UK railway technical manuals

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A copy of the 2002 edition of the National Routeing Guide.

The railway network of the United Kingdom is operated with the aid of a number of documents, which have been sometimes termed "technical manuals"^[1], because they are more detailed than the pocket-timetables which the public encounters every day. Historically, they were classified PRIVATE and not for publication, however since rail privatisation they are now all in the public domain, mostly in digital form, because they are produced centrally and not by the regional rail operators.

1 Documents of relevance to the customer:
2 Documents which relate solely to the operation of the network
3 Footnotes
4 External links
5 See also

[edit] Documents of relevance to the customer:

and distributed by National Rail Enquiries:

A copy of the 1996/1997 edition (No. 64) of the National Fares Manual (South area).

The National Rail Conditions of Carriage, which set out the customer's rights and responsibilities when travelling on the National Rail network [1]. Every ticket purchased is a contract, and this document is the terms of that contract. It is produced by the Rail Settlement Plan, part of the ATOC.

National Fares Manual, which contains all available fares on the network, primarily of use for tracking cheaper ticket combinations (which some have dubbed fare avoidance). As a technical manual, it requires some practice to read. [2]

The Rail Links Manual. As separate to the above, for combined rail and bus/ferry fares. [3]

and produced by the ATOC:

ATOC is a body which represents 26 train operating companies that provide passenger railway services

The National Routeing Guide, which defines which tickets are valid on which routes[4]. It is noted as being a particularly complex document to negotiate, one blogger stating I can only look at the NRG for about 10 minutes without going insane"^[2]

and produced by Network Rail:

Network Rail owns and operates Britain's rail infrastructure^[3]

The National Rail Timetable - the full comprehensive version. This was available to the public in print until May 2007. [5]

and produced by The Stationery Office:

UK Rail Timetable, from December 2007 [6]

[edit] Documents which relate solely to the operation of the network

Also by Network Rail

Train Planning Rules[7]. Used by those who plan the logistics of operating the network

Documents produced by the ORR (formerly the Rail Regulator):

Railway Safety Principles and Guidance ("The Blue Book"). [8]

Documents produced by the Rail Safety and Standards Board:[9]

British Railway Rule Book [10]. Full details of operating practices.

Railway Group Standards and Network Rail Line Standards [11]. Primarily of use for design.

ORR also produce a document Guidance on Infrastructure [12]

There are also the UK railway by-laws, which exist under the Transport Act 2000. [13]. It is noted for beginning with item 1 as "queuing". Both the existence of bylaws on the subject, and their prominent placement, are seen by some as typical of Britain.^{[citation needed]}