Railway Codes and other data

A (hopefully) comprehensive listing

Additional information is always gratefully received, whether entirely new records (particularly historical records) or information to fill in gaps or correct errors, via the contact link under the Miscellaneous entry in the navigation bar above. Thank you.

[data] from Railway Codes, of course. Where else?

— A satisfied corporate user

The British railway is, for a variety of reasons, awash with acronyms and codes of various kinds. This web site sets out to explain some of these related to the infrastructure and to operational issues. Not included in this site are abbreviations of company names or information about trains themselves: this information is available elsewhere and the editor's main interest lies in infrastructure.

Taking Aspley Guise as an example, the codes BBM and MD140 apply to the route on which Aspley Guise station sits, and APG, 138000, ASPLEYG, and 62051 (ASPLY GSE) apply to the station itself. All of these codes mean different things, and are used in different ways. This site helps to explain these codes.

Also on this site are lists of pseudo-legal data. The first is a list of British railway services introduced under special legislation. This legislation allows operators to consider certain services as 'experimental' and withdraw them if considered necessary without going through full closure procedures. The second is a list of licences and licence exemptions issued by the Office of the Rail Regulator. There is a list of routes designated as community rail partnerships, and finally a table of franchises with associated dates.

Information about other assets such as signal box prefix codes, electrification mast codes, stations, depots and tunnel lengths is also available here.

For more information about day to day changes with Britain's railway infrastructure, please refer to the infrastructure section of the Railway Observer.

Most of the information contained in this site has taken many hours and letters to different companies to compile: it is hoped that you, the reader, will find it helpful to shed light on some of the codes found in railway documents. The records contained in this site are as complete as possible. If you are able to add to the data, please contact the editor.

Please feel free to quote this site. However, please credit it as your source. Feel free to add a link on your website to here.

The use of a reliable host and dedicated domain name is courtesy of a generous supporter, to whom the editor is indebted.

Identify this! last update 30 October 2024

Can you help the editor identify some old photographs? These are shown here; page updated occasionally.

Wanted

Railway uniform neck ties, specifically:

Reasonable costs paid: please contact the editor if you can help. Thank you.

Additionally, the editor has two uniform ties that are unidentified, shown here. Do you know which organisation issued them?

These pages are used by in alphabetical order:

Now over 110 corporate users external links open in new tab
  1. Advenza Freight former freight forwarder
  2. Aecom consultancy formerly known as Scott Wilson and URS
  3. AGH Engineering electrical and mechanical consultants
  4. Alphatek Hyperformance Coatings rail coatings
  5. Amey infrastructure services/consultancy
  6. Amtrain Midlands staff training and screening
  7. Arriva Trains Wales former passenger train operating company
  8. Arup consultancy
  9. Aspin Foundations former earthworks contractor
  10. Association of Community Rail Partnerships government/pressure association
  11. Atkins consultancy
  12. Babcock Rail infrastructure services
  13. Balfour Beatty Rail Projects infrastructure services
  14. BAM Nuttall construction contractor
  15. Barry Doe independent consultant
  16. Blue Cube Travel travel management
  17. Blue Tree Acoustics energy and acoustic consultant
  18. Bob Wilkes Railways railway operating consultants
  19. course tutor at Bromley Adult Education Centre education establishment
  20. Buckingham Group infrastructure contractor
  21. Carillion former infrastructure contractor
  22. Chiltern Railways passenger train operating company
  23. Coffey ground engineering/geotechnical
  24. Cogitare infrastructure optimisation consultancy
  25. Coombes vegetation management
  26. Cornerstone Information Systems travel industry IT solutions
  27. Costain infrastructure contractor
  28. Cotswold Rail former charter train and freight train operator
  29. cpc Project Services systems management
  30. Credo strategy consultant
  31. Crossrail infrastructure operator
  32. Cubic Transportation Systems consultancy formerly known as Serco Integrated Transport
  33. Datasys software solutions consultant, now part of Tracsis
  34. Delta Rail consultant
  35. Department for Transport government department
  36. East Midlands Trains former passenger train operating company
  37. Emmanuel Richard Consultants yield management consultancy
  38. ESL engineering and construction contractor
  39. Faithful+Gould construction project and cost management consultancy
  40. FENS Information Limited information services
  41. Filter Worldwide IT solutions
  42. Fone Alarm Installations customer information and monitoring
  43. Frankham Group multidisciplinary engineering consultancy
  44. Galliford Try infrastructure contractor
  45. GeoFurlong infrastructure consultant
  46. Graffica HERMES simulation software
  47. Govia Thameslink Railway passenger train operating company
  48. Great Western Railway passenger train operating company
  49. Haigh Rail infrastructure contractor
  50. HRS Services environmental services
  51. High Speed 2 infrastructure owner
  52. Hyder Consulting consultant
  53. Infotec customer information system designer/supplier
  54. ISC Best Practice CAD models for listed building and railway consents
  55. JCP consulting engineers
  56. Jacobs consultancy formerly known as Ch2MHill, formerly known as Halcrow
  57. J Murphy & Sons infrastructure contractor
  58. JNP Group consulting engineers
  59. Kier Rail infrastructure contractor
  60. Lancashire council local government
  61. Landlab landscape architects
  62. Lenz Labs innovation consultancy
  63. Lionverge former infrastructure staff supplier
  64. London Midland former passenger train operating company
  65. MacRail Systems progress reporting and workforce attendance monitoring
  66. Mott MacDonald consultant
  67. MTR Crossrail passenger train operating company
  68. Murphy Group infrastructure contractor
  69. Network Rail infrastructure owner
  70. Nexus Alpha transport information systems supplier
  71. Northern Rail former passenger train operating company
  72. NG Bailey infrastructure contractor
  73. OLE Limited electrification services
  74. Onsite water/drainage specialists
  75. Onwave digital networks
  76. OwenWilliams Railways former consultancy, now part of Amey
  77. Parkeon Transit Systems ticket vending machine manufacturer/maintainer
  78. Peeping Passenger Counts operations consultant
  79. Permanent Rail Engineering (UK) infrastructure installation and maintenance
  80. PRA-Rail Operations operations consultant
  81. Premtech Solutions Limited consultancy
  82. RailAdventure UK train operator
  83. The Railway Engineering Co Ltd consultancy
  84. Ramboll civil engineer
  85. RASIC technology consultant
  86. RKG Partnership architect
  87. Rockshore real time information systems
  88. Royal BAM Group construction contractor
  89. RSSB safety and standards
  90. Scientifics chemical analyst
  91. SELRAP campaign group
  92. SKM Anthony Hunt consultancy
  93. Siemens equipment manufacturer
  94. SNC Lavalin consultancy formerly known as Interfleet Technology
  95. Southeastern Railway passenger train operating company
  96. Southern Railway passenger train operating company
  97. South Western Railway passenger train operating company
  98. South West Trains former passenger train operating company
  99. Stirling Geoenvironmental Ltd earthworks examinations
  100. TEF Gauging railway gauging services
  101. telent communications services
  102. Trackmaps infrastructure diagram publisher
  103. Tracsis plc operations and planning systems consultant
  104. Transport for London government department
  105. Transport for Wales/Keolis Amey Operations passenger train operating company
  106. Transport Scotland government department
  107. Travelogix data reporting software
  108. Trevor Patrick Partnership consultancy
  109. TSP Projects multi-disciplinary solutions
  110. University of Birmingham education establishment
  111. University of East Anglia education establishment
  112. University of Southampton education establishment
  113. Virgin Media O2 telecommunications provider
  114. Vital Rail infrastructure contractor
  115. Volker Rail infrastructure services
  116. WSP consultancy
  117. WycheGnome passenger information consultancy
  118. XYZ Rail infrastructure contractor formerly known as Stobart Rail
  119. Yorcard smart ticketing

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… and something else last update 27 October 2024

You will find a small collection of railway photographs on the editor's Flickr pages. It is hoped that you find them enjoyable and a little different to the usual 'front three quarters in countryside' views. Click on an image to go to the photos.

Photo collection
Full collection
track chairs at Bitton
Random photo: A pile of track chairs at the Avon Valley Railway (Bitton).
GWR clock
Editor's self-indulgence: GWR branding 'in action'
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