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Rail transport in the United Kingdom

 

 
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Rail transport in the United Kingdom
 
 
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The United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 consists of Great Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
 and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland

conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
, and previously consisted of Great Britain and the whole of Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name and the state form of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927....
. Rail transport
Rail transport

Rail transport is the conveyance of passengers and goods by means of wheeled vehicles running along railways . Rail transport is part of the logistics chain, which facilitates international trade and economic growth....
 systems developed independently on the two island
Island

An island or isle is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets....
s of Great Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
 and Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
, and most of the railway construction in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland

Ireland is an Island country in north-western Europe. The modern Sovereignty state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned by the British on 3 May 1921....
 was undertaken before independence in 1922. Thus, the logical division to discuss the history and present-day state of railways in these areas is by geographical division, rather than the political division of nation states.



Similarly, for the history of rail transport, rather than the current situation (described in the above articles), see History of rail transport in Great Britain
History of rail transport in Great Britain

The Rail transport in Great Britain Great Britain, the principal territory of the Rail transport in the United Kingdom, is the oldest in the world. The system was originally built as a patchwork of local rail links operated by small private railway companies....
 and History of rail transport in Ireland
History of rail transport in Ireland

The history of rail transport in Ireland began only a decade later than in History of rail transport in Great Britain. By its peak in 1920, Ireland had 5,500 route kilometers....
.






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The United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 consists of Great Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
 and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland

conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
, and previously consisted of Great Britain and the whole of Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name and the state form of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927....
. Rail transport
Rail transport

Rail transport is the conveyance of passengers and goods by means of wheeled vehicles running along railways . Rail transport is part of the logistics chain, which facilitates international trade and economic growth....
 systems developed independently on the two island
Island

An island or isle is any piece of land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets....
s of Great Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
 and Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
, and most of the railway construction in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland

Ireland is an Island country in north-western Europe. The modern Sovereignty state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned by the British on 3 May 1921....
 was undertaken before independence in 1922. Thus, the logical division to discuss the history and present-day state of railways in these areas is by geographical division, rather than the political division of nation states.

  • Rail transport in Great Britain
    Rail transport in Great Britain

    The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest in the world. It consists of of standard gauge track, of which 3062 is Railway electrification in Great Britain....
     discusses rail transport on Great Britain, comprising England, Scotland and Wales. Here, the vast majority of the railway system standardised on the standard gauge
    Standard gauge

    The standard gauge is a widely-used rail gauge. Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge . The distance between the inside edges of the rails of standard gauge track is ....
     of 4 ft 8½ ins (1435 mm).
  • Rail transport in Ireland
    Rail transport in Ireland

    Rail services in Ireland are provided by Iarnr?d ?ireann in the Republic of Ireland and by Northern Ireland Railways in Northern Ireland.The track gauge is Irish gauge....
     discusses rail transport on the island of Ireland, comprising the Republic of Ireland
    Republic of Ireland

    Ireland is an Island country in north-western Europe. The modern Sovereignty state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned by the British on 3 May 1921....
     and Northern Ireland
    Northern Ireland

    conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
    . Here a system using a broad gauge
    Broad gauge

    Broad gauge railways use a rail gauge greater than the standard gauge of ....
     of 5 ft 3 ins (1600 mm) developed.


Similarly, for the history of rail transport, rather than the current situation (described in the above articles), see History of rail transport in Great Britain
History of rail transport in Great Britain

The Rail transport in Great Britain Great Britain, the principal territory of the Rail transport in the United Kingdom, is the oldest in the world. The system was originally built as a patchwork of local rail links operated by small private railway companies....
 and History of rail transport in Ireland
History of rail transport in Ireland

The history of rail transport in Ireland began only a decade later than in History of rail transport in Great Britain. By its peak in 1920, Ireland had 5,500 route kilometers....
. The United Kingdom, despite its island geography, runs two separate cross border train services:
  • Eurostar
    Eurostar

    Eurostar is a high-speed train service in Western Europe connecting London and Kent in the United Kingdom, with Paris and Lille in France, and Brussels in Belgium....
     - Eurostar is the name of both the Train Operating Company (TOC) and the service running passenger services from London
    London

    London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
     to Paris
    Paris

    Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
     and Brussels
    Brussels

    Brussels , officially the Brussels Capital-Region, is the de facto capital city of the European Union and the largest urban area in Belgium....
     through the Channel Tunnel
    Channel Tunnel

    The Channel Tunnel , also known by the portmanteau Chunnel, is a undersea rail transport tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent, Kent in England with Coquelles near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover....
    .
  • Enterprise
    Enterprise (train)

    |}File:Lambeg railway station in 2005.jpgEnterprise is the name of the cross-border inter-city train service between Dublin Connolly railway station and Belfast Central railway station in Ireland and is jointly operated by Iarnr?d ?ireann and NI Railways ....
     - Enterprise is the name of the passenger service operated between Belfast
    Belfast

    Belfast is the capital city of Northern Ireland and the seat of Devolution#United Kingdom Northern Ireland Executive and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly in Northern Ireland....
     and Dublin
    Dublin

    Dublin is both the largest city and capital of Republic of Ireland. It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the centre of the Dublin Region....
     by Northern Ireland Railways
    Northern Ireland Railways

    NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways and for a brief period of time, Ulster Transport Railways , is the railway operator in Northern Ireland....
     and Iarnród Éireann
    Iarnród Éireann

    Iarnr?d ?ireann is the national railway system operator of Republic of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of C?ras Iompair ?ireann ....
    .