National Rail is a brand used to promote passenger railway services, and providing some harmonisation for passengers in ticketing, while Network Rail is the organisation which owns and manages most of the fixed assets of the railway network, including tracks, stations and signals.

According to their own website, they are a 'membership organisation that works on behalf of the rail industry to create a simpler, better railway for everyone in Britain.'

[citation needed] Twenty-five privately owned train operating companies were each franchised for a defined term by government in 1996–97.

The trademark rights to the double arrow symbol remain state-owned, being vested in the Secretary of State for Transport.

Rules for its use are set out in the Corporate Identity Style Guidelines published by the Rail Delivery Group, available on its website.

[7] As it was used by British Rail, the single operator before franchising, its use also maintains continuity and public familiarity; and it avoids the need to replace signage.

Some train operating companies continue to use the former British Rail Rail Alphabet lettering to varying degrees in station signage, although its use is no longer universal; however it remains compulsory (under Railway Group Standards) for safety signage in trackside areas and is still common (although not universal) on rolling stock.

TOCs may use what they like: examples include Futura (Stagecoach Group), Helvetica (FirstGroup and National Express), Frutiger (Arriva Trains Wales), Bliss (CrossCountry), and a modified version of Precious by London Midland.

These include the London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, London Tramlink, Blackpool Tramway, Glasgow Subway, Tyne and Wear Metro, Manchester Metrolink, Sheffield Supertram, West Midlands Metro and Nottingham Express Transit.

Contactless also covers some areas that Oyster doesn't such as the Elizabeth line to Reading, or the Thameslink station at Oakleigh Park.

[11] Passengers without a valid ticket boarding a train at a station where ticket-buying facilities are available are required to pay the full Open Single or Return fare.

The National Rail website, previously called National Rail Enquiries, handles an average of 2.5 million journey planning enquiries every weekday through its website, apps and contact centre, and through information services supplied to third parties (such as open access data feeds).

[15] It is the UK's largest and most accurate travel information website, peaking at more than 10 million visitors per day, more than its nearest competitors.

[17][18] In June 2020, a real time personalised messaging service, Alert Me, was launched, providing real-time disruption and crowding information via Messenger.

[22] In April 2021 the National Rail website turned from colour to greyscale in a tribute to The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh who had died.

It was published two months before the climate summit COP26, and planned to provide a world-leading ‘greenprint’ to cut emissions from 'seas and skies, roads and railways'.

Online Journey Planner (OJP) was the engine used to plan routes, calculate fares and establish ticket availability.

The OJP accesses real-time information directly from Darwin, meaning all journey plans take account of delays, schedule changes and train cancellations.

Darwin is the data system that powers all the real-time information which customers use to check the status of train journeys.