Network Rail
Rail company in the United Kingdom
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| 2024 | The Northumberland Line project plans to reopen railway passenger services to Newsham (on the edge of Blyth) and Ashington. |
| November 2024 | The Labour government officially established Great British Railways, completing the planned transition and superseding Network Rail after several years of planning and delay. |
| July 2024 | New Labour government confirmed plans to bring passenger services back into public ownership upon contract expiry as part of a broader rail network renationalisation. |
| April 1 2024 | Control Period 7 (CP7) begins, representing the next phase of Network Rail's strategic infrastructure planning. |
| 2023 | Michelle Handforth, a managing director at Network Rail, resigned following infrastructure problems that left hundreds of passengers stranded in London, amid ongoing investigations by the Office of Rail and Road into poor reliability and punctuality in the Wales and Western region. |
| 2023 | The railway station at Willenhall is scheduled to reopen to passengers. |
| 2023 | Rail passenger numbers continue to grow, increasing by 16.40% to 1,611,953,591 |
| 2023 | UK government proposed establishing Great British Railways, a new state-owned public body to operate a concession contract system on the network. |
| 2022 | Continued rail passenger number recovery, with a 39.87% increase to 1,384,786,829 |
| August 2022 | Network Rail signed an agreement with EDF to provide more solar energy across its infrastructure. |
| July 2022 | The Department for Transport rejected the Strategic Outline Business Case for a railway station in Skelmersdale, putting the proposed scheme into doubt. |
| May 2022 | Network Rail released a briefing to contractors for the Midland Mainline Electrification project to extend electrification to Nottingham and Sheffield, with an expected cost of £1.3 billion. |
| April 1 2022 | ScotRail was put under public ownership by the Scottish Government, operating under Transport Scotland. |
| 2021 | Rail passenger numbers begin to recover, increasing by 155.24% to 990,050,962 |
| November 18 2021 | Government announced £96 billion public investment in Britain's rail network, promising improved rail connections in the North and Midlands through the Integrated Rail Plan. |
| May 20 2021 | Government announced a white paper to transform railway operations, proposing partial renationalisation and creating Great British Railways as a state-owned public body. |
| 2020 | Massive decline in rail passenger numbers to 387,885,468, a 77.69% decrease, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2020 | COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant drop in railway passengers, with journeys reducing to about 22% of the previous year's levels. All train operating companies entered emergency measures agreements with UK and Scottish governments. |
| September 2020 | UK Government permanently abolished the rail franchising system. |
| January 2020 | Work began on a £449 million extension of the West Midlands Metro tram system from Wednesbury to Dudley, using the formation of the old South Staffordshire line. |
| 2019 | Hitachi Super Express trains expanded into service on the East Coast Main Line, completing the initial rollout of the new intercity train fleet. |
| April 1 2019 | Start of Control Period 6, a new five-year funding cycle for Network Rail's operations and infrastructure management. |
| February 2019 | Network Rail sold its commercial property business of 5,200 properties, mainly railway arches, to a consortium of Telereal Trillium and Blackstone Property Partners for £1.46 billion. |
| June 2018 | A poll of 1,500 adults in Britain showed 64% support for renationalizing the country's railways. |
| April 2018 | Rail passenger journeys increased to 1,759.9 million, growing by 3.0%, with long-distance journeys reaching 146.7 million. |
| April 1 2018 | Network Rail began directly managing Clapham Junction and Guildford stations. |
| 2017 | Hitachi Super Express trains entered service on the Great Western Main Line, marking the first deployment of the new intercity train fleet. |
| 2017 | United Kingdom ranked eighth among national European rail systems in the European Railway Performance Index for intensity of use, quality of service, and safety performance. |
| July 2017 | Transport Secretary Chris Grayling cancelled the Midland Main Line electrification north of Kettering to Derby, Nottingham, and Sheffield. |
| July 2017 | Government reduced the scope of the Great Western Main Line electrification, limiting completion to Thingley Junction and postponing electrification of other lines. |
| April 2017 | Rail passenger journeys slightly decreased to 1,707.9 million, with a 1.40% change, and long-distance journeys at 144.8 million. |
| April 2016 | Total rail passenger journeys reached 1,731.5 million, with a minimal growth of 0.80%, and long-distance journeys at 143.5 million. |
| December 2015 | Great Western Main Line electrification project cost increased from £1.2 billion to £2.8 billion, drawing parliamentary scrutiny for poor planning and cost overruns. |
| April 2015 | Rail passenger journeys grew to 1,717.6 million, with a 3.72% increase and long-distance journeys at 138.3 million. |
| 2014 | Passenger numbers more than doubled compared to 1997, highlighting substantial growth in rail transportation. |
| 2014 | Network Rail launched a major £38 billion infrastructure investment programme to upgrade the UK rail network, including multiple significant projects. |
| November 2014 | Network Rail transferred management of an unspecified station to c2c rail operator. |
| September 1 2014 | Network Rail was officially classified as a 'public sector body', changing its organizational status and governance structure. |
| June 2014 | Chancellor George Osborne proposed the Northern Powerhouse Rail (High Speed 3) project, a high-speed rail link connecting Liverpool and Newcastle/Sheffield/Hull. The proposal included using existing routes and creating new infrastructure to improve rail connectivity in northern England. |
| April 2014 | Network Rail took over management of Bristol Temple Meads and Reading stations. |
| April 2014 | Total rail passenger journeys reached 1,655.8 million, growing by 4.25%, with long-distance journeys increasing to 134.2 million. |
| April 1 2014 | Control Period 5 (CP5) starts, continuing Network Rail's structured planning cycle. |
| January 2014 | Network Rail opened the world's largest solar-powered bridge across the River Thames, adjacent to the old Blackfriars Railway Bridge, featuring 4,400 photovoltaic panels that can provide up to half the energy for London Blackfriars station. |
| April 2013 | Rail passenger journeys increased to 1,588.3 million, showing a 5.70% growth, with long-distance journeys at 129.0 million. |
| 2012 | Special Olympic Javelin shuttle services introduced for the 2012 Summer Olympics, utilizing High Speed 1 infrastructure. |
| November 2012 | Lloyds sold Macquarie European Rail to Macquarie Group. |
| June 2012 | Network Rail completed work on its new national centre, the Quadrant:MK in Milton Keynes, accommodating over 3,000 staff and transferring various operational departments. |
| April 2012 | Total rail passenger journeys reached 1,502.6 million, with a slower growth rate of 2.81%, and long-distance journeys at 127.7 million. |
| January 2012 | Network Rail transferred management of an unspecified station to Southern rail operator. |
| January 2012 | John Armitt was awarded a knighthood in the New Year Honours for services to engineering and construction, which was controversially timed on the same day Network Rail was prosecuted for the 2007 Grayrigg derailment. |
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