Railway lines in the United Kingdom

Train routes in the United Kingdom

Status	started

A project to map the United Kingdom railway lines. The list of lines organised into historic lines and Network Rail organisational units.

Historic line names

The names and relations in this section should match the routes detailed in the linked Wikipedia article for the line of the same name. Some of these relations might be identical to the Network Rail SRS sections detailed in the next section.

Name	Route	Description
Bittern Line	138808 138808	Norwich to Cromer to Sheringham
Braintree Branch Line	141904 141904	Witham to Braintree
Breckland Line	138843 138843	Cambridge to Norwich
Cherwell Valley Line	193007 193007	Oxford to Banbury
Crouch Valley Line	145706 145706	Wickford to Southminster
East Coast Main Line
East Suffolk Line	138742 138742	Ipswich to Lowestoft
Ely-Peterborough Line	142758 142758	Ely to Peterborough
Fen Line	141974 141974	Cambridge to King's Lynn
Felixstowe Branch Line	127126 127126	Ipswich to Felixstowe
Gainsborough Line	141903 141903	Marks Tey to Sudbury
Great Eastern Main Line	138744 138744	London to Norwich
Gospel Oak to Barking Line
Hertford East Branch Line	142019 142019	Hertford to Broxbourne
Hertford Loop Line	150987 150987	Hertford to the East Coast Main Line
Hitchin-Cambridge Line	142003 142003	Hitchin to Cambridge
Ipswich-Ely Line	138858 138858	Ipswich to Ely
Lea Valley Lines	141959 141959	Central London to North London
London, Tilbury & Southend Line	148616 148616	London to Southend
North London Line
Marston Vale Line	150790 150790	Bletchley to Bedford
Mayflower Line	141898 141898	Manningtree to Harwich
Oxford to Bicester Line	285249 285249	Oxford to Bicester Line
Romford to Upminster Line	141910 141910	Romford to Upminster
Shenfield-Southend Victoria Line	141908 141908	Shenfield to Southend
Sunshine Coast Line	141900 141900	Colchester to Clacton
Varsity Line	285256 285256	Oxford to Cambridge (no longer fully open)
West Anglia Main Line	141917 141917	London to Cambridge
Wherry Lines	138836 138836	Norwich to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft

Network Rail Routes

The following tables list railway line relations created in OSM using information from the linked wikipedia articles and organised into Network Rail Strategic Routes.

Currently only those within the East of England region have been created. Where other line names are known they are also entered.

Route 1 - Kent

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article

Route 2 - Brighton Main Line and Sussex

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article

Route 3 - South West Main Line

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article

Route 4 - Wessex Routes

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article

Route 5 - West Anglia

Sections of Network Rail Route 5 (West Anglia)

Route	Strategic Route Sections (SRS)	Corresponding historical lines (whole & partial)
Route 5 - West Anglia	05.01 - Bethnal Green – Stansted Airport	Parts of the Lea Valley Lines and wikipedia:West Anglia Main Line
	05.02 - Hackney Downs – Cheshunt	Part of the Lea Valley Lines
	05.03 - Hertford East Branch 142019 142019	Hertford East Branch Line
	05.04 - Chingford Branch 141959 141959	Part of the Lea Valley Lines
	05.05 - Cambridge Lines 141917 141917	Hitchin-Cambridge Line, West Anglia Main Line
	05.06 - Ely – Kings Lynn	Fen Line
	05.07 - Peterborough – Ely – Haughley Jn	Parts of the Ely to Peterborough Line and Ipswich to Ely Line
	05.08 - Coldham Lane Jn – Chippenham Jn	Part of the Ipswich to Ely Line
	05.09 - Ely – Norwich 138843 138843	Breckland Line
	05.10 - Freight Lines	freight only lines within area covered

Route 6 - North London Line and Thameside

Sections of Network Rail Route 6 (North London Line and Thameside).

Route	Strategic Route Sections (SRS)	Corresponding historical lines (whole & partial)
Route 6 - North London Line and Thameside	06.01 - NLL: Gospel Oak – Stratford	North London Line
	06.02 - Fenchurch Street – Shoeburyness	London, Tilbury and Southend Line
	06.03 - Forest Gate Jn – Barking	Gospel Oak to Barking Line
	06.04 - Barking – Pitsea 148616 148616	London, Tilbury & Southend Line
	06.05 - Gospel Oak – Woodgrange Park	Gospel Oak to Barking Line
	06.06 - NLL: Willesden Jn– Gospel Oak	North London Line
	06.07 - NLL: Richmond/Old Kew Jn – Willesden Jn	North London Line
	06.08 - Other Freight Lines	Various freight lines
	06.09 - NLL: No1 Lines	Freight line
	06.10 - Dudding Hill Line	Freight line

Route 7 - Great Eastern

Sections of Network Rail Route 7 (Great Eastern).

Route	Strategic Route Sections (SRS)	Corresponding historical lines (whole & partial)
Route 7 - Great Eastern	07.01 - Liverpool Street – Shenfield	Part of the Great Eastern Main Line
	07.02 - Shenfield – Ipswich	Part of the Great Eastern Main Line
	07.03 - Ipswich – Norwich	Part of the Great Eastern Main Line
	07.04 - Freight Lines	Freight only lines within area covered
	07.05 - Shenfield – Southend Victoria/Southminster	Both the Crouch Valley Line and the Shenfield to Southend Line
	07.06 - Braintree Branch 141904 141904	Braintree Branch Line
	07.07 - Harwich Branch 141898 141898	Mayflower Line
	07.08 - Walton and Clacton Branches 141900 141900	Sunshine Coast Line
	07.09 - Romford – Upminster 141910 141910	Romford to Upminster Line
	07.10 - Sudbury to Marks Tey 141903 141903	Gainsborough Line
	07.11 - East Suffolk line and Norfolk Branches	Bittern Line, East Suffolk Line, Wherry Lines
	07.12 - Felixstowe – Ipswich Yard 127126 127126	Felixstowe Branch Line

Route 8 - East Coast Main Line

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article
East Coast Main Line	236676 236676	London-Bradford	East Coast Main Line
Hertford Loop Line	150987 150987	Hertford to the East Coast Main Line	Hertford Loop Line

Route 9 - North East Routes

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article

Route 10 - North Trans-Pennine, North and West Yorkshire

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article

Route 11 - South Trans-Pennine, South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article
Peterborough to Lincoln Line	222695 222695		Peterborough to Lincoln Line

Route 12 - Reading to Penzance

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article

Route 13 - Great Western Main Line

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article
Great Western Main Line		London Paddington to Bristol	Great Western Main Line
Cherwell Valley Line		Didcot to Oxford	Cherwell Valley Line
Cotswold Line		Oxford to Hereford	Cotswold Line
South Wales Main Line		Swindon to Cardiff, Swansea, Pembroke	South Wales Main Line
Golden Valley Line		Swindon to Cheltenham	Golden Valley Line
Cross Country Route		Cheltenham to Bristol	Cross Country Route
Wessex Main Line		Bristol to Southampton	Wessex Main Line
South Western Main Line		Waterloo to Weymouth	South Western Main Line
West of England Main Line		Waterloo to Exeter	West of England Main Line
Bristol-Taunton Line		Bristol to Weston-super-Mare, Taunton	Bristol to Taunton Line
Reading-Taunton Line		Reading to Taunton	Reading to Plymouth Line
Taunton-Plymouth Line		Taunton to Exeter, Plymouth	Reading to Plymouth Line
Cornish Main Line		Plymouth to Penzance	Cornish Main Line

Route 14 - South and Central Wales and Borders

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article

Route 15 - South Wales Valleys

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article

Route 16 - Chilterns

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article

Route 17 - West Midlands

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article
Railway Route 17 primary	Strategic Route 17	Rugby junction to Wolverhampton station
Railway Route 17 primary	SRS 17.01 166452 166452	Rugby junction to Birmingham New St	This line is also a spur to the WCML
Railway Route 17 primary	SRS 17.02 166453 166453	Birmingham New St to Wolverhampton station	This line is also a spur to the WCML
Railway Route 17 primary	SRS 17.03	Wolverhampton station to Stafford	This line is also a spur to the WCML
Railway Route 17 primary	SRS 17.04	Birmingham New St to Barnt Green
Railway Route 17 primary	SRS 17.05	Barnt Green to Stoke Works junction
Railway Route 17 primary	SRS 17.06	Wichnor Junction to Grand Junction
Railway Route 17 primary	SRS 17.07	Wolvercote Junction to Hatton Junction/Coventry South Junction
Railway Route 17 secondary	SRS 17.08	Hatton Junction to Snow Hill
Railway Route 17 secondary	SRS 17.09	Stechford Junction to Bushbury Junction
Railway Route 17 secondary	SRS 17.10	Birmingham Snow Hill to Stourbridge Junction plus Galton Junction
Railway Route 17 secondary	SRS 17.11	Shelwich Junction to Worcester to Stourbridge Junction
Railway Route 17 secondary	SRS 17.12	Stratford upon Avon lines
Railway Route 17 secondary	SRS 17.13	Cross City North

Route 18 - West Coast Main Line

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article
Abbey Line	150709 150709	Watford Junction to St Albans Abbey	Abbey Line
Marston Vale Line	150790 150790	Bletchley to Bedford	Marston Vale Line
West Coast Main Line	see Strategic Route 17 (above) SRS 17.01,17.02 and 17.03		West Coast Main Line

Route 19 - Midland Main Line and East Midlands

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article

Route 20 - North West Urban

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article

Route 21 - Merseyrail

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article

Route 22 - North Wales and Borders

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article

Route 23 - North West Rural

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article

Route 24 - East of Scotland

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article

Route 25 - Highlands

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article

Route 26 - Strathclyde and South West Scotland

Railway line/relation name	Route	Primary route	Wikipedia article

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In addition to these names there are official names for each "road"/piece_of_track and reference Numbers for lines like GW200 that behave just like the ref for highways like A40 & B4465 etc.

as a lot of use is hoped from mixing OSM with opendata products from the Rail industry including live feeds I'd like to include these terms on all so designated lines.  I made a start i different ways and with varying success.  So after discussions on a another channel about US and UN Refs on highways and looking at previous successful approaches from my earlier work I've decided to work these into reference elements in OSM that collect all other references, ways and nodes that describe the routes.

To help introduce these and provide detailed information and what relates the following link covers several pdf based guides and an official up to to moment source for the Network rail system.  Note preserved private and sidings need to be search for elsewhere but the bulk of the mainline is included that gives plenty to start on.

[http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/10563.aspx?cd=1]http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/10563.aspx?cd=1 see discusion page --~~~~