The United Kingdom's railway network is the oldest in the world, having existed since 1830. Unfortunately, the network has suffered from lack of planning and near constant meddling by politicians for much of its 180-year existence, and as a result, the system is full of compromises and irritating quirks and idiosyncracies - something which is apparent after the traveller has experienced the efficiency of rail travel across the rest of Europe. 

For most long distance journeys, however, it is by far the least stressful way of getting around the major population centres on the island and as long as you learn how to book tickets in advance often the cheapest.

Uniquely in the world, the UK's rail system operates under a public-private ownership umbrella, where privately owned train companies operate services in particular regions or along certain routes, whilst the infrastructure itself is operated and maintained by a state-owned company called Network Rail.

Point-to-point tickets, regional passes and season tickets are your main options when travelling by rail. Britrail and Inter-Rail passes are also valid on the UK rail network, but these must be purchased before arrival in the UK.

For all schedule information, National Rail operates a unified telephone enquiry service, when in the UK, call 08457 48 49 50 or +44(0)20 7278 5240 from outside the UK.

Medium and long-distance point-to-point tickets

If you're wanting to get all your travel arrangements sorted before you arrive, the best websites for point-to-point tickets are National Rail, National Express East Coast or TheTrainline.com (note: a surcharge may be added for booking by credit card on these sites, though debit cards (Cirrus/Maestro/VISA) usually incur no charge). If you visit these sites around 4-6 weeks before you're intending to travel, you can find extreme savings compared to on-the-day purchase (e.g. London-Manchester would cost £61.40 on the day, but can be purchased at £12.50 in advance online).

Tickets purchased online can be picked up at most major stations from FastTicket machines using the credit or debit card you paid with and the booking reference (a 50p surcharge may apply for this service). Additionally, tickets can be posted to any UK address, useful if you will be staying with family or friends (this can incur up to a £1 surcharge, but certain websites maintain this as a free service).

Tickets will often include a complimentary seat reservation. Where reservation tags have been placed, this gives you the right to sit in that seat for the duration of your journey. If no seat reservation tags have been issued on the train, the seat reservation is not valid and you should sit wherever a seat is available.

National Rail has maps, timetable query pages, lists of special offers, regional and county passes and links to the websites of all the individual train operating companies (TOCs). Some special offers can only be booked online from the website of the relevant TOC.

Currently, TOCs have varying names for the three basic ticket types to be introduced across the nation on 7 September 2008. These are advance (purchased from 6 weeks to 3 days prior to travel, only available as single/one-way tickets), off-peak (available on the day of travel, as single and return, for travel outside peak hours) and anytime/open (open tickets valid all day, available as single and return).

Peak hours are usually regarded as 7:00-9:30(am) and 16:00-18:00 (4:00-6:00pm).

Advance tickets are only valid for the specified train and time for which they are issued, journeys must be completed in one stage and only involve a change of trains where the ticket specifies. Once bought, advance tickets can be changed at any manned ticket office, but a £10 fee will be charged, in addition to any fare difference.

It is usually not possible to purchase short-distance tickets (for journeys of under 15 miles) other than on the day of departure.

Regional Passes

A wide selection of Rover and Ranger tickets are available in most regions of England, these allow unlimited travel within a specific geographical area for periods from one day to one week, ideal for tourists wanting to explore every nook and cranny of their destination. Manchester, West Yorkshire (Leeds and surrounding area) and the West Midlands areas offer these tickets for just £5 per person, or £8 for a family (up to 2 adults and 3 children). For more information, click here.

Season Tickets

Season tickets are only available for short to medium-distance rail, or where the TOC offers a long-distance option, and can be valid for periods from one week to one year. Season tickets can only be purchased at a station ticket office and only within a certain time period prior to validity (usually between on the day and up to 3 days prior). These are useful if you intend to make more than three or four journeys on the same route within a seven day period. You will require a passport-sized photo for the accompanying identification card. Click here for pricing and more information.

Rail Passes

If you live in Europe, but outside the UK, you might consider an Inter-Rail pass; you must have been a resident of another European country for at least six months and you must buy the pass outside the UK. The pass is not valid in the country of issue. There are various other kinds of railpass, such as ' Freedom of Scotland', which can be bought within the UK. 

For tourists of other nationalities, the Britrail Pass is probably your best option, should you wish to explore the UK by train and attempt to keep a low carbon footprint whilst enjoying your stay in the United Kingdom.

The Britrail Pass website does not make enough of reserving seats, it really does deserve major mention and, what's more, for most journeys, it's free! If you plan to take a long trip on a popular route - especially the East or West Coast Mainlines, make a reservation.

It is very inconvenient to board a train to discover most of the seats are reserved. Reservations can be made at any station, but ideally they should be made at least 24 hours in advance. However, they can be made up to 2 hours before the train leaves the first station of its journey.

Rail fares in the UK can be very expensive at peak times, when not purchased in advance or prior to boarding the train, but you can make big savings by booking ahead A range of these is available to people who live outside Europe and are definitely worth checking out if you are going to be making more than two or so trips. Refer to www.visitbritaindirect.com or  www.britrail.com for details.  They can be bought from a variety of sales agents, but must be purchased outside the UK.

Summary of UK rail services

England

A great number of routes start or finish at London. If you are journeying between the north and the south, it is not always necessary to change at London. 

There is the Plymouth - Birmingham - Durham - Newcastle - Edinburgh route and trains from the North West cross the Midlands to reach Nottingham, Doncaster and Norwich. Birmingham New Street is a major hub of the system but is not a particularly pleasant place to change trains.

The trans-Pennine route from the north-west to the north-east of England is an important link for travellers and locals alike. It provides a frequent and reasonably comfortable service between all the major urban areas in the north. The Carlisle to Newcastle route follows the route of Hadrian's Wall, and is one of the more picturesque routes in England, taking in rolling meadows and the North Pennine range. Also highly recommended for scenery is the Manchester to Windermere/Barrow-in-Furness route

Most longer-distance services have both standard and first class coaches. Entrance to dining cars is restricted to first class passengers on some lines but not all. National Express gives priority to first class diners and their meals are usually good and no more expensive than a reasonable restaurant. There will often be some catering available to everybody, via a buffet car or a trolley. 

Transpennine Express routes have an at-seat trolley service of snacks and drinks, complimentary for First Class ticket holders. CrossCountry & Virgin Trains have catering facilities on almost all trains, although the choice is a bit spartan for the price.

Train operating companies (TOCs) include National Express East Coast (NXEC), London Midland, Arriva CrossCountry, First Transpennine, East Midlands, c2c, one, Northern Rail, Southern, South West Trains and Virgin.

For transportation within the London area, it is recommended that you obtain an Oyster card or One Day Travelcard. Single journeys can cost upwards of £4.

Private rail lines exist, such as the North York Moors and Bury-Rawtenstall lines, where steam trains are operated, mainly as a tourist attraction rather than a serious transit options. These are relatively inexpensive and provide a good insight into 19th and early 20th century rail travel in the UK.

All rail journeys to mainland Europe will involve transit through London, as the Eurostar services to Lille, Brussels and Paris-Nord operate from St. Pancras International. From Brussels and Paris, onward connections can be made to many major European cities, such as Madrid, Amsterdam, Barcelona or Milan. Eurostar operate their own online ticketing service and the option to book through from any UK station to your initial French/Belgian destination is recommended, as substantial savings are likely, compared to booking domestic and international sectors separately.

Scotland

Inter-city and main-line rail services in Scotland are mostly provided by First Scotrail, but National Express East Coast (NXEC) services penetrate north to Aberdeen and Inverness and Arriva CrossCountry operate from Aberdeen to Penzance.  In the Strathclyde region, around Glasgow, the regional services are now branded Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT) although are provided by Scotland's devolved Government agency, Transport Scotland. SPT also run the Glasgow subway system which integrates with the regional rail service at Queen Street /Buchanan Street stations and Partick station. Lothian regional services are centred on Waverley Station in the centre of Edinburgh.

Apart from the relatively infrequent services to Aberdeen and Inverness, NXEC services from London stop at Edinburgh Waverley, with some continuing to Glasgow Central.  CrossCountry rail services from London terminate at  Edinburgh Waverley, Glasgow Central or Aberdeen. 

Glasgow Queen Street offers services to Oban, Fort William, Mallaig, Stirling, Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness. Edinburgh Waverley provides services to Stirling, Perth, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness. From Inverness, you can transfer to trains for Wick & Thurso, in the extreme north, and a service operates at roughly 90-minute intervals between Inverness and Aberdeen. These lines are highly pleasurable and pass through some stunning scenery ranging from fjord-like sea lochs to moorland with views of mountains and forests.

The flagship First Scotrail service is the 45 minute shuttle between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Varying between three and six carriages according to the time of day, trains travel between the two cities at 15 minute intervals. The carriages are the most modern diesel units available and are very comfortable, although they are very busy at commuter times and, from the perspective of the traveller, are lacking in luggage space. These trains are also used on most services to Inverness and Aberdeen.

Transpennine Express now operate services from Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley, direct to Manchester Airport, via the Lake District or Blackpool. This is a useful service for tourists wishing to venture out from Scotland for a day or two to take in the unique sights of the fells in Cumbria or the tacky-but-fun nature of a seaside resort. It is also useful for those who wish to use Manchester Airport for theirarrival or departure, avoiding the madness and missed connections that can often ensue at London's airports.

There are numerous steam train services around Scotland, maintained by steam train enthusiasts and well worth seeking out. The most famous of them all is the summer service from Fort William to Mallaig by way of Glen Shiel and Morar. Younger visitors may be interested to know that this line, with its viaduct at Glenfinnan, appears from time to time in the Harry Potter films with the regular steam engine renamed the Hogwarts Express.

If money really is no object, another way of seeing Scotland is by booking a trip of between one and seven nights on the Royal Scotsman, a luxury train with prices to match.  A week aboard, exploring the West Highlands, won't leave you with much change from £5,000 per person. 

Wales

Operated by Arriva Trains Wales, the Welsh railways are home to highly scenic routes across valleys, through mountains and along the coast. Travel from the north to the south coast will involve a brief passage through the border counties of England, as no connection exists between Aberystwyth and Swansea, or through the centre of Wales. Advance tickets from Cardiff to Caergybi (Holyhead) start from £9.90, which is good value for a 5hr train journey, providing an affordable connection to the frequent ferry services to Dublin and Dun Laoghaire. Direct trains to Manchester Piccadilly (Manceinion) and Birmingham New Street are also available from most stations in Wales. To visit the website, click here.

Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland railways are separate and are operated by Translink, a state company. To visit their website, click here. There are direct international trains to Dublin and the company are currently upgrading their trains, bringing huge improvements over the very basic service offered in the past.  Services are vastly better than they were a few years back and it is worth taking in one or two of the lines to see the scenery.

Cancellations and Delays 

If your train is severely delayed, you can claim compensation from the rail company.  If your train is more than an hour late and it is the company's fault, you can get some or all of your money back. If you abort your journey because of a delay or cancellation, you can claim a refund on any unused tickets. If you reserve a seat and then have to stand because of overcrowding (or because there is a large, fearsome-looking person sitting in your seat and you value your life enough not to ask them to move!), you can claim a refund. Full details of how to complain and claim compensation are available from ticket office staff, on the TOC websites or by phoning (when in the UK) 08457 48 49 50.

The precise rules and details vary from TOC to TOC, however. 

Disabled and Limited Mobility Travellers

A very useful service offered by all rail operators is help for Disabled and Limited Mobility Travellers. This can cover a very wide range; covering, for instance, elderly people who have difficulty walking quickly and cannot lift heavy bags onto a train or the baggage racks. Some stations are very extensive - for instance London Euston where 'assisted' passengers will be met with a buggy to take them and their luggage to the taxi rank  - a walk of nearly half a mile. It is essential to book in advance, the various numbers can be found on the company's websites or by ringing the company.

Some companies share booking facilities which makes things a lot easier when changing trains. One huge advantage offered is when lines are closed for maintenance at weekends. Help on and off the bus replacements is essential and in, at least one case, a taxi ride home was offered rather than several changes. A further point for limited mobility and disabled passengers is that much of the potential for missing the last train is eliminated.

Once the company has booked you for assistance, they should not leave you stranded on a deserted station. Incidentally, it is advisable to tell the train manager (when showing your tickets, for instance) that assistance has been booked at the station where you get off. This puts the onus back on the company to make sure you are met. By the way, Eurostar provide excellent help to get you aboard but you will not be met in either Paris or London. Don't forget to take a supply of £1 or £2 coins - though the service is free, offering a tip is usually appreciated.

Smoking Restrictions

In the UK, smoking in all enclosed public places is prohibited by law. NB: this includes every train station, open-air platform and all trains.  Although you might think an open platform is not an enclosed public place, Network Rail decided to ban smoking across the entire network in order to make enforcement of this new law simpler.