Network Rail owns, operates, maintains and develops Britain's railway. Network Rail is responsible for ensuring that the railway is safe and reliable. Network Rail is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Transport.
As of 2019, Bill Gates was the largest single shareholder of CN stock, owning a 14.2% interest through Cascade Investment and his own Gates Foundation.
Since privatisation of the railways in 1993, responsibility and accountability for the running of the railway is split between a range of different bodies, often operating with different incentives.
Network Rail owns, operates, maintains and develops Britain's railway. Network Rail is responsible for ensuring that the railway is safe and reliable. Network Rail is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Transport.
UK Rail Is Being Nationalised – The 10 Things You Need To Know
Did Margaret Thatcher privatize rail?
No, Margaret Thatcher did not privatize British Rail; she considered it "a privatisation too far," but her successor, John Major, oversaw the process, which began in 1994 under the Railways Act 1993, breaking up and selling off parts of British Rail to private companies. The fragmentation involved creating Railtrack for infrastructure and franchising train operating companies (TOCs) to run passenger services, a system that faced major issues and eventually led to the creation of the public body Network Rail and moves towards renationalization under plans for Great British Railways (GBR).
Firstly, it would be prohibitively expensive, secondly the trains are not owned by the operators but by third-party leasing companies and thirdly that EU law enshrines the right of open access operators such as Grand Central to operate free from government control.
Despite its nationalisation in 1947 "as one of the 'commanding heights' of the economy", according to some sources British Rail was not profitable for most (if not all) of its history.
Cascade Investment, a private investment firm controlled by Bill Gates, has been a major shareholder in CN Rail for many years. Cascade Investment's holdings in CN Rail have remained relatively stable, with the company owning over 101 million shares worth approximately $13.5 billion (as of 2021).
No single entity owns 93% of the stock market, but rather the wealthiest 10% of U.S. households own approximately 93% of all U.S. stocks and mutual funds, a record high concentration of wealth, according to Federal Reserve data from late 2023/early 2024. This means a very small percentage of Americans hold the vast majority of stock market wealth, with the top 1% alone owning about 54%.
Who is the largest private landowner in the UK? In terms of individuals, Anders Holch Povlsen, a Danish fashion magnate, owns over 220,000 acres in Scotland, making him the UK's largest private landowner.
American trains are typically longer and wider to accommodate more freight, while European trains are shorter and narrower to allow for more nimble movements and quicker acceleration.
The Historical Railways Estate (HRE) is formed of over 3,100 structures—predominantly bridges, viaducts, tunnels and other works—associated with former railways in the United Kingdom. The structures are owned by the Department for Transport (DfT) and managed by National Highways (NH).
Many UK rail services are still run by private firms, but the state already owns Network Rail and now directly operates LNER, ScotRail, and Northern Rail. A key argument for expanding state ownership is that it could lead to lower fares and increased consumer surplus.
British Railways were privatized between 1994 and 1997, leading to a fragmented system focused on profit. Franchising system allowed companies to bid on routes but often failed to deliver comprehensive service. Current government plans to renationalize the railways in an attempt to improve service and reduce fares.
Transport for London has extended private operation of the Overground and the Elizabeth Line. That news comes despite the UK government's manifesto promise to bring rail into public ownership.
Nationalized railways in the UK aren't guaranteed to make tickets cheaper immediately, as the focus is on service improvement and unifying the system under Great British Railways (GBR); however, the goal is fairer pricing, potentially through a "best fare guarantee" and simpler ticketing, with eventual cost savings hoped for by cutting private operator profits and inefficiencies, though significant infrastructure investment is still needed.
After Greater Anglia's services transfer on 12 October 2025, West Midlands Trains services will then follow on 1 February 2026, before Govia Thameslink Railway's services on 31 May 2026, marking another significant step in the government's plans to bring services into public ownership.
