Transport in England
England has a dense and modern transportation infrastructure. The Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network.
Rail
English railway transport is largely based on services originating from one of London's rail termini operating in all directions on tracks mostly owned by Network Rail. Internal intercity services include:- Abellio Greater Anglia
- *London Liverpool Street to East Anglia: Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich
- London North Eastern Railway
- *London King's Cross to the North East: Leeds, York, Newcastle upon Tyne, and into Scotland, Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Central.
- Avanti West Coast
- *London Euston to the Midlands: Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry.
- *London Euston to the North West: Crewe,, Liverpool, Manchester, Preston, Lancaster, Carlisle, into Scotland, Glasgow Central.
- Great Western Railway
- *London Paddington to the West and South West: Reading, Swindon, Bristol into Wales, Exeter, Plymouth and into Cornwall to Penzance.
- South Western Railway
- *London Waterloo to the South West: Main line services to Portsmouth, Weymouth and Guildford, and suburban services to Reading and Windsor.
- *The Island Line is also operated by South Western Railway, operating between Ryde Pier Head and Shanklin.
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- *London Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness.
- Southern
- *London Victoria to the South: Southampton, Brighton.
- Southeastern
- *London St Pancras to the South East: Ashford, Margate, Canterbury.
- *London Victoria, London Charing Cross, London Cannon Street and London Bridge to the South East: Ashford, Margate, Canterbury, and suburban services to Dartford and Sevenoaks and other areas of Kent.
- Chiltern Railways
- *London Marylebone to the Midlands: High Wycombe, Aylesbury, Banbury, and Birmingham.
- Grand Central
- *London King's Cross to Bradford and Sunderland
- East Midlands Railway
- *London St Pancras to the East Midlands and the North: Corby, Melton Mowbray, Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield, York, Scarborough, Lincoln and Leeds
- Govia Thameslink Railway
- *Thameslink services operate across London from Bedford to Brighton, through London St Pancras and Blackfriars, as well as suburban services.
- *Great Northern services operate from London King's Cross and Moorgate to Cambridge and Welwyn Garden City.
Regional train services are also operated by these, and other, train companies, and focus on the major cities, several of which have developed commuter and urban rail networks. This includes the London Overground in London and the Merseyrail, which operates in and around Liverpool. The London Underground is the oldest and longest rapid transit system in the world.
Trams and light rail
systems were popular in England in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, with the rise of the motor bus and later the car they began to be widely dismantled in the 1950s. By 1962, only Blackpool tramway remained. However, in recent years trams have seen a revival, as in other countries, as have light rail systems. Examples of this second generation of tram systems and light rail include:- Docklands Light Railway in East London
- Manchester Metrolink in Greater Manchester
- Nottingham Express Transit in Nottingham
- Sheffield Supertram in Sheffield
- Tramlink in Croydon
- Tyne & Wear Metro in Tyne & Wear
- West Midlands Metro in the West Midlands
Rail links with adjacent countries
- Wales; yes
- Scotland; yes
- France; yes; via Channel Tunnel
- Belgium; yes; via Channel Tunnel and France
- Netherlands; yes; via Channel Tunnel, Belgium and France
- Ireland; no ; proposed via an Irish Sea Tunnel
Road
Motorways
England contains a vast majority of the UK's motorways, dating from the first built in 1958 to the most recent. Important motorways include:Motorway | From | To | Major destinations | Year most recent stretch opened |
M1 | London | Leeds | Leicester Milton Keynes Nottingham Sheffield | 1999 |
M11 | London | Cambridge | Stansted Airport | 1980 |
M20 | London | Folkestone | Channel Tunnel | 1991 |
M23 | London | Crawley | Gatwick Airport | 1999 |
M25 | London Orbital | London Orbital | n/a | 1986 |
M27 | Southampton | Portsmouth | Fareham | 1983 |
M3 | London | Southampton | Winchester | 1995 |
M4 | London | Pont Abraham | Bristol Cardiff | 1996 |
M40 | London | Birmingham | Oxford | 1990 |
M42 | Redditch | Tamworth | Birmingham | 1989 |
M5 | Birmingham | Exeter | Bristol | 1977 |
M56 | Chester | Manchester | Manchester Airport | 1981 |
M6 | Rugby | Carlisle | Birmingham Manchester | 1972 |
M6 Toll | National Exhibition Centre | Wolverhampton | Birmingham | 2003 |
M60 | Manchester Orbital | Manchester Orbital | n/a | 2000 |
M62 | Liverpool | Hull | Manchester Leeds | 1976 |
M65 | Preston | Colne | Blackburn | 1997 |
M69 | Leicester | Coventry | Hinckley | 1977 |
A1 | London | Newcastle-upon-Tyne | Non-continuous motorway | 2012 |
Note: There is no definition of a major motorway. Those in the table are particularly important due to their destinations, and other motorways exist. Where a major city is given as a destination it is usually to give a general idea of the location, as most motorways end outside the actual city.