Železniška potovanja v Veliki Britaniji - Rail travel in Great Britain

	COVID-19 informacije: Zaradi ukrepov, sprejetih v Združenem kraljestvu za boj proti pandemija koronavirusa, železniške storitve obratujejo po spremenjenem voznem redu ali z zmanjšano zmogljivostjo. Ko ste v javnem prevozu v Združenem kraljestvu, morate nositi ustrezno masko za obraz ali obrazno prevleko. Pred potovanjem preverite: Nasveti za potovanje o koronavirusu pri National Rail Inquiries.
	(Podatki so bili nazadnje posodobljeni 21. aprila 2020)

Razred 220 Voyager hitri dizelski vlak prečka most Royal Bridge na Berwick-upon-Tweed s storitvijo CrossCountry iz Anglija do Škotska.

S približno 34.000 km (21.000 milj) proge je cesta National Rail potniško omrežje Združeno kraljestvo je ena najgostejših in najbolje uporabljenih železniških storitev na svetu. Nekaj ​​ključnih britanskih izumov je omogočilo razvoj sodobnih železnic, morda najpomembnejši je batni parni stroj Jamesa Watta, razvit med letoma 1763 in 1775, in prva parna lokomotiva Richarda Trevithicka, dokončana leta 1804. Prva potniška železnica do uporaba parnih lokomotiv bi začela obratovati med Stockton-on-Tees in Darlington v severovzhodni Angliji leta 1825. To pomeni, da je omrežje najstarejše na svetu. Večina je bila zgrajena v 19. stoletju v obsežnih gradbenih projektih, od katerih so mnogi danes ikonični (na primer Četrti most) in se odlikovali po svoji eleganci in po pomembnosti inženiringa. Čeprav so nekateri deli razmeroma viktorijanski in so lahko neučinkoviti, je prišlo do pomembnih novih naložb. Britanske železnice so igrale ključno vlogo v Industrijska revolucija, ki omogoča hiter prevoz surovin, blaga in ljudi po vsej državi.

Po drugi svetovni vojni so britanske železnice strmo propadle s prihodom zasebnih avtomobilov in komercialnih letalskih prevozov in so jih pogosto obravnavali kot zastarel način prevoza, ki je oviral napredek. V skladu s priporočili inženirja in takratnega predsednika britanskih železnic Richarda Beechinga v začetku šestdesetih let je britanska vlada razstavila ali opustila številne železniške proge v korist rastočega britanskega avtocestnega omrežja v šestdesetih in sedemdesetih letih prejšnjega stoletja. Zaradi vse večjih zastojev na britanskih cestah, povišanih cen goriv in vse bolj okornih varnostnih ukrepov za zračni promet so britanske železnice od devetdesetih let dalje ponovno priljubljene, število potnikov v sodobnem času pa je od takrat preseglo njihovo predsvetno vojno ravni - v omrežju, ki je komaj pol manjše.

Potovanje z vlakom je v Veliki Britaniji zelo priljubljeno - veliko storitev je zasedenih, število potnikov pa nenehno narašča. To je eden najhitrejših, najbolj udobnih, priročnih in prijetnih načinov za raziskovanje Britanije in daleč najboljši način za potovanje med mesti. Od High Speed ​​1, ki povezuje London do Kent in celinsko Evropo, do ohranjenih železnic, ki vozijo zgodovinske parne vlake po idiličnem podeželju, do sodobnih medmestnih storitev in osupljivo slikovitih linij Škotska, vlak je lahko navdušujoč in cenovno ugoden način, da vidite veliko, kar lahko ponudi Združeno kraljestvo. Nacionalno železniško omrežje pokriva večino Velike Britanije, od Penzance v Cornwall do Thurso na skrajnem severu Ljubljane Škotska in vključno z več kot 2.600 postajami.

Simbol dvojne puščice označuje železniško postajo ali železniško omrežje po vsej Britaniji. Prikaže se na vseh postajah, cestnih znakih in zemljevidih.

Železniška infrastruktura je v državni lasti, medtem ko zasebna podjetja (običajno večnacionalna prometna podjetja) vozijo z vlaki do destinacij in vzorcev storitev, ki jih določi vlada. (Ta priročnik ne zajema potovanja z železnico na Severnem Irskem - glej Potovanje z železnico na Irskem.) Sistem močno nadzorujejo nacionalne vlade in vlade v Londonu, Edinburghu in Cardiffu, ki ga močno subvencionirajo.

Kljub velikemu številu podjetij je izkušnja za popotnika izjemno dobro integrirana. Vozovnice lahko kupite na kateri koli postaji do katere koli druge v Veliki Britaniji, ne glede na to, kako daleč, koliko železniških podjetij ali menjav vlakov je potrebno, da pridete tja. The Spletno mesto National Rail ponuja vozne rede in načrtovalec potovanja.

Čeprav obstajajo težave, kot je prenatrpanost ob konicah, je vlak učinkovit in prijeten način za raziskovanje Britanije in obiskovanje zanimivih krajev. Prav tako je daleč najboljša možnost za medmestna potovanja, saj večina vlakov med mesti vozi s hitrostjo 200 km / h, postaje v večini mest pa v središču mesta. Regionalne službe prevozijo do 160 km / h (100 mph). Čeprav to pomeni, da storitve niso tako hitre kot hitre proge v Franciji, Nemčiji ali na Japonskem, je na glavnih in sekundarnih progah relativno visok standard storitev.

Privatizirani sistem je bil obtožen številnih napak in pogosto se poziva k ponovni nacionalizaciji celotnega omrežja, vendar danes večina železniških podjetij ponuja dobre storitve, zlasti na medmestnih in glavnih progah, čeprav se točnost precej razlikuje. Ni obvezno rezervirati sedeža na vlaku vnaprej, vendar boste pogosto ugotovili, da vozovnice stanejo manj, kolikor dlje rezervirate - cene vozovnic so lahko presenetljivo visoke, če kupite vozovnico na postaji na dan potovanja in presenetljivo nizko, če rezervirate nekaj tednov vnaprej.

Nagrajeni Državni železniški muzej ob York pripoveduje zgodbo o britanskih železnicah in o tem, kako so spremenile družbo od 19. stoletja do danes, s številnimi zgodovinskimi in rekordnimi lokomotivami, voznimi parki in drugimi eksponati. Vstop je prost.

Struktura

Lastništvo in struktura sta zapletena, vendar tega med potovanjem ne boste opazili. Tir, postaje in infrastruktura (razen ohranjenih železnic) so v lasti in vzdrževanju Network Rail, "ni za dividende" družba v lasti vlade.

Vlake, ki naj bi jih vozili, določi vlada, upravljajo pa jih železniške družbe (TOC). Ti zakupijo ali imajo v lasti železniški vozni park za izvajanje potniških storitev, ki jih zahtevajo njihove franšizne pogodbe. Podjetja se določena leta tekmujejo za pridobitev franšiz. Njihovo nadaljnje dovoljenje za delovanje ali možnost pridobitve podaljškov ali prihodnjih franšiz je odvisno od dejavnikov, vključno z razmerjem med ceno in kakovostjo, uspešnostjo in zadovoljstvom strank. Vladni uradniki in ministri za promet imajo v tem procesu pomembno vlogo. Obstajajo tudi številne operaterji z odprtim dostopom, ki so neodvisni od franšizinga in vozijo vlake v režah, kupljenih neposredno od Network Rail.

Skupina za dostavo železnic zastopa vsa potniška železniška podjetja in jih skupaj trži National Rail. National Rail je podedoval ikonični belo-rdeči logotip "dvojne puščice" (glej sliko), ki ga je prvič uporabil British Rail, nekdanji državni železniški operater, ki je bil privatiziran v devetdesetih letih (čeprav je bila infrastruktura v zgodnjih 2000-ih). Logotip se pogosto uporablja za označevanje železniške postaje in na cestnih znakih, zemljevidih, vozovnicah in drugih mestih.

Potniške železniške družbe

Nekatera vlakovna podjetja pokrivajo določeno geografsko regijo, druga pa medkrajevne proge, ki gredo skozi različne regije. Od leta 2021 bo National Rail mrežo potniških prevoznih podjetij sestavljajo naslednja podjetja:

Kip pesnika sira Johna Betjemana, ki gleda na arhitekturo londonske postaje St. Pancras. Tudi vi bi morali! Glavne britanske postaje so pogosto impresivna dela viktorijanske arhitekture.

Vlaki različnih operaterjev pod isto streho v Manchester Piccadilly.

Zgodovinsko ozadje

Od tridesetih let prejšnjega stoletja so racionalizirane lokomotive razreda 'A4', kot so Mlakarica simbolizirala zlato dobo železniškega potovanja. Mlakarica je zdaj v Narodnem železniškem muzeju v Yorku

Prva javna železnica na svetu se je odprla med Stocktonom in Darlingtonom na severovzhodu Anglije leta 1825, s čimer se je začel razcvet gradnje železnic. Večino železnic v Veliki Britaniji so zgradila zasebna podjetja v iskanju dobička; na desetine majhnih podjetij je vodilo lokalne linije, se združilo in prevzelo druga drugo, ko so druga vstopila na trg. Sredi 19. stoletja so ti prerasli v nacionalno železniško omrežje. V dvajsetih letih je vlada odločila, da se vsa združijo v štiri velika podjetja, ki so danes najbolj znana: Južna železnica, London in Severovzhodna železnica (LNER), London, Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) in Great Western (GWR) ). Sledila je "zlata doba" hitrostnih rekordov, ikoničnih lokomotiv, kot je Leteči Škot in podobe vlaka kot elegantne, a vsakdanje oblike potovanja (videli boste sodobna imena železniških podjetij, ki se vračajo v to zlato dobo). Po drugi svetovni vojni, v kateri je bila večina infrastrukture obrabljena za vojaške dajatve, poškodovana ali uničena zaradi bombardiranja, je vlada leta 1948. nacionalizirala vse železnice. Iz tega izhajajoča državna britanska železnica je vlačila vlake skoraj petdeset let. spremembe, ko je paro nadomestil dizelski in električni vlečni pogon, je bilo veliko število napajalnih in obrobnih vodov zaprto v "Beeching Axe", ko je prišla starost avtomobila, hitrosti prog so se povečale in zdaj ikonični logotip z dvojno puščico (sarkastično imenovane "puščice neodločnosti") so simbolizirale železniško omrežje in prisotnost postaje.

Železniški plakati v 40. in 50. letih 20. stoletja so z umetnostjo privabljali popotnike k obisku letovišč z vlakom.

Logotip z dvojno puščico British Rail (in zdaj National Rail) in s tem povezana pisava iz šestdesetih let prejšnjega stoletja sta priznana kot oblikovalska klasika tega obdobja (v nasprotju s skoraj vsemi drugimi storitvami British Rail), vendar sta le eden izmed številnih dosežkov na področju oblikovanja in inženiringa, ki so jih dosegla železniška podjetja v Veliki Britaniji. V 19. stoletju so železniška podjetja postavila veličastne postaje, kot so London St. Pancras, King's Cross, Paddington in Liverpool Street. Te "železniške katedrale" so simbolizirale uspeh podjetij, ki so jih zgradila, in kraje, skozi katere so potekale njihove proge (npr. Midlandske opeke, iz katerih je zgrajen St. Pancras). Znameniti mostovi in ​​viadukti viktorijanske dobe, kot je Forth Bridge, so simbolizirali regije, po katerih tečejo. V dvajsetih in tridesetih letih so poenostavljene lokomotive, kot so Mlakarica so postali simboli modernosti, ki zdaj simbolizirajo zenit britanskega železniškega potovanja, medtem ko so plakati za železniška potovanja med tridesetimi in petdesetimi leti predstavljali umetniški slog, ki je Britanijo izpostavil kot najbolj privlačno.

Kljub najnižjim časom obdobja Beeching v šestdesetih letih prejšnjega stoletja se je British Rail v 70. in 80. letih ponovno okrepil, ko se je boril proti novim avtocestam. Državna korporacija je razvila novo enotno blagovno znamko za ekspresne storitve na dolge razdalje, znano kot InterCity, to pa je skupaj z elektrifikacijo dveh glavnih prog iz Londona na Škotsko in novim, visokotehnološkim voznim parkom doživelo razcvet pokroviteljstva, ki je nato zaščitil izgubo regionalnih poti in preostalih podružnic pred zaprtjem. Vendar sta upadanje in zanemarjanje še vedno zelo očitna v celotnem sistemu, saj je trpel zaradi pomanjkanja vlaganj države. V takratnem političnem ozračju, ki je dajalo prednost zasebnemu delovanju javnih služb, je bilo neizogibno, da bi se mreža iz državnega nadzora preselila v zasebni sektor. V tem obdobju sta se tudi dva pomembna nova dogajanja v voznem parku. Za razliko od Francije, kjer so bile po vsej državi zgrajene nove proge za visoke hitrosti, se je British Rail zdelo bolj izvedljivo graditi nove vlake, prilagojene ukrivljenem in pogosto neelektrificiranemu obstoječemu omrežju. "Vlak za visoke hitrosti" (HST) je bil mišljen kot zaustavitev, dokler "Napredni potniški vlak" (APT) ni začel obratovati. Medtem ko so slednjega mučile težave z zobmi, pomanjkanje političnega konsenza v njegovo korist in je na koncu videlo le zelo malo prihodkovnih storitev, je HST več kot 40 let ostal v službi za medkrajevne storitve in šele od leta 2019 je bil počasi prerazporejena v regionalne službe. Kljub temu se aktivna tehnologija nagibanja, ki jo je uvedel APT, uporablja v vlakih Pendolino, ki še danes vozijo po britanskih tirih.

Znameniti logotip in pisava British Rail iz šestdesetih let prejšnjega stoletja sta opredelila videz in občutek železnice v moderni dobi. Logotip še danes označuje postajo.

Po slabo zasnovani privatizaciji sredi devetdesetih let je bilo omrežje razdrobljeno z različnimi podjetji, ki vozijo po progi, železniškim voznim parkom in na desetine majhnih podjetij, ki upravljajo vlake, vendar z močnim vladnim posredovanjem, subvencijami in nadzorom nad sistemom. Infrastruktura (npr. Proga, signali in postaje) je bila ponovno nacionalizirana v začetku 2000-ih po finančnem zlomu, ki ga je povzročila usodna nesreča Hatfielda oktobra 2000, in od takrat se je sistem prilegal in razvil v učinkovit prometni sistem, čeprav z nekaterimi tekoča vprašanja, da bi mešali železnice javnega / zasebnega sektorja. Vlada je določila dobiček, ustvarjen v zasebnem sektorju, vendar so bile izplačane subvencije in natančne storitve, ki jih je treba izvajati. Do leta 2013 je število potnikov kljub letnim zvišanjem vozovnic naraščalo. Britanci plačujejo med najvišjimi vozovnicami za potovanje z vlakom na svetu; na primer letna vozovnica iz predmestja Londona je dražja od kartice BahnCard 100, ki velja za potovanje na vse Nemški vlaki.

Skozi vsa leta 2010 je postalo jasno, da je sistem franšize nevzdržen: z vsako obnovo franšize je vedno manj ponudb dajalo vedno manj podjetij, večina ponudb pa le za kratkoročne pogodbe. Poleg tega se je povečalo število neuspešnih franšiz, zaradi česar je morala vlada prevzeti funkcijo "nujne zaustavitve", včasih večkrat za isto železniško progo. Vse glasnejši pozivi k spremembam so bili v veliki meri deležni neukrepanja Whitehalla, dokler dogodki niso prehiteli Pandemija covida-19: s padcem števila potnikov in železniško industrijo na robu bankrota je morala vlada ukrepati. Veliko vlivanje denarja marca 2020 je franšize dejansko dalo pod javni nadzor, čeprav začasno. Nato je bilo septembra 2020 napovedano, da bo franšizni sistem ukinjen. Medtem ko je bila pri konservativni vladi trajna renacionalizacija vedno malo verjetna, bo novi sistem v prihodnosti zahteval veliko močnejši oprijem države. Najverjetnejša zamenjava za franšizing je koncesijski model, po katerem se podjetjem dodeli dolgoročna pogodba v zameno za fiksno letno plačilo iz državne blagajne, pri čemer se vozni redi in vozovnice pod državnim nadzorom ter prihodki od prevoznin vrnejo v javno blagajno. Vendar pa vsaj en del Britanije napreduje s popolno renacionalizacijo: februarja 2021 je valižanska vlada (Laburistična vlada) v javni lasti prenesla storitve prevoza za Wales.

Najbolj slikovite poti

Pogled iz vlaka, ki vozi po zahodni visokogorski progi.

Viadukt Ribblehead na liniji Settle-Carlisle, severni Yorkshire.

Vlak odpelje Dawlish na progi Riviera in potuje po morski steni.

Številne črte prečkajo spektakularno britansko podeželje in tečejo po dramatičnih obalah, zlasti na Škotskem, v Walesu ter na severu in jugozahodu Anglije. Elegantni viktorijanski viadukti in mostovi marsikje lepoti naravne krajine prispevajo (in ne odvračajo od nje). Od številnih takšnih slikovitih poti je nekaj takih, ki so del nacionalnega železniškega omrežja in zagotavljajo prevozne storitve skupnostim na tej progi ter privabljajo turiste. Ohranjene in dediščine železnic upravljajo druge (običajno s parnimi vlaki) na čudovitem podeželju (glej spodnji odstavek o ohranjenih železnicah).

• Cambrian Line (Shrewsbury - Aberystwyth/Pwllheli). To je pot, ki najprej potuje po polgorinskem gorskem terenu Srednji Wales, nato pa dolino Dovey, preden pride do obale. Pot poteka skozi Machynlleth preden se je razcepil na križišču Dovey nekaj razdalje jugozahodno. Južni del vodi proti Aberystwyth, severni del do Pwllheli v Severni Wales. Na severnem kraku je obala najprej izliva Doveyja in nato zaliva Cardigan. Gore Snowdonia so najprej na severu in nato na vzhodu, ko se črta nežno prepleta do obale. Železniška proga prečka izliv Mawddach na omenjenem Barmouth Most, ki nadaljuje proti severu, do dosega Harlech in zavijemo proti zahodu Minffordd in Porthmadog. Tek proti zahodu vzdolž severnega roba zaliva Cardigan zaključi tek Pwllheli. Pot se poveže tudi s številnimi ozkimi tirnimi "vlaki iz Walesa", ki jih je mogoče uporabiti za raziskovanje gorske valižanske notranjosti.
• Exeter-Penzance (vključno z delom Riviera Line): Ta proga, ki jo je zasnoval slavni inženir Brunel kot del njegove Velike zahodne železnice, poteka od Exeter, Devon do Penzance, Cornwall in vključuje dolge odseke, kjer železnica teče neposredno na morsko steno, na primer pri Dawlishu. Prav tako teče skozi bujne doline, mimo dramatičnega Dartmoorja, Brunel prečka viadukte in v Cornwall vstopi z impresivnim mostom Royal Albert čez reko Tamar (izgovarja se TAY-mar). Slike valov, ki se lomijo ob železniški progi pri Dawlishu, so ikonične Devon. Odsek med Exeter in Newton Abbot je še posebej lepo, ko vlak potuje vzdolž morske stene skozi čudovita obalna mesta Starcross, Dawlish in Teignmouth (izgovarja se "Tin-muth"). Pazite, da boste priklenjeni na to okno za 15-20 minutni odsek!
• Srce Walesa(http://www.heart-of-wales.co.uk/). Celotno potovanje od Swansea do Shrewsbury traja približno štiri ure in gre skozi nekatera najbolj slikovita gorska območja Walesa in slikovita trška mesta.
• Stonehaven-Aberdeen: Proga severno od Edinburgh do Aberdeen prečka ikonični Forth Bridge. Na svojem severnem koncu med lepim pristaniškim mestecem Stonehaven in "Granit City" Aberdeen teče približno 20 minut po dramatični, razgibani obali s spektakularnimi pečinami, ki se dvigajo v severno morje. Robustni odprtine in mehurji valov, ki se lomijo na skalah, pripomorejo k prizoru. Pot je še posebej impresivna ob sončnem vzhodu (kot je razvidno iz spalnice od Londona do Aberdeena)
• The Daleč severna črta od hitro rastočega mesta Inverness do britanskega najsevernejšega mesta Thurso poteka skozi impresivno pokrajino Highland, pa tudi samo Moray Firth, Dornoch Firth in impresivno obalo Sutherlanda. Odhaja še ena slikovita pot Inverness za Kylea iz Lochalsha s povezavami do spektakularnega otoka Skye.
• The Line Settle-Carlisle teče 117 km od naselja Settle v severnem Yorkshiru (ali pa se lahko vlaku pridružite prej v glavnem mestu Leeds) v mesto Carlisle, blizu škotske meje. Najbolj slikovita železniška proga v Angliji poteka skozi dramatične Pennine Hills in narodni park Yorkshire Dales. Med številnimi viadukti je najbolj opazen dramatični viadukt Ribblehead s svojimi 24 kamnitimi oboki, na številnih postajah na poti pa se dobro sprehaja. (Ta proga je bila predvidena za zaprtje v osemdesetih letih, vendar pritisk javnosti in naraščajoči tovorni promet pomeni, da je ostala odprta)
• The West Highland Line iz Glasgow do pristaniških mest na zahodni obali Mallaig in Oban je verjetno najbolj spektakularna v Veliki Britaniji in je redno glasovala med najboljšimi železniškimi potovanji na svetu. Na poti vozi tudi nočni spalnik iz Londona Euston do Fort Williama, poleti pa dnevno vozi parni vlak z imenom "The Jacobite". Spektakularni razgledi vključujejo Loch Lomond in Gareloch, dramatični Rannoch Moor, viadukt Glenfinnan (kot je prikazan v filmih o Harryju Potterju in škotskih bankovcih) in čudovit razgled na Hebridi iz Mallaig, med mnogimi drugimi na 4-urni vožnji.

Storitve

Dosežek British Rail, ki velja še danes, je, da lahko kupite vozovnico od katere koli postaje v Veliki Britaniji do katere koli druge postaje, vključno s kakršnimi koli menjavami vlakov, železniških družb ali celo Londonsko podzemlje ali Manchester Metrolink potrebne povezave.

Hitrost

Večina mestnih storitev potuje s hitrostjo do 125 km / h (201 km / h), tudi na neelektrificiranih progah. Velika Britanija je bila prva država, ki je v sedemdesetih letih uvedla visokohitrostne dizelske storitve (z uporabo InterCity 125 vlaki, ki so prenovljeni še vedno nosilec nekaterih poti). Za razliko od nekaterih držav storitve za visoke hitrosti ne stanejo več kot druge, razen vlakov, ki vozijo na High Speed ​​1 od londonskega St Pancras do postaj v Kentu. Tu plačujete višje cene kot počasnejše storitve, ki ne uporabljajo visoke hitrosti, in ni cenejših vozovnic Advance ali Off-Peak. Proč od medmestnih prog je na glavnih progah do 160 km / h na manjših progah. V stari južni regiji (regija, ki jo omejujeta reka Temza in jugozahodna glavna črta do Weymouth), tudi medmestne storitve so omejene na 100 km / h zaradi omejitev elektrifikacije tretjih tirov.

Za nemestne storitve (zlasti v jugovzhodni Angliji) boste morda slišali izraz hitro, kot v naslednji objavi: "Klic na Sevenoaks, Petts Wood, Bromley South, nato pa hitro do London Charing Cross". To se ne nanaša na hitrost - to pomeni non-stop. Tako bi vlak v zgornji napovedi zamudil številne postaje med Bromley South in London Charing Cross. "Hitra" storitev je neprekinjena, medtem ko "polhitra" pomeni klicanje samo na določenih postajah.

Razredi potovanja

Notranjost standardnega razreda prenovljena InterCity 125 (znan tudi kot HST), ki ga upravlja CrossCountry. The InterCity 125 je najhitrejši dizelski vlak na svetu.

Prvovrstna notranjost razreda 221 Super Voyager

Delujeta dva razreda: standardni razred in 1. razred. Vožnja s primestnimi vlaki in nekatere lokalne storitve ponujajo samo standardni razred.

• Standardni razred nastanitev ima navadno dva sedeža na obeh straneh prehoda z mešanico sedežev, obrnjenih proti mizi, ali več zasebnih sedežev v "letalskem slogu". Nekateri vlaki, zasnovani za intenzivnejšo vožnjo v dnevnih vožnjah, imajo lahko tri sedeže na eni strani in dva na drugi strani ali pa celo zgolj ob vznožju sten z veliko prostora za stoječe.
• Prvi razred nastanitev v medmestnih storitvah ima dva sedeža in en sedež na obeh straneh prehoda, z večjim sedežem, več prostora za noge, pijačo, osvežilnimi pijačami in časopisom na sedežu (ob koncu tedna niso na voljo vse storitve na sedežu) ; prvi razred na dnevnih voznih poteh je običajno veliko bolj osnovni in je lahko dva sedeža na obeh straneh prehoda brez storitve na sedežu. Vendar pa je, razen na dolgih potovanjih (2 uri ali več) ali zasedenih vlakih (tj. Zjutraj z vlakom v London), skoraj nesmiselno kupiti vozovnico prvega razreda. Razlog za to je, da poleg dejstva, da je verjetnost, da boste sedež dobili bolj verjetno (vseeno je zelo verjetno), skoraj nima koristi za razliko v ceni. Pri rezervaciji preverite cene, saj so cene vozovnic prvega razreda vnaprej presenetljivo primerne, na daljšem potovanju pa je odlična soba za noge in komolce ter (pogosto kar dobri) obroki in pijača. Prav tako je vredno preveriti spletno mesto upravljavca vlaka, da vidite, kaj vam prinese prvi razred, na primer Avanti West Coast ponuja popoln obrok, medtem ko nekateri drugi prevozniki ponujajo le večji sedež. Ob vikendih mnogi vlaki ponujajo dokaj poceni prvovrstno nadgradnjo, ko se vkrcate na vlak. To se običajno objavi ali pa vprašate osebje vlaka.

Tako v 1. kot v standardnem razredu večina vlakov ponuja tudi:

• Brezplačne rezervacije sedežev (ne na dnevnih ali lokalnih storitvah), označene s papirnato ploščico ali elektronskim zaslonom nad vsakim sedežem
• Sprehod bifeali a servis vozičkov pijač in osvežilnih pijač, ki se premikajo skozi vlak na vlakih za dolge razdalje
• Klimatska naprava (ni vedno na voljo na dnevnih ali lokalnih storitvah)
• Vsaj en voziček s popolnoma prilagojenim straniščem in stranišči za previjanje dojenčkov
• O medmestnih storitvah a brezžični internet storitev (lahko se zaračuna)
• Večina medmestnih vlakov zagotavlja a "Tihi trener" kjer uporaba mobilnih telefonov, iPodov, pogovorov in kakršnega koli drugega hrupa ni dovoljena. Te najdemo na vlakih LNER, CrossCountry, Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Trains, Eurostar, Great Western Railway in medmestnih storitvah Abellio Greater Anglia.

Kajenje in alkohol

Kajenje je na postaji Wallsend prepovedano tako za Britance kot za Rimljane

Kajenje je na vlakih v Veliki Britaniji (in dejansko na katerem koli zaprtem javnem mestu v Angliji, Walesu in na Škotskem) prepovedano. Vlaki so opremljeni z dimnimi alarmi, tudi v straniščih. Če vas opazijo, da kadite, se bo osebje vlaka dogovorilo za to Britanska prometna policija čakali na naslednji postaji in vas bodo aretirali in oglobili. Kajenje je tudi prepovedano na postajnih peronih in kateri koli drugi železniški lastnini, čeprav se na manjših ali podeželskih postajah na splošno prezre, če kadite na prostem, kolikor je mogoče od glavnega čakalnega območja. Vaping elektronskih cigaret na vlakih ni dovoljen, nekatera železniška podjetja pa vam omogočajo, da se odpeljete na peron.

Čeprav uživanje alkohola na večini vlakov in na postajah ni nujno prepovedano, boste morda dobili neodobravajoče poglede sopotnikov in železniškega osebja, če ga odkrito uživate na peronu. Nekatere izjeme od tega so navedene spodaj.

Med nekaterimi dogodki in ob določenem času lahko železniška podjetja omejijo uživanje alkohola v svojih storitvah (na primer vlaki, ki gredo na priljubljene športne prireditve) in bodo takšne omejitve objavili na vlaku ali na postajah. Če ugotovite, da uživate alkohol tam, kjer je omejen, ga bodo zasegli. Kaznovali vas bodo le, če ne boste predali alkohola ali če boste še naprej pili po opozorilu.

Britanska prometna policija vas lahko kadar koli odstrani s katere koli postaje ali vlaka, če se vam zdi, da niste sposobni potovati v stanju zastrupitve, železniško osebje pa ne okleva in zahteva posredovanje za uveljavitev železniških predpisov, kadar je to potrebno.

V Škotska na vlakih, ki jih vozi ScotRail, je nezakonito imeti alkohol ali uživati ​​alkohol pred 10. uro ali po 21. uri. Ta sodba ne velja za kaledonsko spalno službo.

V skladu z ločenimi podzakonskimi akti določena lokalna prometna omrežja, kot je Londonsko podzemlje izvajajo tudi prepovedi alkohola.

Podeželske storitve

Na nekaterih podeželskih, lokalnih storitvah (zlasti na severozahodu in jugozahodu Anglije) so nekatere manjše postaje postajališča z zahtevami (to bo običajno navedeno na voznem redu in objavljeno v sistemu za obveščanje javnosti). Če se vkrcanje na zahtevo ustavi, se bo vlak upočasnil in lahko bo tudi zaslišal - če se želite vkrcati na vlak, nato dvignite roko, da vas bo strojevodja videl. Če želite na zahtevo ustaviti, obvestite osebje vlaka, na kateri postaji želite izstopiti, in strojevodji bo dal znak, naj ustavi.

Regionalne, lokalne in primestne linije

Široka mreža linij zagotavlja storitve med mesti z regionalnim pomenom (npr. Liverpool - Manchester), lokalnimi storitvami (npr. Settle - Carlisle) in primestnimi storitvami po številnih večjih mestih (omrežje je še posebej gosto okoli Londona, Glasgowa, Birminghama in Liverpoola ). Do večine krajev, ki so zanimivi ali pomembni, je mogoče priti po železnici ali po železnici in s povezovalno avtobusno povezavo (npr. Avtobusna povezava povezuje postajo Leuchars z St Andrews). Vredno je preizkusiti načrtovalec potovanja na Spletno mesto National Rail da preverite, ali je kraj, ki vas zanima, postrežen (glejte razdelek o Načrtovanje potovanja spodaj).

Medmestne proge

Medmestno omrežje se je razvilo iz šestih zgodovinskih glavnih cest. Hitrost proge je do 201 km / h, do 299 km / h pa do 292 km / h, kar Eurostar doseže le z domačimi vlaki, omejenimi na 230 km / h, in 100 km / h (160 km / h) za Veliko vzhodno črto. Najvišjo hitrost 125 mph na zahodni obali je mogoče doseči le s polaganjem vlakov, pri običajnih vlakih pa 180 km / h. Vse medmestne linije se na enem koncu povezujejo z Londonom, razen tekaške proge. V Londonu so številne postaje, pri čemer se vsaka glavna linija konča na drugi postaji (npr. Paddington, King's Cross, St. Pancras, Euston). These stations are linked by the London Underground network.

Main concourse at London King's Cross station, terminus of the East Coast Main Line to Scotland and the north of England, as well as local and regional services to Cambridgeshire and destinations north of London.

• Velika hitrost 1 (HS1) connects London with many destinations in Kent kot naprimer Canterbury, Rochester and the Medway Towns, Margate, and Dover, and with the Channel Tunnel to France. Domestic services run at 140 mph (230 km/h) from London to cities and towns in Kent, and Eurostar international services run at 186 mph (299 km/h) to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. This line runs from St Pancras.
• Glavna črta vzhodne obale - od London King's Cross to Edinburgh Waverley via Peterborough, York in Newcastle, with a branch to Leeds. Services run at least hourly from London to Newark-on-Trent, Leeds, and Edinburgh, with less frequent services to Bradford, Trup, Sunderland in Aberdeen.
• Glavna proga zahodne obale - od London Euston to Glasgow Central via Milton Keynes, Preston in Carlisle, with branches to Birmingham, Manchester in Liverpool. Services run at least hourly from London to Birmingham, Chester, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow, with less frequent services to Bangor, Holyhead, Blackpool in Edinburghu.
• Great Eastern Main Line - od London Liverpool Street to Norwich prek Colchester in Ipswich. Half-hourly services run the length of the line.
• Great Western Main Line - od London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads via Branje, with branches southwest to Devon in Cornwall, and west across the Welsh border to Cardiff in Swansea. Services run at least hourly from London to Oxford, Worcester, Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea and Plymouth, with less frequent services to Hereford, Cheltenham, Paignton in Penzance.
• Midland Main Line - od London St. Pancras to Sheffield prek Leicester in Derbi, with a branch to Nottingham. Services run at least hourly from London to Corby, Nottingham, and Sheffield.
• Cross-Country Route - connecting Škotska, severni Anglija, the Midlands, southern and south-west Anglija. Unlike all other inter-city lines it does not reach London and most services run via Birmingham.

While these are the routes showing high speed services, some operators run longer-distance "fast" or "semi-fast" connections on local lines, one such example being Abellio Greater Anglia's West Anglia Main Line "fast" service which only calls at London Liverpool Street, Tottenham Hale, Harlow Mill, Bishops Stortford, Audley End, Whittlesford Parkway and Cambridge. A much longer Arriva Trains Wales service travels regularly from Milford Haven to Manchester calling at towns and cities like Carmarthen, Llanelli, Swansea, Bridgend, Cardiff, Newport, Abergavenny, Crewe and Manchester Piccadilly. These trains are not served by high speed trains and will often operate at slower speeds. They may also call at intermediate stations on the route. It is worth checking where your train stops at, and whether there may be a quicker connection, for example, Great Northern's London King's Cross - Cambridge would be quicker than Greater Anglia's London Liverpool Street - Cambridge.

Spalni vlaki

There are three scheduled sleeper trains in Britain that operate every night (except Saturday) in each direction. Travelling more slowly than their equivalent daytime trains, they offer a comfortable means of overnight travel. All feature a lounge car that is open to passengers booked in berths (although on busy nights the Caledonian Sleeper sometimes restrict access to the lounge car to first-class passengers only). A buffet service of food and drinks is available in the lounge car, offering affordable snacks and drinks.

London to Scotland

A Club room on the Caledonian Sleeper, with the top berth stowed. Club and Classic rooms include one or two beds and a washbasin, and Club rooms also have a private WC and shower.

Serco operate two Caledonian Sleepers to Scotland, Sunday to Friday.

• The Lowland Sleeper listi London Euston around 23:00, and divides at Carstairs to reach Glasgow Central and Edinburgh for 07:30; the southbound trains depart around 23:30.
• The Highland Sleeper listi London Euston around 21:00, and divides at Edinburgh to reach Aberdeen for 07:40 (returning 21:40), Inverness for 08:40 (returning 20:40) and Fort William for 10:00 (returning 19:30). Passengers for Edinburgh may not use the Highland Sleeper, as this is just a service halt. This train stops at many intermediate stations (eg Dundee, Stirling and Perth) but very early in the morning: it might be more convenient, and cheaper, to take the Lowland Sleeper to Edinburgh or Glasgow then change to a daytime train.

Reservations on Caledonian Sleepers are compulsory, and if you already hold a daytime ticket or rail pass, you need to buy a sleeper supplement.

The Caledonian Sleeper introduced new rolling stock in 2019. Reclining seats are cheapest: these are comparable to daytime first class but with no at-seat service, and the lights stay on all night. It's an uncomfortable way to spend the night; note that sitting passengers on the Fort William portion of the train must change carriages in Edinburgh. Sleeper compartments have up to two berths in three configurations: "classic" rooms include up & down bunk beds and a washbasin; "club" rooms have up & down bunks with basin, WC and shower; and double bedrooms have one double bed with basin, WC and shower. These are sold on the same basis as hotel rooms, so you pay extra for single occupancy, but you don't have to share with a stranger. Pricing is dynamic, you pay less in advance, much more at weekends or around the Edinburgh Festival if indeed there are berths available. Reckon £140 single and £170 double "classic" to Edinburgh and £45 for seating only. Booking is open 12 months in advance; you need to print out your e-ticket to present on boarding.

London to the West Country

GWR Night Riviera cabin for two. The top bunk is folded away for solo travellers.

Great Western Railway operate the Night Riviera Sleeper, which travels along a single route from London Paddington to Plymouth, Devon and Penzance, Cornwall, calling at numerous intermediate stations. Reservations on Great Western Railway sleepers are optional in seated accommodation, and supplements are payable on top of the basic fare to reserve a berth. The Night Riviera offers two kinds of accommodation:

• Standard class seated accommodation (the seats do not recline).
• Sleeper berths: either a cabin with two berths or (for a higher supplement) a cabin with just one. Solo travellers will not have to share with another traveller, but must book a single cabin instead. The sleeping compartments have been refurbished to a very high standard and each includes a washbasin with soap and towel, a compact wardrobe and electric sockets with USB charging ports. Sleeper berth passengers will be served a complimentary breakfast. There are no showers on board the sleepers, but berth passengers may use the showers at Paddington, Truro and Penzance stations free of charge. Berth passengers may also use the first class lounge at Paddington before or after their journey.

Parliamentary trains

A British peculiarity is the Parliamentary train ali ghost trains. This is usually where the railway company wants to close the station, or a particular service, or the entire line, but the legal process for doing so is complex and expensive. So instead they run the very minimum service that the law requires: just one a week, in one direction only, usually at an inconvenient time. Other parliamentary trains are used to keep up driver familiarity with unusual movements. An example of the latter is the once-daily Chiltern Railways train to London Paddington instead of the usual London Marylebone, since trains are occasionally diverted there.

Some examples of parliamentary trains include:

• London Liverpool Street to Enfield Town via South Tottenham, Saturday at 0531 (trains normally go via Stoke Newington)
• Wolverhampton to Walsall direct, Saturday at 0638
• Gillingham to Sheerness-on-Sea, weekdays at 0456 and return at 2132
• Northampton to Crewe stopping at Polesworth station, Monday to Saturday at 0723

The companies’ behaviour is cynical and it's tempting to incite a flash-mob to board all such trains (ghost-costumes optional) then write to their MPs to say what a splendid service it was, that must please be kept running. There is however an upside to this. Unlike the stations and lines closed during the "Beeching Axe" when Britain lost half its rail network in the span of not even a full decade, stations (only) served by a "Parliamentary Train" can become regular stations with frequent service rather quickly. It does not happen maybe as often as some would want, but there have been instances of lines going from the bare minimum of "train service" in order to avoid the lengthy process of shutdown to regular and actually useful service.

Načrtovanje potovanja

The best source of information is the National Rail website at http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/. It has a very useful journey planner, gives live updates for all stations, has station information and plans, ticket information, as well as a useful Cheapest Fare Finder (however "split ticketing" may still be cheaper). Most of these services are also available by telephone from the National Rail Enquiries phone service on 44 3457 48 49 50. The National Rail website gives prices but does not sell tickets (however it will link to a choice of several websites which do). Among the train operators' websites, a useful one for planning travel and buying tickets is:

• Great Western Railway is a privately owned train company which uses an easy-to-use ticketing system and unlike most websites also sells some rovers online tukaj. As with all train company websites, it gives information and sells tickets for all services in Great Britain operated by any company.
• Other useful websites include virgintrains.co.uk, northernrail.org, scotrail.co.uk, southwesternrailway.com in splitticketing.com/

The Forth Bridge takes the line north from Edinburgh across the firth of Forth, to Fife in Aberdeen.

It is advisable not to use the various independent train booking websites that also exist, which often charge unavoidable additional fees for tickets which can all be purchased without the fees from any train companies website! (e.g. for booking, using a debit card, using a credit card, receiving tickets by post or collecting them at the station).

• Do not use third-party ticket websites: tickets sold on thetrainline.com, redspottedhanky.com, mytrainticket.co.uk or raileasy.co.uk can be purchased at a cheaper rate and without any booking or card fees from any train company's website! Some third-party ticket websites charge booking/collection/credit card fees, while the official train company websites do not. thetrainline.com advertises frequently in the media in the UK, leaving some people convinced that it's cheaper, however in reality it's impossible to get a cheaper deal there no matter what anyone tells you!

Buying tickets

Opomba: Deliberate fare evasion on British trains is a criminal offence and may lead to prosecution. The maximum penalty if found guilty is a fine of up to £1,000 or up to three months in prison. In most cases, you should buy a ticket before you board a train.

A feature of the network is that you can purchase a through-ticket from any one station to any other in Great Britain, regardless of which or how many train companies you will need to travel on. You buy tickets at station ticket offices ali ticket machines. Smaller stations may have no ticket office and very minor ones will not have a machine; in this situation you should buy your ticket on-board from the conductor as soon as you can. Alternatively, more and more travellers buy from one of the train company's websites, all of which have a journey planner and sell tickets for all services, not just their own. If you buy on a website from one of the companies listed in the Passenger Rail Companies section above, you can receive your tickets in a number of different ways (depending on provider):

• Objavi: you can have tickets sent to you by post (takes 2–3 days), but this may have to be to the address that your bank card is registered at.
• Zbirka: you can pick them up at a train station you specify that has an automated ticket machine. If you are collecting tickets from a machine, you need any bank card plus the ticket collection reference in your confirmation email. If travelling from an unstaffed station without a ticket machine, it will not be possible to collect your ticket there. You should use another method or collect your ticket from another station before travelling. However, if travelling within Scotland, ScotRail unofficially accept seeing your confirmation email instead. If travelling to a station with barriers, they may ask you to collect your ticket there to leave the station. For example, boarding a train at Achnasheen, you would show the conductor your confirmation email. When arriving in Inverness, you may need to print out your ticket from the machine there. In this case, select Inverness as your collection station when buying the ticket.
• Print at Home: you can print the ticket at home on your printer (only on some routes).
• Mobilni: you can have your ticket delivered to your smartphone, which you just present on the train (only on some routes).

A ticket does not guarantee a seat unless you also have a seat reservation. Depending on ticket type and train company, this may come automatically with the ticket or you may be asked if you wish to reserve a seat - ask if you are unsure. Some trains (mostly local and commuter services) do not permit seat reservations. If you have no seat reservation, you may have to stand if the train is busy.

Vrste vozovnic

Typical UK rail ticket. Credit-card sized, with details of the fare and journey printed on the ticket. It has a magnetic strip on the back, which allows it to open station ticket gates.

A typical National Rail reservation coupon, in this case the paid standard class supplement required for a berth in the Glasgow to London sleeper (there is no charge for a seat reservation on a day time train). The reserved bed is in coach N, berth 23L ('L' for lower of two berths). Printed in the same format of card as a ticket, no reservation is valid without an accompanying ticket.

Point-to-point tickets come in three types: Advance, Off-Peak and Anytime. Tukaj so tudi 'Rover' tickets, for unlimited journeys in a particular area. You can usually book any of these up to three months in advance, and less expensive tickets are more likely to be available the further in advance you book. You can choose between flexibility (generally more expensive) and value (less or no flexibility), similar to an airline. Off-peak times are usually any time after 9.30am and all weekends and public holidays, although some companies around London also have a weekday afternoon peak. Services are much more expensive outside these off-peak times. In increasing order of cost, tickets are classed as:

• Vnaprej - are usually the cheapest tickets (although if you are making a return journey, a return ticket can sometimes be cheaper than two Advance tickets). Advance tickets must be bought in advance and you must travel on a specific train, at a specific time. Most train companies allow booking up to 6pm the evening before travel, but some companies sell advance tickets up to 15 minutes before departure, notably CrossCountry, via their mobile app. Advance tickets are limited, so once a set number have been sold, the only tickets available may be Off-Peak or Anytime tickets. If you get a different train to that stated on your ticket, you will need to pay for a new ticket (at full price) and on some trains you will also have to pay a penalty fare (at least £20 extra). You can not board or leave the train at any station except those stated on the ticket unless you have another ticket to that station.
• Off-Peak - Buy any time, must travel at 'off-peak' times, ticket is more expensive than Advance ticket. Change in travel plans possible. You can break your journey anywhere en route. Some lines also offer Super Off-Peak tickets with more restrictions that may be cheaper, but they will still be flexible.
• Kadarkoli - Buy any time, travel any time, most expensive ticket. Change in travel plans easily made, plus you can just travel any time you like.

Advance tickets are only sold as single (one-way) tickets. To make a return journey, simply purchase two singles. Off-Peak and Anytime tickets are available as single or return. With the exception of some suburban and commuter trains, the cheapest fares are almost always Advance tickets; however these are not always the best value, particularly for return journeys. Advance tickets are released for sale in limited numbers approximately 12 weeks in advance, and these tickets can only be used on the train specified on the reservation. To check how far ahead 'Advance' tickets are available, visit National Rail's "Booking Horizons" page. If you have not booked in advance, short-distance travel is still affordable if you buy on the day of travel, but if you try to buy longer-distance tickets on the day (e.g. London-Scotland) make sure your budget is prepared.

If you are purchasing a less restricted off-peak ali kadarkoli vstopnica, return fares are often only a small amount more than a single (one-way ticket). Off-peak and anytime return tickets usually allow travel back up to a month after departure, outbound travel must be completed the day the ticket was purchased except if the journey is not possible to complete in one day, the ticket was purchased after the last through train left, or you are using a sleeper. However, you can change trains as many times as you want en-route if you want to get out and take in the sights. For shorter distance journeys a cheaper "Day Return" may be available, where outbound and return travel must be completed on the same day (a "day" is defined at ending 04:29 the following day). Tickets are valid until 04:29 the day after the 'valid until' date shown on the ticket. Tickets purchased after midnight are valid until 04:29 the following day (28 hours after purchase). These fare are extremely flexible allowing you to travel on any train operated by any company and break your journey as many times as you like. On some intermediate-length routes, e.g. between London and Cambridge, both returns and day returns are available. Often people (including ticket officers) will use "return" to mean "day return"—this can cause confusion. It's always best to specify when buying your ticket either "period return" (return within a month) or "day return" (return the same day) just to be sure you're getting the right one.

Tips to save money

Some stations, like Birmingham New Street, have whole shopping centres integrated into the concourse. Even if you do save money on the train fare, you may find yourself parting with your cash in other ways!

There are various ways to obtain discounts, for some people, some of the time. The simplest way to get cheaper tickets is always to book as far in advance as possible.

Split-journey tickets

An example of the complexity and lack of logic in ticket pricing is that it can sometimes be cheaper to split a journey into two or more segments, and buy a separate ticket for each segment. This can apply to any of the ticket types listed above. For example, as at August 2018 a standard-class off-peak return ticket from Reading to Bristol costs £63.20. If you are making that journey in a day, however, it would be better to buy day return tickets from Reading to Didcot costs £6.60, and from Didcot to Bristol costs £24.90 - a total of £31.50, saving over 50%. You would buy both tickets before starting the journey.

These tickets are valid only on trains that are scheduled to stop at the relevant intermediate station. In the example above, you would have to use a train that stops at Didcot - some but not all Reading-Bristol trains do so. But there is no need for you actually to break your journey at the intermediate station, unless you wish to. There is little rhyme or reason as to which journeys can be made cheaper by this tactic, although it seems that journeys starting and finishing at major locations tend to be relatively more expensive (in our example, Reading and Bristol are both much bigger places than Didcot). It also tends to be cheaper to split journeys without day returns into two shorter journeys with day returns (also seen in our example). You have to do your own research by using the National Rail site mentioned above. Splitting at most locations increases the cost rather than decreasing it.

There's little risk if you're using more than one separate ticket for different segments of the journey on eno train. Vendar, this strategy carries risk if you're using more than one train: If you have two low-price, advance-purchase tickets which can only be used on specific trains and the first train is late and you miss your second, connecting train, then, although you are completely legally entitled to use a later connecting train as long as you have allowed the set 'connection time' (at least 5 minutes, up to 15 minutes for the largest stations - see brtimes.com and enter the station name for details) at your interchange station, some staff who are unaware of this rule may still demand that you purchase a new ticket for the second leg of your train journey. This is likely to be at eye-watering, wallet-destroying cost as walk-up fares can be extremely expensive for journeys that are not short. If you are inexperienced with travelling by train in the UK, it is safer to purchase a through-ticket direct to your destination. This means that if one of your connecting trains is late, you should still be able to travel to your final destination at no extra cost.

You can buy tickets from any station in the UK to any other station in the UK at any ticket office allowing to purchase "split tickets" you can not buy these from self service machines. If the station you are starting your journey at has no ticket office, you can buy the first ticket from the self-service machine, and in some cases tickets from other stations as well. If not, then you can usually then board the train with the first ticket and then immediately find the conductor to purchase the rest, but this is not guaranteed.

• splitticketing.com is a website which finds split tickets and allows you book them online (for a small fee) if you want.

Specifying a route or train company

There may be several different possible routes to your destination, with different fares. A ticket valid via 'ANY PERMITTED' routes may be more expensive than a ticket that is restricted to a specific route or to a specific train company.

Change of route excess

Picturesque Blaenau Ffestiniog once filled goods trains with slate destined for the world over.

A little known secret is the possibility to excess a ticket to a different route. This allows you to save money when travelling on a cheaper route one way and return on a more expensive route. Take for example off-peak returns from Dundee to Inverness. There are two different tickets available. One is free of any restrictions, bearing the inscription ANY PERMITTED, the other requires you to travel VIA AVIEMORE. The former costs £56.10, the latter only £36.90. An online journey planner will offer you the ANY PERMITTED ticket in this case. At a ticket office you'll however be able to buy a ticket VIA AVIEMORE and a change of route excess for the direction where you want to travel via Aberdeen (not passing through Aviemore). The change of route excess is only half the difference between the two tickets. You'll pay only £46.50, a saving of more than 17% compared to the ANY PERMITTED ticket.

Similarly, on a small number of routes it's possible to get a cheaper ticket if you travel with a specific operator. Usually this involves taking a slower or less frequent train. For example, a single with no restrictions between Glasgow and Edinburgh is 12.5GBP. A ticket for CrossCountry only is 8.5GBP. Similarly look out for Avanti West Coast only fares between the south and Scotland or Greater Anglia only fares between Cambridge and London. However, tickets restricted by a specific operator can not usually be excessed, except in special circumstances.

Break of Journey

Most tickets (other than advance tickets) allows you to break your journey as many times as you like within the day. So if you're going from A to C but getting off at B on the way, and B is on a valid route between A and C, you only need one ticket rather than two separate ones.

Popusti

Discounts are available for:

• Children - up to the age of 15, normally a half fare
• Small Groups – of between 3 and 9 people
• Large Groups – 10 or more people
• Railcards – discount cards for certain groups
• Regional Railcards – offering discounts within a specific region
• Some European railway staff

Železniške kartice

A Two Together Railcard with the photos blanked out

The most widely used system of discounts on National Rail are Railcards. These provide a discount of 1/3 off nearly any off-peak ticket (although a minimum fare is charged for short journeys below a certain ticket price). Railcards cannot be used for Eurostar fares. Railcards can be purchased from any station ticket office (after completing a form and providing of proof of eligibility and a photograph) or na spletu. Although these are primarily intended for British citizens, the discounts offered makes them useful for visitors to Britain who plan to travel a lot by train; if you are spending more than about £90 then the railcard would pay for itself. Some railcards are available in digital form where an image of the railcard is displayed through a mobile phone app; if you want one, be sure to state it when you apply for one online.

• 16-25 Railcard offers a discount of 1/3 on most tickets for anyone aged 16 to 25 and full-time students of any age (with a suitably stamped form from a university). £30 per year or £70 for three years.
• 26-30 Railcard offers a discount of 1/3 on most tickets for anyone aged 26 to 30. £30 per year, only available as a mobile 'app'.
• Family & Friends Railcard offers a discount of 1/3 on adult fares and 60% on child fares. Up to four adults and four children can travel on one Family & Friends Railcard. At least one named cardholder and one child must be travelling together for the whole journey. £30 per year or £70 for three years.
• Senior Railcard Offers a discount of 1/3 on most tickets for anyone aged 60 or over. £30 per year or £70 for three years.
• Two Together Railcard New card introduced in 2014 offering a discount of 1/3 for two named people (over 16) travelling together. Both people must have their photos on the card, and must stay together for the whole journey. If you change travelling companion you have to buy a new railcard.
• Network Railcard An unusual relic of the pre-privatisation British Rail era: it is a geographically specific railcard that relates to the now obsolete 'Network SouthEast', the British Rail brand for the region of trains that radiate from London and the south east of England. It offers a discount of 1/3 on most tickets for the cardholder and up to three other adults(restrictions apply Monday to Friday) and up to four children, aged 5 to 15 can save 60% on the child fare. Costs £28 a year.
• Devon & Cornwall Railcard Another geographic railcard that is only available to people resident in Devon or Cornwall. The card costs just £12 for a year, and gives one third off most Standard Class Off-Peak and Off-Peak Day train tickets across Devon and Cornwall. One accompanying adult also receives one-third off their ticket and you can take up to four accompanying children (aged 5–15) for a flat fare of £1 each (£2 for Day Ranger tickets). The accompanying adult and/or children ne have to be residents of Devon or Cornwall.
• Disabled Persons Railcard Offers a discount of 1/3 to eligible disabled or mobility restricted passengers. £20 for one year or £54 for three years.
• HM Forces Railcard A similar 1/3 discount available to serving members of the British armed forces and their families. It can only be obtained from military facilities and cannot be purchased at a station.

Sezonske vstopnice

Commuters can get savings similar to those offered by a railcard (but at any time of day) by purchasing a sezonska vozovnica. These are available from staffed ticket offices and ticket machines for a fixed route between any two stations you specify.

If a friend or family member has an annual "Gold Card" season ticket, they can purchase tickets for you to travel together at a discount. When travelling with children, this can often be a substantial discount.

Železniške vozovnice

There are three principal types of rail pass available to visitors to the UK which permit inclusive rail travel throughout the UK. Supplements are normally payable for Eurostar and sleeper trains.

• InterRail is a pass for EU citizens. Two different Interrail passes cover the UK. Interrail Great Britain is valid for travel throughout England, Scotland and Wales, while Interrail Ireland is valid for travel in Northern Ireland and the Republic.
• Britrail can be purchased by any non-UK resident, but must be purchased online or in your home nation before you depart for the UK. Britrail passes cover travel in Great Britain, but ne Northern Ireland.
• Eurail is a pass for non-EU citizens that is valid for travel in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, along with most other countries in Europe.

Glej Evropske železniške prehode za več informacij.

Ranger & Rover tickets

A relic of the nationalised British Rail era, Ranger in Rover tickets are tickets that permit unlimited travel with relatively few restrictions over a defined geographical area for a period of anything from one to fourteen days, including options such as "three days in seven". There are numerous regions available, with a full list of tickets (with their terms and conditions) on National Rail's page. These tickets include Rovers for almost every region of the UK, but notable tickets include:

• All Line Rover - These national Rovers allow 7 or 14 days travel on almost all scheduled rail services throughout England, Scotland and Wales. As of June 2019, they cost £526 (7 days) or £796 (14 days) for standard class, and £796 (7 days) or £1216 (14 days) for 1st class, with discounts for children and railcard holders.
• Spirit of Scotland Travelpass: 4 days in 8 or 8 days in 15 - £134 and £179 respectively, with concessions for children and railcard holders.

Ticket add-ons

• PlusBus. An add-on ticket, which can be purchased with National Rail train tickets in Great Britain. It allows unlimited travel on participating bus operators' services, and in some cases trams, in the whole urban area of rail-served towns and cities (notably except London). You can either buy the PlusBus ticket at the same time you buy your train ticket, or you may show your valid train ticket at your destination's ticket office if you decide to buy PlusBus on arrival. You can buy PlusBus from any Ticket Office, by phone or at ticket machines operated by Abellio Greater Anglia, East Midlands Trains, South Western Railway and Southern. Several operators now allow you to buy PlusBus from their website. The best value PlusBus tickets tend to be for major metropolitan cities since the ticket often covers the whole metropolitan area for a fraction of the cost of a normal day ticket. Between £1.60 and £3.50, depending on destination. (posodobljeno mar 2017)
• Travelcards are an option for most regional services in the South East, offering a return journey to London and then unlimited travel by bus, train, underground, tram, or DLR within Greater London. For example, an Oxford to London off-peak day return costs £26.60 without a travelcard. However, the day travelcard would cost £31.30, giving unlimited travel around London for less than £5.
• Weekend First upgrades allow the holder of a standard class ticket to upgrade to first class on Saturday and Sunday on certain long distance trains. The supplement is payable on the train to the conductor, subject to availability. Upgrades usually start at £5, but distance trains there is no complimentary at-seat service in first class at the weekend.

Uporaba vlaka

The National Rail website has an information page for every railway station in Britain, with details of access, facilities, ticket office opening hours and recommended connection times. The 'live' Departures & Arrivals screen for every station can also be viewed online, with up-to-the-minute train running information.

At the station

Departure boards at London King's Cross station.

If you are unfamiliar with your journey, arrive at the station with time to spare. Stations in Britain are often architecturally significant, so if you are early, take the time to look around. Most stations have electronic departure screens listing trains in order of departure, platform, any delay, stations called at and the train operating company. At small or rural stations without electronic displays, signs will indicate which platform to wait on for trains to your destination. Platforms may not be announced until a few minutes before the train is due to depart, and can sometimes change if the train is delayed. Listen for audio announcements. Many stations now use automated subway-style ticket barriers: you insert your ticket face up, left end (with the arrows logo) first into the first slot facing you; your ticket is then returned from the slot on the top of the machine, and the act of taking it causes the barrier to open. In some cases, you either scan the ticket (if it has a barcode) or, in London, tap an Oyster card on a reader. Platform staff are always in attendance with these barriers and can also advise where to stand if you are travelling with a bicycle.

British trains do not have publicly announced numbers; they are identified at each station by their načrtovano departure time (using the 24-hour clock) and destination (e.g. "The 14:15 to Manchester Piccadilly"). If there is a delay to the train's departure, the original scheduled departure time is still used to identify it. Only a few trains carry names, such as "The Flying Scotsman" between London King's Cross and Edinburgh, "The Northern Lights" between London King's Cross and Aberdeen in "The Highland Chieftain" between London King's Cross and Inverness.

While at the station, be aware of what's going on around you. Try not to get in the way, make sure you stand well back from the platform edge (there is usually a yellow line to stand behind), and do not use flash photography, as this can distract drivers, and front-line staff.

Vstop na vlak

If you have a seat reservation, watch the outside of the train as it arrives for your coach number (some major stations will have signs on the platform telling you where to wait). Coach A may be at the front or back of the train (depending on direction it's travelling in), and some letters may not be included (A-B-C-E, for example). Be careful to distinguish between the coach number and seat number: some seat numbers include the letters A (airline-style), F (facing direction of travel) or B (back to direction of travel). Most trains have power-operated doors, however you must press a button to open it, and they close automatically when the train leaves. There may be a significant gap between the train and the platform edge. If the weather is cold and you are the last person to board, it is polite to press the 'close door' button to prevent cold weather coming in. On older trains with manual doors (particularly sleeper carriages and InterCity 125 trains), you open the door from the outside by pulling the handle downwards and pulling the door open. Close the door behind you and make sure it shuts properly (the handle will return to a horizontal position). When getting off, slide down the window and open the door with the external handle (having no internal handle was a safety feature aimed to prevent doors being opened with the train moving, although nowadays the doors are always locked when the train is moving).

Finding your seat

Standard-class interior of Class 221 Super Voyager operated by CrossCountry. On this train, seat reservations appear on the display above each pair of seats. Others may use paper tags inserted into each headrest.

Seat reservations are marked either with paper tags on the headrest or an electronic display above the window, as well as on your reservation ticket. Usually not all seats are reserved unless the train is very busy - if a seat has no tag, it is unreserved and any ticket-holder can sit there. However, remember that unless you also have a seat reservation, your ticket does not guarantee you a seat. The reservation tag or display at each seat will specify the stations between which the seat is reserved (e.g. "DUNDEE - YORK"). If you do not have a reservation and all the seats appear to be reserved, look for one where the reservation starts at a station the train has not reached yet (and be prepared to move seats when it reaches there), or where the reservation ends at a station already called at. It is usual on most long-distance services to have an unreserved carriage, although if you are not joining at the start of the train's journey, seating may be limited, especially if travelling with others.

Keep your ticket and any reservation, pass and/or railcard with you when you move about the train (e.g. to go to the toilet or buffet car), as you may be asked to show it by the train guard or ticket inspector. Verjetno ga boste potrebovali tudi za izhod iz perona na ciljni postaji, saj so na številnih postajah v uporabi pregrade za vozovnice v obliki podzemne železnice. Če v enem izmed njih ne najdete vozovnice, boste v velikih težavah in zagroženi z globo in stroškom nove celotne vozovnice. Vedno držite vozovnico, dokler je ne zadržijo ovire ali dokler ne zapustite postaje!

Postaje se običajno objavijo prek sistema za obveščanje javnosti ali na drsnih elektronskih zaslonih v vagonu.

Potovanje s prtljago

Različni vlaki se razlikujejo glede na to, koliko prtljažnega prostora nudijo. Skoraj vsi vlaki (vključno z vsemi mestnimi) imajo nadstropne police, primerne za majhne predmete, kot so majhen nahrbtnik, aktovka, prenosna torba ali druga manjša prtljaga. Mestni in regionalni vlaki imajo prtljažnike, primerne za večje kovčke. Vendar te prtljažniki se hitro napolnijo in na medkrajevnih storitvah običajno ni dovolj prostora za vse, zato vkrcajte se na vlak čim prej, da dobite prostor. Če v regalih ne najdete prostora in vam preureditev predmetov ne pomaga, boste morda morali prtljago stisniti v kateri koli prostor, ki ga najdete. To je lahko v preddverju in na koncih vsake kočije. Vlakovno osebje ne dopušča prehodov, ki blokirajo prehode in vrata (to je v nujnih primerih nevarno), v skrajnih primerih pa ga lahko na naslednjem postajališču preprosto odvržejo na peron. Kraja nenadzorovane prtljage je lahko težava, zato pozorno spremljajte svojo.

Na nekaterih vlakih, zlasti medmestnih storitvah, je lahko posebna prtljažnik kar je lahko koristno, če imate veliko torbo. Na primer, CrossCountry's Voyager vlaki imajo prostor za prtljago v avtobusu D (glejte odstavek spodaj o različnih vrstah vlakov, ki se uporabljajo). Na medkrajevnih storitvah LNER-ja do in iz London King's Cross lahko torbo postavite v prtljažni prostor, če greste do konca proge za ta vlak (npr. V Leeds, Edinburgh, Aberdeen ali Inverness iz Londona ; ali v London od koder koli). Vprašajte osebje varovanja vlaka ali perona. Na njihovem InterCity 225 vlaki prtljago lahko shranite v prtljažnem kombiju / voznem vozilu na nasprotnem koncu vlaka od močnega avtomobila / lokomotive. V InterCity 125 storitev, ga je mogoče shraniti na območju straže na koncu trenerja B, poleg motornega avtomobila (na LNER-jih trener A ni).

Hrana in pijača

Dobivanje hrane po železniškem omrežju je lahko različna izkušnja. Številne medkrajevne storitve nudijo samopostrežni avto s okrepčevalnico ali majhno trgovino, druge pa lahko voziček vozi na kolesih do vašega sedeža. V večini primerov osvežilne pijače ne presegajo predpakiranih sendvičev, toplih in brezalkoholnih pijač, sadja in slaščic. Prevoz za Wales vključuje popoln obrok s tremi hodi v storitvi Business Class med Holyheadom in Cardiffom. LNER in Avanti West Coast vključujeta lahke obroke za prvovrstne potnike na številnih storitvah. Lokalne službe na splošno nimajo nobenega gostinstva.

Samo Great Western Railway ponuja polno jedilnico, in to Pullman storitve obratujejo le na omejenem številu vlakov na progah London-Plymouth in London-Swansea. Ponudba restavracij GWR po naročilu obroke, ki jih je pripravil ustrezen kuhar in postregel s "srebrno postrežbo" Prostori so omejeni, cene pa visoke, vendar je vredno poskusiti, če si želite kakšno poslastico. Čeprav imajo prednost potniki prvega razreda, lahko potniki standardnega razreda obedujejo v restavraciji, če je na voljo prostor. Kljub Pullman ime, obroki so na voljo v običajnih prvovrstnih vagonih.

Caledonian Sleeper ima "klubski" avto, kjer strežejo pijače in lahke obroke. V salonu Night Riviera Sleeper je bar in pult za prigrizke.

Zasebni čarterji, železniški ogledi in dediščine železnic lahko nudijo izkušnje z jedilnico pri nekaterih storitvah, tudi občasno rekreacijo Pullman, čeprav za ceno premium vozovnice.

Številne postaje v železniškem omrežju Združenega kraljestva imajo gostinske lokale. Medtem ko imajo nekatere postaje neodvisne lokalne službe, ki trgovino vidijo tako od potnikov kot od domačinov, so prodajalne franšize s hitro prehrano, kavne verige ali prodajalne bolj značilne. Večji terminali ali vozlišča imajo večji izbor prodajnih mest. Trgovine Marks in Spencer običajno ponujajo najboljšo ponudbo hrane in pijače na postaji, čeprav so na dražji strani. Restavracije s polno ponudbo storitev na postajah so redkost, prav tako pa tudi lokali ob platformah. Nekatere končne postaje so v bližini velikih železniških hotelov, ki ponujajo restavracije.

Če želite biti prepričani, da boste kaj pojedli ali popili, prinesite svojega. Malo je omejitev, da bi si prinesli hrano ali pijačo. Alkoholne pijače niso dovoljene nikjer v škotskem železniškem omrežju, prav tako pa so prepovedane v storitvah TfL v Londonu.

Stranišča

Večina železniških storitev ima stranišča na vlaku, razen nekaj primestnih vlakov na kratke razdalje. Ponudba je različna, vendar je navadno vsak voz na dva. Večina vlakov ima vsaj en WC, primeren za invalidske vozičke, običajno pa imajo previjalno mizico za dojenčke, ki se zloži od stene. Raven čistoče je približno enaka standardom drugih javnih lootov v Veliki Britaniji; lahko bi bili boljši, vendar niso gnusni.

Kadar so na stranišču električna vrata, je običajno ločen gumb za zaklepanje vrat, ki ga morate pritisniti poleg tistega, zaradi katerega se vrata zaprejo. Če ne pritisnete tega gumba, lahko ljudje od zunaj odprejo vrata, ko ste notri. Prav tako ne boste mogli odpreti vrat za izhod, ne da bi prej pritisnili gumb za odklepanje.

Stranišča včasih prenehajo uporabljati, ko vlak sedi na končni postaji. Če ste obupani, pojdite preden se to zgodi.

Postaje

London St. Pancras International, postaja Združenega kraljestva za hitri vlak Eurostar in domača postaja za medmestne vlake severno do Leicester, Nottingham in Sheffield in hitri vlaki proti jugu do Kent.

V celotni Veliki Britaniji je približno 2.560 železniških postaj, razen urbanih hitrih tranzitnih sistemov, kot so londonska podzemna železnica, podzemna železnica Glasgow, metro Tyne in Wear ter lahka železnica Docklands. Vse postaje pripadajo državni železniški mreži Network Rail, ki upravlja tudi vsakodnevno obratovanje glavnih postaj (npr. Edinburgh Waverley). Drugi so oddani v najem vlakovnemu podjetju, ki izvaja večino tamkajšnjih storitev, ki so odgovorne za obratovanje, vzdrževanje in osebje postaje. Postaje se med seboj razlikujejo (glejte informacije na spletni strani National Rail), vendar boste verjetno imeli težave pri iskanju koša za smeti / koša za smeti na glavnih postajah zaradi nevarnosti terorizma.

Večina postaj je v središču mest ali v neposredni bližini. Postaja, ki se konča na Parkway (npr. Bristol Parkway, East Midlands Parkway) ima veliko parkirišče, tako da se vozniki do njega lahko vozijo in nato odpeljejo z vlakom: to pomeni, da je daleč od središča mesta, pogosto v oddaljenem predmestju ali celo sredi ničesar . Če obstajajo različne postaje, ne izstopite na postaji Parkway, če je vaš cilj središče mesta - na primer, izstopili boste v Bristol Temple Meads in ne Bristol Parkway za središče Bristola. Izjema je, če se povezujete z avtobusno povezavo do nadaljnjega cilja. Na primer, avtobusi vozijo od letališča Luton Parkway do letališča Luton.

Številne postaje, ki segajo v viktorijansko dobo, na primer znameniti St Pancras v Londonu, so arhitekturno zelo impresivne in jih je morda vredno ogledati, tudi če ne potujete z vlakom.

Glavne postaje v Londonu

Pri potovanju, ki vključuje povezavo med londonskimi postajami, običajna vozovnica običajno omogoča povezavo do londonskih podzemnih storitev. V 19. stoletju je postalo nezakonito graditi železniške terminale preblizu središča Londona, saj so mislili, da bi to ogrozilo zgodovinske stavbe. Posledično je bila večina zgrajena v obroču, ki je bil takrat tik pred središčem, po širitvi Londona v 20. stoletju pa je zelo v njem. Krepko tip označuje postajo, ki ima samo postajo; večina londonskih postaj je končnih, saj prestolnico prečka le nekaj linij.

Glavne regionalne postaje

Edinburgh Waverley je ena najbolj prometnih postaj v Veliki Britaniji.

Bristol Temple Meads je glavna postaja v mestu Bristol

Zunaj London, National Rail med glavne povezovalne postaje uvršča naslednje, kjer morajo potniki najpogosteje zamenjati vlak na večkrakih vožnjah.

Vlaki in vozni park

Večina vlakov je sodobnih, udobnih in dostopnih za invalide, čeprav zlasti na dnevnih vlakih in nekaterih starejših železniških vozilih visokim ljudem problem predstavlja prostor za noge. Po večjih naložbah v zadnjih desetih letih so vse dokaj nove ali pa so bile v tem času temeljito prenovljene. Ne boste videli veliko tradicionalnih lokomotiv, ki vlečejo potniške vlake (razen če potujete z enim od spalnih vlakov), saj večino storitev zdaj opravlja več enot. Tisti, ki še vedno uporabljajo lokomotive, so običajno postavljeni v a push-pull konfiguracijo, z drugo lokomotivo ali priklopno enoto brez pogona zadaj, ki omogoča vožnjo vlaka "nazaj" in odpravlja potrebo po vožnji okoli lokomotiv na koncu proge. Številni vlaki za turnejo ali parni čarterski vlaki so še vedno vlečeni z vlakom.

Pri približno eni tretjini elektrificiranih tirov so pogosti dizelski vlaki (tudi pri medmestnih storitvah), vendar se običajno doseže enaka največja hitrost ne glede na vir energije. Britanski vlaki imajo številko razreda, vendar se jih večina sklicuje na ime (npr. "Danes sem bil v enem od tistih Pendolinov"). Ta razdelek prikazuje orientacijo vlakov, ki jih boste najverjetneje potrebovali, in kaj lahko pričakujete. Obstaja več razredov, ki so manj pogosti, zlasti pri električnih vlakih z več enotami na lokalnih in regionalnih linijah.

Hitre storitve

Vlak razreda 395 "Javelin"

HS1 je edini operativni sistem v Združenem kraljestvu hitra železnicain povezave London St Pancras do predora pod Rokavskim prelivom. Poleg mednarodnih Eurostarjevih storitev Southeastern Highspeed upravlja tudi domači hitri vlak, ki ga je zgradil Hitachi na Japonskem. Uradno imenovan razred 395, vendar običajno znan kot Javelin, ti "mini Shinkansens" med Londonom potujejo do 230 km / h Ebbsfleet, Ashford, Canterbury, Dover in druga mesta v Kent. Ta se trži kot "najhitrejši britanski" vlak, čeprav vlakovne garniture Eurostar vozijo precej hitreje. Vstopnice za storitev Javelin so nekaj kilogramov dražje od drugih jugovzhodnih storitev, vendar je to daleč najhitrejši način potovanja med Kentom in Londonom, saj v okrožju ni drugih linij med mestoma. 395 ima 6 vagonov na komplet, čeprav je mogoče dva kompleta združiti, da se oblikuje vlak za 12 avtomobilov. Vzdevek Javelin izvira leta 2012 kot hitri prevoz do olimpijskega parka v Ljubljani Stratford; 24 enot je poimenovanih po britanskih olimpijcih in paraolimpijcih.

Medmestne storitve

Mestni vlaki v Združenem kraljestvu običajno vozijo s hitrostjo 201 km / h (največja hitrost za vse proge, razen HS1) in imajo ponavadi največ naprav, vključno z brezžičnim dostopom do interneta, pogosto pa tudi trgovino na vozilu. ali bife. Nekatere medkrajevne storitve (npr. Med mesti na Škotskem) uporabljajo Turbostar vlaki, ki so opisani v spodnjem regionalnem oddelku.

Intercity Express vlak in Azuma

Razred 800 Intercity Express vlak v Nortonu Fitzwarrenu, ki ga upravlja Great Western Railway

Serije 800 (razred 800, 801, 802) so medmestni vlaki, ki jih je Hitachi zgradil v okrožju Durham in v Italiji in so razporejeni na več glavnih progah omrežja. Razred 800 je bil v šamboličnem slogu predstavljen na storitvah Great Western Railway (GWR) 16. oktobra 2017, ko je otvoritvena služba prispela v London Paddington skoraj eno uro pozno zaradi številnih tehničnih težav. Uvedeni so bili na storitvah LNER maja 2019.

Poimenovali so jih Intercity Express vlak (IET) Great Western in Azuma (kar pomeni vzhodno v japonščini; tako kot vlaki za kopje tudi ti kompleti uporabljajo japonsko tehnologijo Shinkansen) podjetja LNER. Razred 800 enot je dvo-način - vozijo po nadzemnih električnih vodih, kjer so na voljo, in med vožnjo preklopijo na talne dizelske motorje, kjer jih ni. Razred 802 so preprosto vlaki razreda 800 z močnejšimi dizelskimi motorji in večjimi rezervoarji za gorivo. Enote razreda 801 so čisti električni vlaki. Vlaki imajo pet, devet ali deset vagonov in vozijo s hitrostjo 201 km / h v električnem načinu in 160 km / h v dizelskem načinu.

Vsak voz ima prtljažnike na obeh koncih in velike prtljažnike nad sedeži, na voljo pa so tudi mize in letalski sedeži z električnimi vtičnicami. Vlakom so očitali trde, pokončne sedeže, ponujajo pa dovolj prostora za noge in prostornejšo notranjost kot številni medmestni vlaki. GWR ponuja osvežilne vozičke za večino storitev IET, storitve LNER Azuma pa vključujejo samopostrežni bife. Vlaki z deset vagoni so sestavljeni iz dveh povezanih vlakov s petimi vagoni, zato je nujno, da se vkrcate na pravi odsek, če imate rezerviran sedež ali želite uporabiti restavracijo Pullman GWR, saj med vlaki ni prehoda.

InterCity 125

InterCity 125 (HST), najhitrejši dizelski vlak na svetu.

Ko je bil glavni del britanskega medmestnega omrežja in ga je nadomestil "Inter City Express" ali enote Azuma, "HST" (okrajšava za "High Speed ​​Train") oz. InterCity 125Po vsej Veliki Britaniji jih še vedno najdemo v medmestnih in medkrajevnih regionalnih storitvah, od severne Škotske do Londona do skrajnega jugozahodnega dela Anglije.

Vlaki so bili eden redkih večjih uspehov British Rail v poznih sedemdesetih letih prejšnjega stoletja in so še vedno imeli rekordne hitrosti za dizelski vlak. Razen treh, odpisanih zaradi nesreč, so zaradi odlične zasnove ostali v uporabi več kot štirideset let, nekateri pa še vedno delujejo od leta 2020. Vsi so bili v zadnjem desetletju temeljito prenovljeni in so v notranjosti popolnoma novi. Imajo več prostora za shranjevanje prtljage kot veliko več sodobnih vlakov, z velikim stojalom na obeh koncih vagona. Vsi imajo tihega avtobusa, večina pa ima tudi vtičnice za polnjenje prenosnikov / mobilnih telefonov in uporaben samopostrežni avto, kjer strežejo toplo in hladno hrano in pijačo. Komplet InterCity 125 v polni velikosti je sestavljen iz sedmih ali osmih kočij in dveh močnih avtomobilov (po en na vsakem koncu), vendar ScotRail in GWR vozijo krajše formacije pod "Inter7City" in "Grajski razred" imena. Vlaki se spreminjajo z avtomatskimi električnimi vrati, nespremenjeni vlaki pa imajo zunanja vrata z zunanjimi kljukami le na zunanji strani: za odpiranje vrat od znotraj potisnete okno in sežete.

InterCity 225

Tri InterCity 225 vlaki pri London King's Cross

Če potujete na medmestnih linijah LNER med London King's Cross in York ali Leeds, verjetno boste na enem od teh električnih vlakov, predstavljenih leta 1990. Zasnovani so bili za 225 km / h (140 mph), od tod tudi ime, vendar so omejeni na omejitev hitrosti proge na 201 km / h. , ker morajo iz varnostnih razlogov vsi vlaki v Združenem kraljestvu, ki potujejo nad 125 mph, imeti signal v kabini in doslej še ni bil nameščen na večini omrežja. The InterCity 225 Kompleti imajo devet vagonov, ki delujejo v potisni konfiguraciji, z električno lokomotivo na severnem koncu in voznim kombijem na koncu Londona. Vse InterCity 225Popolnoma so jih prenovili in imajo vrata na električni pogon, samopostrežni avto s toplo in hladno hrano in pijačo, vtičnice in udobne sedeže (mnogi imajo velike mize, primerne za družine ali skupine). Trener B je tihi trener. Obstajajo veliki prtljažniki, podobni InterCity 125s, vendar se vseeno hitro napolnijo, zato se vkrcajte čim prej.

Pendolino

Razred 390 Pendolino hitrosti skozi Tamworth

Razred 390 Pendolino je električni medmestni nagibni vlak na glavni progi zahodne obale med Londonom Eustonom, severozahodno Anglijo in Glasgowom. Predstavljeni v zgodnjih 2000-ih in z uporabo italijanske nagibne tehnologije (od tod tudi ime) potujejo s hitrostjo 201 km / h; vendar so bili, tako kot InterCity 225, zasnovani za 201 km / h, čeprav jim manjka signalizacija v kabini, torej omejitev), in se nagibali do 8 stopinj okoli ovinkov. Imajo majhno trgovino na krovu, kjer prodajajo revije / časopise, tople in hladne prigrizke ter pijače. Trener A je tihi trener v standardnem razredu, trener H v prvem razredu. Pendolinosi so bili zgrajeni kot vlaki z 9 vagoni, vendar so številni zdaj razširjeni na 11 vagonov. Leta 2007 je napačna proga povzročila Pendolino potovanje z veliko hitrostjo do iztirjenja pri Grayriggu v Cumbriji. Umorjena je bila le ena oseba, pomanjkanje večjega števila smrtnih žrtev pa je bilo pripisano nesreči enote. Vendar močno ojačana karoserija pomeni, da nimajo vsi sedeži oken.

Voyager in Super Voyager

Razred 220 Voyager v Newton Abbot, ki ga upravlja CrossCountry

Razred 220 Voyager in razred 221 Super Voyager so medmestni dizelski vlaki, uvedeni okoli leta 2001; Super Voyager se razlikuje predvsem po tem, da se pri ovinkih nagiba, da omogoča hitrejše hitrosti. Običajno imajo štiri ali pet vagonov, ki jih upravljata CrossCountry in Avanti West Coast in potujejo s hitrostjo 201 km / h. Vsak voz ima pod tlemi motor, zato ni tako tih kot nekateri drugi. Prtljažniki nad glavo so precej tanki in prostora za prtljago ni toliko kot nekateri drugi vlaki. Virgin's Voyagers imajo uporabno trgovino / bife, kot na Pendolino enote CrossCountry pa imajo le neredne vozičke, čeprav nekatere pokrivajo zelo velike razdalje (npr. Aberdeen - Penzance). Razred 222 Meridian na vlakih East Midlands Trains je zelo podoben, saj ga je zgradil isti proizvajalec in vozi tudi s hitrostjo 201 km / h, vendar je lahko precej daljši, do 7 vagonov, manj utesnjen in ima trgovina / bife.

Regionalne, lokalne in primestne storitve

Turbostar / Electrostar

Razred 170 Turbostar (levo). Na desni je InterCity 225.

Bombardierjevi dizelski Turbostar in električni Electrostar več enot so najštevilčnejši vlaki, zgrajeni v Veliki Britaniji od privatizacije železnice v devetdesetih letih. Turbostarji lahko potujejo s hitrostjo 160 km / h - pod dnom vsakega vagona boste v turbostarskih zaslišali motor in jih po vsej Veliki Britaniji uporabljajo številna železniška podjetja z električnim pogonom. Electrostar različica, ki jo večinoma vidimo na jugovzhodu Anglije. Razred 170, 171 in 172 Turbostar vlaki opravljajo lokalne, regionalne in nekatere medmestne storitve in imajo ponavadi digitalne informacijske prikazovalnike in samodejna obvestila. Obstajajo lahko vozički, vendar ni bifeja in vsi nimajo vtičnih točk. Imajo dva do štiri trenerje in so včasih skupaj povezani, da naredijo daljši vlak. Electrostars so podobni, v zadnjih desetih letih so jih zamenjali za ostarele enote na jugu in jugovzhodu Anglije. Razred 357, 375, 376, 377, 378 in 379 Electrostar vlaki tam vozijo regionalne in primestne storitve in podobno Turbostar lahko doseže 160 km / h, vendar s hitrejšim pospeševanjem (če je električen). Tako kot pri Turbostar, lahko obstajajo vozički, vendar prostor za prtljago ni toliko kot medmestni vlak.

Express Sprinter

Razred 158 Express Sprinter

Razred 158 in 159 Express Sprinter je bil leta 1990 uveden s strani British Rail in so namenjeni regionalnim prevozom na srednje in dolge razdalje. Z dizelskim motorjem pod vsako kočijo lahko dosežejo 140 km / h (140 km / h), uporabljajo pa jih zlasti ScotRail in številna druga podjetja na severu, jugozahodu in zahodu Anglije. Ob predstavitvi so bili precej prestižni in vožnja je povsem gladka. Imajo regale za prtljago nad glavo in na koncu, vendar ne toliko kot medmestni vlak. Za razliko od Turbostar, vrata so na koncu vsakega vagona, zato hladno vreme ne pride, ko se ustavijo na postaji, so pa razvpiti zaradi slabe klimatske naprave, ki v vročih dneh pogosto odpove.

Sprinter in SuperSprinter

Razred 365 Networker

Ti razredi tvorijo družino dizelskih motornih vozil, predstavljenih v osemdesetih letih ( Express Sprinter je končni razvoj te družine). Razred 150 Sprinter vlaki se uporabljajo za lokalne storitve ali podeželske proge, razredi od 153 do 156 SuperSprinter bolj izpopolnjeni, udobni in primerni za daljše poti (npr. slikovita zahodna gora) in dosegajo 120 km / h. Nimajo klimatske naprave, a to v Veliki Britaniji vseeno večji del leta ne predstavlja težav in so zasnovane za storitve na krajše razdalje.

Networker

Ti električni vlaki z več enotami (razredi 365, 465 in 466) so bili uvedeni v zgodnjih devetdesetih letih. Razred 365 Networker upravlja storitve Great Northern do 100 km / h v severnem Londonu in vzhodu Anglije z udobno okolico, klimatsko napravo itd. Razredi 465 in 466 se uporabljajo na lokalnih in primestnih linijah južno od Londona, ki jih vozi in lahko dosežejo 120 km / h / h) z uporabo tretje tirnice z večjo gostoto sedežev in prožnimi tlemi namesto preprog. Najdete tudi dizelski različici, razreda 165 in 166 Network Turbo, o storitvah, ki potekajo zahodno od Londona.

Desiro

Razred 450 Desiro

Vsa tirna vozila so bila nekoč zgrajena v Združenem kraljestvu, toda Siemens (iz Nemčije) je gradil veliko novih vlakov, ki so nato poslani čez. Legije različnih razredov Siemensa Desiro zdaj se po vsej državi uporabljajo na elektrificiranih progah (večinoma v Midlandsu okoli Birminghama in jugu Anglije, kot so storitve do Hampshira), dosežejo do 160 km / h in se uporablja nekoliko drugačna dizelska različica o storitvah TransPennine Express. Vsi imajo ponavadi zelo hiter pospešek (resnično se boste morali držati, če stojite), plus klimatsko napravo, preproge in elektronske informacijske sisteme. Konec leta 2012 je London Midland začel voziti svoj Desiros s hitrostjo 177 km / h na svojih linijah med Londonom in Stokeom in naprej. First TransPennine Express poleg svojih dizlov razreda 185 upravlja tudi floto 10 razredov 350 na linijah od Manchestera do Edinburgha in Glasgowa.

Razred 142 Pacer

Pacer

Razredi 142, 143 in 144 Pacer so bili zasnovani v osemdesetih letih prejšnjega stoletja, da bi zagotovili ekonomično alternativo vlakom, ki jih vlečejo lokomotive (in vedno starejšim dizelskim vozom) na rahlih in podeželskih progah s hitrostjo do 120 km / h, namesto da bi zaprli celotne proge. Čeprav jih zdaj umikajo, jih boste videli na lokalnih storitvah, zlasti na severu Anglije, in morda vas bodo spomnili na avtobus. To je zato, ker večina karoserije uporablja komponente vodila, da prihrani denar in čas za razvoj. Večina Pacers so bili prenovljeni in so v njih veliko bolj udobni kot prej, čeprav bolj osnovni kot drugi, saj so namenjeni za storitve na kratke razdalje. Zaradi slabe kakovosti vožnje, dražljivo glasnih motorjev in splošne umazanosti zunanjosti, Pacers so v Združenem kraljestvu skoraj splošno zaničevani. Ker jih ni mogoče učinkovito spremeniti v skladu z zakonodajo o dostopnosti, jih od leta 2020 umikajo, čeprav se jim je zaradi zamud pri uvajanju nadomestnih vlakov podaljšalo življenje.

GWR 'Grajski razred' je skrajšal HST.

Grajski razred

Da bi nadomestili pomanjkanje dizelskih vlakov z več enotami, primernih za daljša potovanja, je GWR spremenil odvečne InterCity 125, da bi oblikovali vlake "Castle Class" za svoje regionalne storitve na dolge razdalje. Ti vlaki so bili med dvema vagonoma skrajšani na štiri vagone, tradicionalna 'slam' vrata pa so bila zamenjana z drsnimi zunanjimi vrati na električni pogon. Notranjost, ohranjeno v intercity, ima klimatsko napravo in električne vtičnice, vendar na krovu nima gostinskih obratov. Ti vlaki se uporabljajo za ustavljanje med Penzanceom, Plymouthom, Tauntonom in Cardiffom in vozijo s hitrostjo 160 km / h.

Dediščina in parne železnice

Poglej tudi: Industrijska Britanija, dediščine železnic

Bluebell Railway, na postaji Sheffield Park.

Morda najbolj znana parna lokomotiva na svetu - Leteči Škot

Po obsežnem zaprtju proge in umiku parnih lokomotiv v šestdesetih letih so se navdušenci začeli združevati, da bi ponovno odprli proge kot turistične atrakcije, pri čemer so uporabili presežne ali zgodovinske parne lokomotive in starodobni vozni park. Lahko jih obiščete dobesedno na ducate po vsej Veliki Britaniji in so priljubljeni za en dan. Nekateri vozijo vlake polne velikosti, drugi (na primer železnica Ffestiniog v Gwyneddu v Walesu) uporabljajo ozko tirno širino, drugi (na primer železnica Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch v Kentu) pa so popolni miniaturni sistemi z majhnimi parnimi lokomotivami. Medtem ko večina upravlja parne vlake, nekateri uporabljajo tudi dizelske lokomotive ali dizelske vagone. Med številnimi tovrstnimi vrstami dediščine so pomembne:

• The Bluebell Railway teče devet milj skozi Vzhod in Zahodni Sussex, z nacionalne železniške postaje na East Grinstead. Ima več kot 30 parnih lokomotiv in že več kot 50 let opravlja javno službo po pari. Pogosto se pojavlja kot lokacija filma.
• The Železnica Severn Valley teče 26 km Worcestershire in Shropshire na zahodu Anglije, ki se začne ob postaji National Rail at Kidderminster. Prvotno del Velike zahodne železnice se poleg peščice klasičnih dizelskih enot pojavljajo številni parni vlaki.
• The Železnica Ravenglass in Eskdale je miniaturna železnica v Ljubljani Cumbria, začeti od Ravenglass postaja na nacionalnem železniškem omrežju. Tirna širina je le 15 palcev, lokomotive pa so miniaturizirane različice originalov v polni velikosti. teče sedem milj skozi razgledno hribovje.
• The Keith in Dufftown Railway (znana tudi kot "Whisky Line") tečete 18 km Moray in Speyside na Škotskem s klasičnimi škotskimi parnimi vlaki in dizelskimi vagoni. Na območju so številne destilarne viskija, ki jih je mogoče obiskati. Proga se začne v Keithu, ki ima postajo National Rail.
• The Železnica Ffestiniog je ozkotirna železnica v narodnem parku Snowdonia v severnem Walesu. Je priljubljena znamenitost na tem območju in je prvotno prevažala skrilavce iz bližnjih rudnikov do pristanišča za prevoz, prevažala pa je tudi potnike (ki so zdaj edini, ki jih prevažajo). Nenavadne parne lokomotive z dvojnim koncem se uporabljajo skupaj z drugimi nenavadnimi voznimi sredstvi. Južni konec proge na Porthmadog si deli z Welsh Highland Railway, medtem ko je severni terminal na Blaenau Ffestiniog je v skupni rabi z glavnimi storitvami. Obstajajo tudi povezave z glavnimi storitvami na Minffordd.
• The Severna Norfolška železnica ali Poppy Line je ohranjena železnica iz šestdesetih let 20. stoletja. Muzej opravlja parne in dizelske storitve na zapuščenih vlakih, ki so bili prvotno uporabljeni kot potniški vlaki v okrožju (Norfolk). Danes vlaki vozijo na eno- in dvotirnih progah med Holt in Sheringham (prek Weybourne), ki omogoča čudovit razgled na ravno, vzhodnoanglensko podeželje in Severno morje.
• The Lahka železnica Wells Walsingham je najdaljša ozkotirna železnica na svetu. Zdaj atrakcija za obiskovalce je sedanja železnica zgrajena na tirnici nekdanje proge s standardno tirno širino. Prejšnja železnica je bila del nacionalnega omrežja in je bila v dvajsetem stoletju med varčevalnimi ukrepi zaprta. Postaje na Vodnjaki-naslednje-morje in Mali Walsingham.
• The West Somerset Railway teče od Škofje Lydeard do Minehead, znotraj okrožja Somerset. Je najdaljša železniška železnica v državi.
• The Jakobiti ni dediščina sama po sebi, temveč parna izletniška služba, ki vozi z rednimi vlaki iz Fort William do Mallaig, na West Highland Line. Tudi poslastica za oboževalce Harryja Potterja, saj prečka viadukt Glenfinnan, tako kot v filmih.

Bristol slovi po železniški dediščini. Veliko je poklonov kraljestvu Isambard Kingdom Brunel, ki je ustanovilo Veliko zahodno železnico, vključno z železniškim muzejem v Harborsideu.

Mednarodne povezave

Dva razreda Eurostarja trenirata na postaji St Pancras

Eurostar

London St. Pancras je končni kraj za Eurostar hitri vlaki do Amsterdam, Bruselj, Lille, Pariz, Rotterdam in sezonske francoske destinacije, kot so Avignon, Lyon in Marseille (poletna služba) in Alpe (zimska služba). V Ljubljani je mogoče vzpostaviti povezave s številnimi večjimi evropskimi mesti Lille, Bruselj, Parizin vstopnice so na voljo pri Eurostar, RailEurope in prodajalne blagajn do evropskih destinacij. Eurostar upravlja dva različna razreda voznega parka; Britanski železniški razred razreda Alstom 373 (ali Eurostar E300), ki je v uporabi od odprtja predora pod Rokavskim prelivom leta 1994, medtem ko razred BR 374 (Eurostar E320) postopoma vstopa v obratovanje od leta 2015, izdeluje pa ga Siemens. E320 je del Velaro družino katerih so druge lokalizirane različice med drugim kupili RENFE (AVE), DB (ICE) in ruske železnice (Sapsan).

Nemško nacionalni železniški operater Deutsche Bahn načrtuje izvajanje novih neposrednih storitev za Nemčijo, čeprav je to preloženo od predloga za storitev, ki se začne leta 2012, zato ne zadržujte sape.

Eurotunnel, Le Shuttle

Avtomobili v vlaku Eurotunnel

Poleg storitve Eurostar, namenjene samo potnikom, lahko med vlado med Britanijo in Francijo potujete tudi z lastnim vozilom na krovu Eurotunnel Le Shuttle. Povezava je med Cheriton (v bližini Folkestone) in Coquelles (v bližini Calais). Cene so v primerjavi z nekaterimi leti in rezervacijami trajektov razmeroma poceni, pot pa je bistveno krajša. Za cene vstopnic in rezervacije lahko obiščete Spletno mesto Eurotunnel. Za dostop do terminala predora pod Rokavskim prelivom iz Velike Britanije lahko uporabite avtocesto M20 (križišče 11A iz Londona) ali A20 med Maidstone in Folkestone. V Franciji lahko zapeljete naravnost na avtocesto A16.

Dutchflyer

Iz katerega koli Velika Anglija železniško in trajektno vozovnico "Dutchflyer" lahko rezervirate do katere koli postaje v Ljubljani Nizozemska. The Železnica in jadra Shema pomeni, da je možno rezervirati vozovnico za 55 funtov z ulice London Liverpool Street do izbranih nizozemskih postaj (pravilno kot 24.5.2019). Seveda boste potrebovali potni list, pot pa vključuje trajektno povezavo med Harwich in Hook of Holland upravlja Stena Line. Tipična pot med londonsko Liverpool Street do Hook of Holland bi zahtevala pot med Liverpool Street in Harwich International Station ter trajektom Stena Line do Hook of Holland, kjer lahko najdete nizozemske železniške povezave.

Letališča z železniškimi postajami

Nekatere letališke postaje, kot je Rhoose Cardiff International, so prijetno tihe ...

Ta letališča imajo železniške postaje, ki so običajno (vendar ne vedno) na progi. Za načrte potovanja se je treba posvetovati z letališčem ali nacionalnimi železniškimi poizvedbami:

• Aberdeen Dyce - (oglašuje se samo kot „Dyce“) - Za pot do / z letališkega terminala je potrebno ločeno potovanje z avtobusom (in vozovnica).
• Edinburgh - Tramvajska proga povezuje letališče Edinburgh z mestom, ki na svoji poti vozi na 4 železniške postaje v naslednjem vrstnem redu:
  • Edinburški prehod - za vlake do Fife in severovzhodne Škotske ter nekatere vlake, ki vozijo v Anglijo.
  • Edinburški park - za vlake v Stirling in Perth, pa tudi vlake v Glasgow preko Livingstona.
  • Haymarket - glavna postaja, ki služi osrednji regiji, pa tudi vlaki do večine škotskih mest in širše Združenega kraljestva
  • Waverley (na tramvajski postaji Andrews Square) - glavna železniška postaja za povezave do večine Škotske in večine angleških mest ter vlaki za spanje do Londona.
• Birmingham Mednarodni
• Cardiff Letališče - postaja se imenuje "Rhoose Mednarodno letališče Cardiff "z urno povezavo do mesta Barry in Cardiff Central, od katerih nekateri nadaljujejo na Cardiff Queen Street, Pontypridd, Aberdare ali Merthyr Tydfil. V drugo smer je urna povezava do Bridgend. Vse storitve izvaja Arrive Trains Wales v lokalnem omrežju. The airport is not in walking distance, though the 509 shuttle bus regularly links the station to the airport for a competitive price. There are plans to improve connections to the airport with a new South East Wales Metro in the near future.
• East Midlands Parkway (also close to Derbi, Loughborough & Nottingham

...while others seemingly emulate the airport terminals they serve.

• Liverpool South Parkway, for John Lennon Airport
• London City (on the Docklands Light Railway, part of London's urban transport system)
• London Luton
• Manchester Airport station is a terminus station off the West Coast Main Line; it is served by Northern Rail, First Trans Pennine Express and Arriva Trains Wales. There are regular services to Manchester Piccadilly. Manchester Metrolink trams also serve the station.
• Newcastle na Tynu (is connected to the Tyne and Wear Metro light rail, where you can change at Newcastle Central station)
• Prestwick - Remarkably well served by the main Glasgow to Ayr line. Make sure to buy you train ticket to Prestwick from a ticket desk as showing a valid airline ticket will get you 50% off your train ticket from anywhere in Scotland. This isn't available when buying online or from a machine so ensure you go to a person.
• Southampton - the station is called "Southampton Airport Parkway"
• Teeside Airport - this is one of the least used rail stations and airports on the UK network and a 15-20 minute walk from the airport. Only one train per week in each direction stops at the station. However, there are plans to rebuild the station far closer to the airport.

These services are operated by trains branded as "Express" services. Beware that they are sometimes much more expensive than local services, and cheaper services on other operators may be available:

A Gatwick Express in Gatwick airport station

• London Gatwick - Gatwick Express: regular, non-stopping service between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport. Trains run every 15 minutes with a journey time of approximately 30 minutes. This is a guideline and you should always leave extra time for your journey. Druge storitve: The station is served by Južni, who run services to destinations like Brighton in Southampton, as well as London terminals. Thameslink, who operate through services between Brighton, London City Centre (e.g. Finsbury Park & London Bridge), London St Pancrass and Bedford neposredno. At St Pancrass, onward connections can be made to the North of England, Scotland, Luton, Cambridge, Ely in Kings Lynn. Velika zahodna železnica operate a service to Branje prek Guildford. At Reading, onward connections to the South West, South Wales, Bristol, Oxford, Swindon, Birmingham in Manchester (limited) can be found.
• London Stansted - Stansted Express services are regular 15-minute services run by Abellio. The service runs from London Liverpool Street, usually calling at Tottenham Hale and Stansted Airport. At Liverpool Street and Tottenham Hale, connections can be made to London Underground services. Druge storitve: Stansted Airport is served by other Abellio Greater Anglia services to London Liverpool Street and Bishops Stortford, where a connection can be made to Stratford. Greater Anglia also have a somewhat regular service between Cambridge and Stansted, calling at Audley End and Whittlesford Parkway. Cross Country operate very regular services between Birmingham New Street/Cambridge and Stansted Airport. Services from Birmingham call at Leicester, Melton Mowbray, Stamford in Peterborough, amongst other stops. Between Cambridge and Stansted, the train calls at Audley End but not Whittlesford Parkway. At many of these stations, onward connections can be made to North Wales, the North, Scotland, Liverpool in Manchester.
• London Heathrow - Heathrow Express: An expensive, non-stopping service between London Paddington and the airport, operated by the airport itself. From Paddington, onward connections can be made to Berkshire, West London, the London Underground, Branje, Oxford, Bristol, the South West and South Wales.
• London Heathrow - TfL Rail: A cheaper alternative to the Express, operated by Transport for London in preparation to the start of Crossrail services in 2019/2020. This service begins at Paddington (for onward connections), calling at Ealing Broadway, West Ealing, Hanwell, Southall and Hayes & Harlington. These services go directly to Terminals 1,2,3 & 5 only. There is a free shuttle between the Terminal 1,2 & 3 station and Terminal 4.
• London Heathrow - Londonsko podzemlje Piccadilly line services are a very cheap but much slower connection between central & north London and the airport. Arriving at all terminals, the line begins at Cockfosters in North London while stopping at a number of stations including King's Cross St. Pancras (where onward connections can be made to the North and East), Leicester Square and South Kensington. It is part of the integrated TfL network, and bookings cannot be made. There are no toilets, catering or WiFi on most London Underground services.

Most airports without integrated rail services offer a bus connection to the nearest station. Bristol Airport, for example, is served by a 20-minute bus ("A1"). Tickets are available as part of the National Rail Network.

Seaports with railway stations

Through tickets are available from any UK railway station to any station in Severna Irska ali Republika Irska. In the west of Škotska, rail and ferry timetables are often integrated, and through tickets are available. For details of routes and fares, contact National Rail.

• Ardrossan (Harbour Station - there are 3 stations in Ardrossan) for ferries to the Otok Arran
• Aberdeen za trajekte do Orkney in Shetland
• Ayr for coaches to Cairnryan connecting with ferries to Severna Irska
• Dover for ferries to France

Trains go right to the waterfront at Portsmouth Harbour station

• Fishguard for ferries to the Republika Irska
• Gourock za trajekte do Dunoon in Kilcreggan
• Harwich for ferries to the Nizozemska
• Heysham for ferries to the otok Man
• Holyhead for ferries to the Republika Irska
• Largs za trajekte do Cumbrae
• Lymington for ferries to the Otok Wight
• Mallaig for ferries to the Small Isles, Skye in South Uist
• Newhaven za trajekte do Dieppe
• Oban for ferries to the Notranji in Outer Hebrides
• Poole za trajekte do Guernsey in Jersey
• Portsmouth Harbour for ferries to the Otok Wight, Francija in Španija
• Southampton for ferries to the Otok Wight
• Thurso za trajekte do Orkney
• Wemyss Bay za trajekte do Rothesay

Ostani varen

British Transport Police at Stratford.

British Transport Police sign, in Welsh and English. Bilingual signs are a requirement in Wales.

The railway network has a low crime rate, but you do have to use common sense. The most common incident is tatvina of unsupervised luggage. If travelling with bags, keep them within sight, especially during station stops if your bags are in racks near the doors of the carriage. The UK (except Northern Ireland) operates a railway police poklical Britanska prometna policija (BTP), and you may see signs for them at major stations. They are responsible for the policing of trains, stations and railway property. In an emergency all emergency services including the BTP can be contacted by dialing 999 or 112 from any telephone or mobile phone (these work even if you have no calling credit or the keypad is locked). If you wish to contact the British Transport Police themselves and it is not an immediate emergency, dial 0845 440 5040. This is also the number to contact if you have concerns about something which although not immediately dangerous, represents a possible safety or crime issue (such as unauthorised persons trackside, or damaged lineside fencing.) You can also text (SMS) the BTP on 61016, which is widely advertised across the rail network and is the preferred way to contact the BTP discreetly.

Due to a history of terrorist incidents in the UK using placed explosive devices, any unattended luggage may be treated as potentially being such a device by the authorities, leading to closure of entire stations, (particularly in London, with even major termini being occasionally affected) whilst specially trained officials investigate and render any suspected device "safe". Both posters and announcements will often ask passengers to keep a sharp eye for and report any unattended bags straight away.

Safety of rail travel in Britain is high with a low rate of accidents. After privatisation in the 1990s, the accident rate increased for some years. Inquiries found this was due to cost-cutting and profiteering by the private owners of the infrastructure and their subcontractors and this was one factor leading to the re-nationalisation of infrastructure in the 2000s. Since then, safety has improved massively and there have been fewer major accidents. All trains display safety information posters on board, telling you what to do in the event of an emergency. The simplest advice is that unless your personal safety is threatened, you are always safer on the train than if you try to leave it.

In the event of an emergency

Should there be an emergency, such as fire or accident aboard the train:

1. Get the attention of a member of staff, any staff member will do.
2. If you cannot get the attention of staff and you are certain that you, anyone else or the train is in danger because of the motion of the train - pull the emergency stop handle, this will be either red or green and will be visibly identified. Pulling the emergency stop handle between stations will make it more difficult for emergency crews or police to reach the train.
3. If you are in immediate danger try to move to the next carriage, internal doors can be pushed apart if necessary. Do not pick up personal items. It is usually safer to remain on the train.
4. If you must leave the train, only then should you attempt to leave the train via the external doors. Methods for unlocking and opening in an emergency differ between types of train however, the emergency open device will be at the door with instructions.
5. If this is not possible, leave through an emergency window which will usually be identified as such. There may be a hammer next to it. If there is no indicated window, use the most convenient one facing away from any other tracks if possible.
6. Strike the hammer against the corner of the window (if you strike the middle it'll just bounce off) until both panes crack, then push them out with a piece of luggage.
7. You should lower yourself carefully from the train and move away from it as quickly as possible.
8. Look and listen for approaching trains, and possibly the electric 3rd rail. Do not step on any rails; you could be stepping on the 3rd rail, depending on how the track is electrified. Get off the track as quickly as possible.

If an evacuation of a train is ordered by train crew, instructions will be given. Most carriages have specific windows that can be broken or pushed open for emergency escape.

A conductor or guard is present on most trains (with the exception of certain commuter routes in the South East). If they have not made themselves visible during the journey, they can usually be found in the cab at the rear of the train. Communication panels are normally throughout the train. Emergency brakes are also available, but a heavy penalty can be levied against someone who unnecessarily stops the train. Many communication panels are also emergency brakes. Unless someone's safety is threatened by the movement of the train, contact the guard or driver and wait for assistance or the next station stop.

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