The RCH also produced fare structures governing many aspects of rail transport at a national level and set limits on price increases for passenger travel.

If the commencement and terminus of the journey were on different railways, a more complicated situation arose: if the two companies involved did not provide through ticketing, the passenger or goods needed to be re-booked at a junction station; if through booking was provided, the receipts collected by the first company needed to be divided between them, usually on a mileage basis.

[2][3] The Railway Clearing House commenced operations on 2 January 1842 in small offices at 111 Drummond Street opposite Euston Station, London.

[3] The premises were owned by the London and Birmingham Railway, which also provided the initial costs of setting up the organisation.

In January 1863 a pneumatic tube, one-third of a mile long, was installed between the RCH and the NW Postal District Office so that "parcels or persons are blown from one end to the other in a little over a minute".

They included the provision of secretarial services and rooms for railway meetings, and meetings between road and rail companies; classification of goods for the setting of rates; the examination and certification of new packaging materials; the registration of rolling stock; the issue of maps and other publications including scales of charges; and the spot-check of wagons and consignments in transit.

[14] The RCH was finally disbanded on 31 March 1963, when the British Railways Board (BRB) took over its surviving duties.

[16] The RCH went on to set technical standards for various items, such as goods wagons, to promote standardisation across the rail network.

The RCH set technical standards for cable connections between coaches for the remote operation of systems; they were initially used only for control of train lighting.

"[19] The RCH had some similarities to the modern Association of Train Operating Companies, and in particular, its Rail Settlement Plan division.