wemyss Bay, where it conn ...
* Maryhill Line * Motherwell–Cumbernauld line *
North Clyde Line The North Clyde Line (defined by Network Rail as the ''Glasgow North Electric Suburban'' line) is a suburban railway in West Central Scotland. The route is operated by ScotRail. As a result of the incorporation of the Airdrie–Bathgate rail ...
* Paisley Canal line *
Shotts Line The Shotts Line is a suburban railway line in Scotland linking and via . It is one of the four rail links between the two cities. Between Glasgow Central and , the line is shared with the West Coast Main Line (WCML), before branching off to ...
* Glasgow South Western Line * Whifflet Line


Edinburgh commuter lines

* Glasgow–Edinburgh via Carstairs line *
Edinburgh–Dunblane line The Edinburgh–Dunblane line is a railway line in East Central Scotland. It links the city of Edinburgh via Falkirk to the city of Stirling and the town of Dunblane. Service provision Connections to other services This line connects into othe ...
*
Fife Circle Line The Fife Circle Line is the local rail service north from Edinburgh. It links towns of south Fife and the coastal towns along the Firth of Forth before heading to Edinburgh. Operationally, the service is not strictly a circle route, but, rathe ...
*
Levenmouth rail link The Levenmouth rail link (also called the Leven rail link) is a recently reopened branch line railway in Fife, Scotland. The link connects the town of Leven, Fife, Leven and other settlements in the Levenmouth conurbation with Thornton, Fife, T ...
* North Berwick Branch *
North Clyde Line The North Clyde Line (defined by Network Rail as the ''Glasgow North Electric Suburban'' line) is a suburban railway in West Central Scotland. The route is operated by ScotRail. As a result of the incorporation of the Airdrie–Bathgate rail ...
*
Shotts Line The Shotts Line is a suburban railway line in Scotland linking and via . It is one of the four rail links between the two cities. Between Glasgow Central and , the line is shared with the West Coast Main Line (WCML), before branching off to ...
* Borders Railway


Rural lines and Great Scenic Railways

* Borders Railway *
Far North Line The Far North Line is a rural railway line entirely within the Highland area of Scotland, extending from Inverness to Thurso and Wick. As the name suggests, it is the northernmost railway in the United Kingdom. The line is entirely single-tra ...
* Kyle of Lochalsh line *
West Highland Line The West Highland Line ( – "Iron Road to the Isles") is a railway line linking the ports of Mallaig and Oban in the Scottish Highlands to Glasgow in Central Scotland. The line was voted the top rail journey in the world by readers of indepen ...
* Glasgow South Western Lines


Wales


Main lines

* North Wales Main Line *
South Wales Main Line The South Wales Main Line (), originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain. It diverges from the co ...
*
Shrewsbury–Chester line The Shrewsbury–Chester line is a railway line between Chester and Shrewsbury in England, with the line passing through Wrexham in Wales. Passenger train services are operated by Transport for Wales Rail between , in the north, and , in the so ...
* Welsh Marches line


Cardiff commuter lines

* Butetown branch line * Cardiff City Line *
Coryton Line The Coryton Line is an Urban rail in the United Kingdom, urban rail line in Cardiff that starts from the Cardiff city centre, city centre to Heath, Cardiff, Heath, Birchgrove, Cardiff, Birchgrove, Rhiwbina, Whitchurch, Cardiff, Whitchurch and C ...
*
Ebbw Valley Railway The Ebbw Valley Railway () is a branch line of the South Wales Main Line in South Wales. Transport for Wales Rail provides an hourly passenger service each way between Ebbw Vale Town railway station, Ebbw Vale Town and Cardiff Central railway s ...
* Gloucester–Newport line *
Maesteg Line The Maesteg Line is a commuter rail line in South Wales from Bridgend to Maesteg. Services usually operate hourly from Maesteg to via , using the South Wales Main Line, followed by the Ebbw Valley Railway. Electrification by 2019 was annou ...
* Merthyr line * Rhondda line * Rhymney line *
Vale of Glamorgan Line The Vale of Glamorgan Line () is a commuter railway line in Wales, running through the Vale of Glamorgan from Barry to Bridgend, via Rhoose and Llantwit Major. Route The Barry branch starts at Cardiff West and runs to Barry Island with a ...


Rural lines

* Borderlands line *
Cambrian Line The Cambrian Line (), sometimes split into the Cambrian Main Line () and Cambrian Coast Line () for its branches, is a railway line that runs from Shrewsbury in England, westwards to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli in Wales. Passenger train services ...
* Conwy Valley line * Heart of Wales line * West Wales lines


Lines under construction


References

Note: many maps cited are dead links as of 2016. Current maps are on the National Rail Enquiries - Maps of the UK National Rail Network Web site.


See also

*
List of closed railway lines in the United Kingdom This list is for railway lines across Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which are now long abandoned, closed, dismantled, disused or mothballed. Across the united kingdom, examples exist of opened railways which formerly constituted cross-c ...
{{Railway lines in England Railway lines in the United Kingdom