Network Rail

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. Network Rail's main customers are the train operating companies (TOCs), responsible for passenger transport, and freight operating companies (FOCs), who provide train services on the infrastructure that Network Rail owns and maintains. Since 1 September 2014, Network Rail has been classified as a "public sector body". To cope with rapidly increasing passenger numbers, as of 2021 Network Rail has been undertaking a £38 billion programme of upgrades to the network, including Crossrail, electrification of lines and upgrading Thameslink. In May 2021, the UK government announced its intent to merge Network Rail's responsibilities with other railway operations into a new public body called Great British Railways.