Network Rail Limited is the owner and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Transport with no shareholders, which reinvests its income in the railways.
Blackfriars Railway Bridge with photo-voltaic roof panels
Sign showing the Network Rail name on the signal box at Ledbury.
Royal Albert Bridge after refurbishment by Network Rail
Network Rail's Coventry leadership development centre, Westwood.
Rail freight in Great Britain
The railway network in Great Britain has been used to transport goods of various types and in varying volumes since the early 19th century. Network Rail, which owns and maintains the network, aims to increase the amount of goods carried by rail. In 2015–16 Britain's railways moved 17.8 billion net tonne kilometres, a 20% fall compared to 2014–15. Coal accounted for 13.1% of goods transport in Britain, down considerably from previous years. There are no goods transported by railway in Northern Ireland.
Three Class 37 locomotives hauling a coal train on the Rhymney Line in 1997
A goods train hauled by an LNWR Class C locomotive, passing through Crewe in 1907
A pre-World War II LMS Fowler Class 4F steam locomotive hauling a mixed freight train at Carnforth in 1964
Tinsley Marshalling Yard (pictured here in 1982) was one of several large yards which never handled the large volumes of freight required to make them economical. The yard is now closed but a new cargo terminal opened nearby in 2011.
