UK Railway Operator Timetable Codes

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This page gives a quick and easy decoder between GB timetable code and the relevant operator. Codes were introduced by BR with the 29 September 1996 timetable for its internal train operating units (TOUs) that later became the first privatised train operating companies (TOCs). Note that dates given here are for the GB Passenger Railway timetable period in which the codes appeared. Naturally, where franchise changes took place at dates other than timetable change dates, the new operator's code had to wait until the next timetable. Operating dates and other information are given on the franchises page.

This list also shows codes for organisations that do not or have not run timetabled passenger trains. Some of these (e.g. Railtrack) appeared in the timetable's commercial information pages as a station operator. Others, e.g. Network Rail (On Track Plant), have codes allocated in online and internal systems.

Entries are given alphabetically by code and subsequently chronologically by date. Names are given in the form

Legal nameTrading/brand name(s) where different

All timetable change dates appear on this Rail Chronology page.

Code Train operator Timetable dates
AM Arriva Trains Merseyside 30 September 2001 to 27 September 2003
AN Arriva Trains Northern 30 September 2001 to 11 December 2004
AR Anglia Railways Train ServicesAnglia Railways 29 September 1996 to 22 May 2004
AR Alliance RailGrand Southern Railway 10 December 2017 to 14 December 2019company did not start running trains and abandoned plans
AW Arriva Trains Wales 23 May 2004 to 16 May 2015; 13 December 2015 to 8 December 2018
ATW Arriva Trains Wales 17 May 2015 to 12 December 2015erroneous code
AW Keolis Amey OperationsTransport for Wales Rail 9 December 2018 to 15 May 2021
AW Transport for Wales Rail 16 May 2021 to date
CA Cardiff Railway CompanyCardiff Railway Co, Valley Lines 29 September 1996 to 23 May 1998
CC c2c railc2c 24 September 2000 to 13 December 2014
CC NXET Trainsc2c 14 December 2014 to 20 May 2017
CC Trenitalia c2cc2c 21 May 2017 to 13 December 2025
CC c2c Railwayc2c 14 December 2025 to date
CH The Chiltern Railway CompanyChiltern Railways 29 September 1996 to date
CS Serco Caledonian SleepersCaledonian Sleeper 17 May 2015 to 9 December 2023
CS Caledonian Sleeper 10 December 2023 to date
CT Central Trains 29 September 1996 to 8 December 2007
CX Connex South CentralConnex 27 September 1998 to 17 May 2003
CX Connex South EasternConnex 27 September 1998 to 22 May 2004
DC Devon & Cornwall RailwaysDevon & Cornwall Railway 23 May 2010 to 16 May 2015
EC InterCity East CoastGreat North Eastern Railway 29 September 1996 to 31 May 1997
EM East Midlands Trains 9 December 2007 to 14 December 2019
EM Abellio East MidlandsEast Midlands Railway 15 December 2019 to 1 June 2024
EM Transport UK East MidlandsEast Midlands Railway 2 June 2024 to date
EP European Passenger ServicesEurostar 29 September 1996 to 31 May 1997
EP Eurostar (UK)Eurostar 1 June 1997 to 23 September 2000
ES Eurostar (UK)Eurostar 24 September 2000 to 11 December 2010but not included in timetable after 9 December 2006
ES Eurostar InternationalEurostar 12 December 2010 to datenot included in timetable, though included in error in May 2019 timetable for some trains calling at Ashford
EU Railfreight Distribution (Channel Tunnel Intermodal) online system code only
FC First Capital Connect 11 June 2006 to 13 December 2014
FS Fishbone Solutions online system code only
GC Grand Central Railway CompanyGrand Central 10 December 2006 to date
GE Great Eastern RailwayGreat Eastern, First Great Eastern 29 September 1996 to 22 May 2004
GL First Great Western Link 12 December 2004 to 10 June 2006
GL First/HAAHeathrow Connect 12 December 2004 to 10 December 2005
GM Transport for Greater ManchesterTransport for Greater Manchester, TfGM 16 May 2021 to dateonline system code only
GN Govia Thameslink RailwayGreat Northern 14 December 2014 to date
GR Great North Eastern RailwayGreat North Eastern Railway, GNER 1 June 1997 to 8 December 2007
GR NXEC TrainsNational Express East Coast 9 December 2007 to 12 December 2009
GR East Coast Main Line CompanyEast Coast 13 December 2009 to 16 May 2015
GR East Coast Main Line CompanyVirgin Trains East Coast 17 May 2015 to 8 December 2018
GR London North Eastern RailwayLNER 9 December 2018 to date
GW Great Western Trains CompanyGreat Western Trains, First Great Western 29 September 1996 to 10 June 2006
GW First Greater WesternFirst Great Western, Great Western Railway, GWR 11 June 2006 to date
GWR First Greater WesternGreat Western Railway, GWR 11 December 2016 to 20 May 2017erroneous code used in commercial information pages only
GX Gatwick Express 29 September 1996 to 13 December 2008
GX Southern RailwayGatwick Express 14 December 2008 to 16 May 2015
GX Govia Thameslink RailwayGatwick Express 17 May 2015 to date
HB London North Eastern RailwayLNER 9 December 2018 to 18 May 2019erroneous code used in commercial information pages only, which happens also to be the service group code
HC First/HAAHeathrow Connect 11 December 2005 to 8 December 2018
HT Hull Trains CompanyHull Trains, First Hull Trains 24 September 2000 to date
HX Heathrow Express Operating CompanyHeathrow Express 24 May 1998 to date
IL Island Line 29 September 1996 to 19 May 2007
IL Stagecoach South Western TrainsIsland Line 20 May 2007 to 9 December 2017
IL First MTR South Western TrainsIsland Line 10 December 2017 to date
LD East Coast TrainsLumo 12 December 2021 to datecode happens also to be the service group code
LE London Eastern Railway'one', National Express East Anglia 23 May 2004 to 13 May 2012
LE Abellio Greater AngliaAbellio Greater Anglia, Greater Anglia 14 May 2012 to 10 December 2016
LE Abellio East AngliaGreater Anglia 11 December 2016 to 1 June 2024
LE Transport UK East AngliaGreater Anglia 2 June 2024 to 13 December 2025
LE GA TrainsGreater Anglia 14 December 2025 to date
LF Grand Union Trains internal system code only; never launched
LF First Rail StirlingLumo 14 December 2025 to dateinitially internal system code only
LG Legge Infrastructure Services internal system code only
LM London & Birmingham RailwayLondon Midland 9 December 2007 to 9 December 2017
LM West Midlands TrainsWest Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway 10 December 2017 to 16 May 2026
LM WM TrainsWest Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway 17 May 2026 to date
LN Great North Western Railway CompanyGreat North Western Railway code used in online systems from 3 May 2020; company did not start running trains and abandoned plans
LN West Midlands TrainsLondon Northwestern Railway code not yet used in GBTT/eNRT, LM used for all West Midlands Trains services
LO London Overground Rail OperationsLondon Overground 9 December 2007 to 10 December 2016
LO Arriva Rail LondonLondon Overground 11 December 2016 to date
LR Network Rail (On Track Plant) online system code only
LS LTS Rail 29 September 1996 to 23 September 2000
LS Locomotive Services (TOC) online system code only; code happens also to be the service group code
LT London TransportLondon Underground code used in online systems; also appeared in GBTT/eNRT index pages only from 15 December 2019
ME Merseyrail ElectricsMerseyrail 29 September 1996 to 29 September 2001
ME Merseyrail Electrics 2002Merseyrail 28 September 2003 to date
ML Midland Main LineMidland Mainline 29 September 1996 to 8 December 2007
MV VaramisVaramis Rail online system code only
NL North London Railways 29 September 1996 to 23 May 1998
NR Network Rail 18 May 2003 to ?removed from GBTT/eNRT index pages by 21 May 2017
NS Network Southcentral 29 September 1996 to 31 May 1997
NS Northern Spirit 27 September 1998 to 29 September 2001
NT Northern RailNorthern 12 December 2004 to 14 May 2016
NT Arriva Rail NorthNorthern 15 May 2016 to 16 May 2020
NT Northern TrainsNorthern 17 May 2020 to date
NW North West Regional RailwaysNorth Western Trains 29 September 1996 to 31 May 1997
NW North Western Trains CompanyNorth Western Trains, First North Western 1 June 1997 to 11 December 2004
NY North Yorkshire Moors Railway 11 June 2006 to date
PX Europhoenix Rail online system code only
QC Abellio ScotRail internal system code used for shipping services only
QC ScotRail Trains internal system code used for shipping services only
RE Regional Railways North East 29 September 1996 to 26 September 1998
RT Railtrack 29 September 1996 to 17 May 2003
SC Connex South Central 1 June 1997 to 26 September 1998
SC New Southern RailwaySouth Central 2 June 2002 to 22 May 2004
SE The South Eastern Train CoSouth Eastern Trains 29 September 1996 to 31 May 1997
SE Connex South Eastern 1 June 1997 to 26 September 1998
SE South Eastern Trains 23 May 2004 to 10 June 2006
SE London & South Eastern RailwaySoutheastern 11 June 2006 to 11 December 2021
SE SE TrainsSoutheastern 12 December 2021 to date
SJ South Yorkshire SupertramStagecoach Supertram online system code only, not used in GBTT/eNRT
SJ South Yorkshire Future TramsSupertram online system code only, not yet used in GBTT/eNRT
SN New Southern RailwaySouth Central 30 September 2001 to 1 June 2002
SN South CentralSouthern 23 May 2004 to 13 December 2008
SN Southern RailwayNew Southern Railway, Southern 14 December 2008 to 12 December 2015
SN Govia Thameslink RailwaySouthern 13 December 2015 to date
SO RailAdventure UK online system code only
SO SLC Operations online system code only
SP Swanage Railway code not yet used in GBTT/eNRT
SR ScotRail RailwaysScotrail 29 September 1996 to 11 December 2004
SR First ScotRailFirst ScotRail, Scotrail 12 December 2004 to 16 May 2015
SR Abellio ScotRailScotRail 17 May 2015 to 14 May 2022
SR ScotRail TrainsScotRail 15 May 2022 to date
SS Silverlink Train Services 24 May 1998 to 8 December 2007
SW South West Trains 29 September 1996 to 19 May 2007
SW Stagecoach South Western TrainsSouth West Trains 20 May 2007 to 9 December 2017
SW First MTR South Western TrainsSouth Western Railway 10 December 2017 to 13 December 2025
SW South Western Railway 14 December 2025 to date
SX Abellio East AngliaStansted Express 21 May 2017 to 8 December 2018subsequently online system code only
TL Thameslink RailThameslink 29 September 1996 to 10 June 2006
TL Govia Thameslink RailwayThameslink 14 December 2014 to date
TP First/Keolis TransPennineFirst TransPennine Express 23 May 2004 to 14 May 2016
TP First Transpennine ExpressTransPennine Express 15 May 2016 to 9 December 2023
TP Transpennine TrainsTransPennine Express 10 December 2023 to date
TT Thames Trains 29 September 1996 to 22 May 2004
TT First Great Western Link 23 May 2004 to 11 December 2004
TW Tyne & Wear Passenger Transport ExecutiveNexus, Metro code not yet used in GBTT/eNRT
TY Vintage Trains code not yet used in GBTT/eNRT
VL Cardiff Railway CompanyCardiff Railway Co, Valley Lines 24 May 1998 to 29 September 2001
VT CrossCountry TrainsVirgin CrossCountry, Virgin Trains 28 September 1997 to 8 December 2007
VT West Coast TrainsVirgin Trains 28 September 1997 to 14 December 2019
VT First Trenitalia West Coast RailAvanti West Coast 15 December 2019 to date
WB Cardiff Railway CompanyWales & Borders Trains 30 September 2001 to 22 May 2004
WC West Coast TrainsInterCity West Coast, Virgin West Coast 29 September 1996 to 27 September 1997
WE Wales & West Passenger TrainsWessex Trains 30 September 2001 to 10 June 2006
WM West Midlands TrainsWest Midlands Railway code not yet used in GBTT/eNRT
WN West Anglia Great Northern RailwayWest Anglia Great Northern, WAGN Railway, Wagn Railway, Wagn 29 September 1996 to 10 June 2006
WR West Coast Railway CompanyWest Coast Railways 1 June 1997 to date
WS Wrexham Shropshire & Marylebone RailwayWrexham & Shropshire 9 December 2007 to 21 May 2011
WW South Wales & West RailwaySouth Wales & West 29 September 1996 to 23 May 1998
WW Wales & West Passenger TrainsWales & West 24 May 1998 to 29 September 2001
XC CrossCountry TrainsVirgin CrossCountry 29 September 1996 to 27 September 1997
XC XC TrainsCrossCountry 9 December 2007 to date
XM Christmas Special spoof online systems code
XP PIK online system code only
XP Prestwick International Airport online system code only
XP Glasgow Prestwick International Airport online system code only
XP Glasgow Prestwick Airport online system code only
XR MTR Corporation (Crossrail)TfL Rail, Crossrail, Transport for London, Elizabeth line 17 May 2015 to 13 December 2025second brand name used from 10 December 2017 timetable and third from 12 December 2021 timetable but service still used former; full rebrand to final name from 24 May 2022
XR GTS Rail OperationsElizabeth line 14 December 2025 to date
XS Stobart Rail online system code only
XS London Southend Airport Company online system code only
XX National Rail online system code only
YG Hanson & Hall, Rail Services Solutions online system code only; code happens also to be the service group code
ZZ Govia Thameslink RailwayThameslink 9 December 2018 to 16 May 2020erroneous code used for certain services only
ZZ Govia Thameslink RailwaySouthern 19 May 2019 to 14 December 2019erroneous code used for one service only
ZZ Keolis Amey OperationsTransport for Wales Rail 9 December 2018 to 18 May 2019erroneous code used for some services only
ZZ Northern TrainsNorthern 16 May 2021 to 11 December 2021erroneous code used for some services only
ZZ Freight and miscellaneous operators online system code only
#| schedule with no operator internal code only, briefly applied to online systems in error to some Colas services late April 2023

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