London Train

From the horse-drawn wagon-ways train services appeared in Germany in 1550, the London Train services flourished all over the world with different alterations and developments. London Traincame to London quite early. World’s first public railway, Surrey Iron Railway was established in south London in 1803. There are two principal railway routes between London and Scotland; one covers the north-west England, called the West Coast Route and the other the east side, called the East Coast Route. Before the Great War, two railway companies own the West Coast Route. The London & North Western Railway owned the Euston Station, London to Scottish border line and from the border northwards it was owned by the Caledonian Railway. The London, Kings Cross to Doncaster line was owned by the Great Northern Railway.

Railways:

The Act of Parliament, 1933 gives control of London railway to London Passenger Transport Board, later to London Transport Board -

i) London Electric Railway- London, Brighton and South Coast Railway establishes first suburban electric train service between Victoria station and London Bridge in 1908.This now controls:

»District Railway

»Bakerloo Line

»Piccadilly Line

»Hampstead & Highgate Line

»City and South London Railway

»Central London Railway

ii) Metropolitan Railway which also controlled:

Great Northern and City Railway

There are also –

iii) Underground Railway - popularly known as Tube, established in 1863 as world’s first underground railway. World’s first underground electric railway was established in London in 1890.

Trains and Train Companies :

The London Train system (cheaper than the tubes with a NSE card) connects a large part of London, especially the Southeast, for it has no tube.

London Trains are generally classified into three main types –

i) Dockland Lights Railway – It is an independent driverless service connecting the newly developed Isle of Dogs. A recent extension goes under the Thames to Greenwich and beyond to Lewisham. The DLR associates to the London Tube at Tower Bridge, Tower Gateway, Canary Wharf, and Bank stations, and ticket charges are the same as on the tube.

ii) Suburban Trains - Some areas of London are better served by trains than the tube, notably the northern suburbs. The North London Link covers from Richmond to North Woolwich, crossing the northern London. The Thameslink line stretches from London Bridge in the south, through the City, to the north at Luton.

iii) British Rail Trains – Some years ago the former British Rail was broken up by government mandate to create 25 smaller, regional companies, with the objective that they would serve each different area of the country. After the privatization of British railways, rail companies have increased in numbers. There are -

» Arriva Trains Wales,

»c2c,

»Central Trains,

»Chiltern Railways,

»Eurostar,

»First Great Western,

»First Great Western Link,

»First ScotRail,

»Gatwick Express,

»GNER,

»Heathrow Connect,

»Heathrow Express,

»Hull Trains,

»Island Line,

»Merseyrail,

»Midland Mainline,

»Northern Rail,

»one,

»Silverlink,

»South Eastern Trains,

»South West Trains,

»Southern,

»Thameslink,

»TransPennine Express,

»Virgin Trains,

»WAGN,

»Wessex Trains.

Stations:

London has 10 mainline rail stations; each connects different parts of the country -

Charing Cross - South-east England

Euston - North and north-west England with also Scotland

King's Cross - North of London, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, North and North-east of England, and also Scotland

Liverpool Street - East and North-East of London, Stanstead Airport with East of Anglia

London Bridge - South-east England

Marylebone - North-west London, Chilterns

Paddington - South of Wales, West of England, South-West of England, South of Midlands, and also Heathrow Airport

St. Pancras - East Midlands and South Yorkshire

Victoria - South and south-east England, also Gatwick Airport and Channel ferries

Waterloo - South-west London, South and South-west of England

There are also stations covering London and Greater London –

» City Thameslink

» London Blackfriars

» London Cannon Street

» London Fenchurch Street

» London Waterloo East

» Old Street

» Vauxhall

» Waterloo International

» London Fields

» London Road (Brighton)

» London Road (Guildford)

» Queens Park (London)

» St Margarets (Gr London)

» Stradford (London)

Tickets:

Tickets can be bought at stations with ticket-issuing facilities, by telephone, at rail-appointed travel agents or over the Internet. One can also buy a ticket from self-service ticket machines, at some unstaffed stations. There are different types of tickets –

i) Buy Anytime, Travel Anytime - Very flexible type; offers travelling at any time during the period the tickets are valid. These include Open and some Day tickets.

ii) Buy Anytime, Travel Restricted - Cheaper tickets with some limits on the time of travel. These tickets include SuperSavers, Savers, Cheap Day Returns, AwayBreaks.

iii) Buy In Advance, Travel Anytime – These tickets are supposed to be bought in advance; these allow to travel at any time during the period they are valid.

iv) Buy In Advance, Specified Trains – Tickets bought in advance, on many routes. Many of these tickets offers free seat reservations though available in limited numbers, at certain times, on specific trains.

v) Multi-journey - Season Tickets and multi-modal tickets offer unlimited travel on certain routes and in certain areas. Season Tickets valid for seven days, or for a month to a year.

Different train companies have different train fares. They also have different accommodations. But in general, a train has first class and standard class accommodations. First class accommodation generally offers wider space, complimentary tipples, complimentary hot food, at seat services, free newspapers, free head phones, with onboard shopping, reading lights, entertainment facilities, window blinds etc. For everyday use standard class is very helpful.

Underground Train:

Currently have 12 lines with the Docklands Light Railway. Regular tube service starts from 05:30 am till midnight. Greater London is divided into six transportation zones. For frequent use of tube travelcards and photocards are good options.

Rules and Regulations :

There are some conditions of carriage relating to passengers on tickets, validity of tickets, passengers’ responsibility, passengers’ refund rights, season tickets, train accommodation and reservations, train service failure. A penalty fees can be charged on violation of these conditions by National Railway services.

Related Topics:

» London Hotels

» London Transport Services

» London Tourist Spots

» London Tube

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