A train operating company (TOC) is a business operating passenger trains on the railway system of Great Britain under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993.
There are two types of TOC: most hold franchises let by the government, following bids from various companies, to operate services on certain routes for a specified duration, while a small number of "open-access" operators hold licences to provide supplementary services on chosen routes. These operators can run services for the duration of the licence validity. The franchised operators have changed considerably since privatisation: previous franchises have been divided, merged, re-let to new operators, or renamed.
The term is also sometimes used to describe companies operating passenger or freight rail services over tracks that are owned by another company or a national network owner.
Read more about Train Operating Company: Management, Organisation, Changes, Current TOCs, Railtours, Sea Links, International Operators
Famous quotes containing the words train, operating and/or company:
“Every philosophy is tinged with the colouring of some secret imaginative background, which never emerges explicitly into its train of reasoning.”
—Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947)
“... the modern drama, operating through the double channel of dramatist and interpreter, affecting as it does both mind and heart, is the strongest force in developing social discontent, swelling the powerful tide of unrest that sweeps onward and over the dam of ignorance, prejudice, and superstition.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)
“In common with other rural regions much of the Iowa farm lore concerns the coming of company. When the rooster crows in the doorway, or the cat licks his fur, company is on the way.”
—For the State of Iowa, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)