Explained in plain English
Who owns the railways?
In the UK, the railway network is largely owned by Network Rail, a public sector body. They manage the tracks, signals, bridges, tunnels, and many stations. Train operating companies, like Southern Railways in this story, then lease access to run their services. This split ownership model means different organisations are responsible for infrastructure and train operations.
Stories that explain this
Lineside fire disrupts London to Sussex coast train servicesThis explainer came from a news story
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