The Railway Technical Centre (RTC) in London Road, Derby, England, was the technical headquarters of the British Railways Board and was built in the early 1960s. British Rail described it as the largest railway research complex in the world.

The British Rail Research Division was a division of the state-owned railway company British Rail (BR). It was charged with conducting research into improving various aspects of Britain's railways, particularly in the areas of reliability and efficiency, including achieving cost reductions and increasing service levels.