Passenger train services • Main line services / Ticketing • Intercity • New mainline operators

Note: For educational purpose only. This page is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. It is not a substitute for the official page of the operating company, manufacturer or official institutions. It cannot be used for staff training, which is the responsibility of approved institutions and companies.

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Key points to remember:
➤ European legislation – The concept of open access – Public service delegation – The British franchise
➤ New regional entrants – New mainline entrants – New freight entrants
➤ What is the economic balance sheet?

Background: European legislation
EU rail transport policy is geared towards the creation of a single European railway area. Four packages and a recast have been adopted in the space of 15 years, following the opening up of the rail sector to competition in 2001.

The third railway package contained Directive 2007/58/EC, which aimed to open up the market for international rail passenger services from January 1, 2010. Of great importance for domestic travel, the directive provided for the possibility of selling domestic service tickets along international routes.

The concept of open access
In European rail transport, an open access operator is a rail operating company that takes on the entire commercial risk, running on infrastructure owned by a third party and buying train paths on a chosen route. Above all, these companies recruit and train their own staff.

It is important to distinguish this system from the British franchise, a special case that Europe did not ask to be implemented. The British franchise granted a monopoly over 7, 10 or several years to a single operator, with significant commercial risks. This system did not survive with the country’s economic meltdown from 2016, the Brexit and the pandemic of the years 2020-2021.

➤ See our special UK franchise pages

This page includes only a list of operators who have operated – or still operate – mainline train services under open access. Also included are subsidiaries of incumbent operators operating under open access, generally in a neighboring country. Historic branches, divisions or cooperatives, such as Thalys, Eurostar, ICE International or Nightjet/Railjet, as well as ex-British franchises, do not fall into the open access category in the strict sense.

Hull Trains
(First Group)

Great-Britain
2000-…

Operator not subject to UK franchises. Hull Trains is owned by First Group and began operating its London-Doncaster-Hull services in December 2000, making it one of the first in Europe on the mainline market. The business is still going strong, and at the end of 2023 First Group applied to ORR for an extension of open access services to Sheffield.

Interconnex (†)
(Veolia Transport)

Germany
2001-2014

InterConnex was a brand of Ostseeland Verkehr GmbH, part of the Veolia Group. The operator ran the Leipzig-Berlin-Rostock route until the arrival of liberalized long-distance buses in 2013. The last train ran until December 13, 2014. DB now operates the route.

Grand Central
(Arriva UK)

Great-Britain
2007-…

Operator not subject to UK franchises. Grand Central is owned by Arriva UK and began operating its London-York-Sunderland and London-Doncaster-Bradford services in December 2007. The company is still going strong despite the pandemic and the reconfiguration of British politics.

Wrexham, Shropshire & Marylebone Railway (†)
(Arriva UK)

Great-Britain
2008-2011

Operator not subject to UK franchises. Wrexham, Shropshire & Marylebone Railway was owned by Arriva UK and began operating services between London Marylebone and Wrexham in April 2008. Success was not forthcoming and the company discontinued the ex-operations in January 2011.

Snälltåget
(Transdev Sverige)

Sweden
2009-…

Created by Transdev in 2006 under the name Véolia Transport, this company has been known as Snälltåget since 2013. It operates long-distance trains between Malmö and Stockholm, as well as seasonal trains to Jämtland and Austria. It also runs the Stockholm-Berlin night train 2/3 of the year.
➤ See factsheet