TOCs Franchises and Concessions Current Commercial Franchises

Passenger Rail Franchising Companies in Great Britain (TOCs)

The following franchies are operated by commercial companies:

Current Government-Operated Franchises

The following franchises are operated by the UK, Welsh or Scottish governments.

TOCs Concessions

A small number of urban railway systems are not franchised but are contracted out as a concession instead. Concession holders are paid a fee to run the service, which is usually tightly specified by the awarding authority. They do not take commercial risk, although there are usually penalties and rewards specified in the contract for large variations in performance.

Examples:

TOCs Open-Access Operators

An open-access operator is a train operating company that is not subject to franchising or concessions, but instead purchases individual train paths from a railway infrastructure company such as Network Rail. These operators include Eurostar, Grand Central, Heathrow Express, Hull Trains, Lumo and Pre Metro Operations (providing a shuttle service on the Stourbridge Town branch line).