About
Rail Partners
Rail Partners worked to make the railway better by harnessing the expertise and creativity of private sector operators for the benefit of railway users – passengers and freight customers – and those who pay for it, including taxpayers.
It brought together independent passenger owning groups, freight operators, and train operating companies delivering the majority of Britain’s rail services, along with passenger operators.
Our purpose
Rail Partners was created to offer expert advice to policymakers and to demonstrate how its members are delivering on economic growth – alongside the social and environmental benefits of rail that will help secure a vibrant and more sustainable future for Britain.
As well as offering advocacy and policy solutions for its private sector passenger owning group and freight company members, Rail Partners provided technical services to all 28 of the UK’s private and public sector train operating companies through its Operator Services division.
Our team
Rail Partners' employees draw on years of experience from rail and other sectors to help develop the right policy solutions to improve the railway for passengers and freight customers, and to support operators to deliver an ever safer, more effective and high performing service.
Members
Rail Partners brought together independent owning groups operating passenger rail services, with train and freight operating companies. It represented nine international transport businesses with passenger railway operations, and the five largest UK rail freight operators.
Our Operator Services division worked on behalf of all 28 private and public sector train operating companies in Britain to support best practice and improve railway operations through facilitating industry collaboration.
Together, our former members represent decades of experience moving tens of billions of rail and bus passengers in Britain and internationally, and move 98% of rail freight carried in the country.
Rail Partners' operator owning group members were Arriva, FirstGroup, GoAhead, Mitsui & Co, Keolis, MTR, Serco, Transport UK, Trenitalia UK. Its freight owning group members were Colas Rail, DB Cargo, DRS, Freightliner, GB Railfreight.