Last update 28 May 2024
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This page intends to draw together the multitude of line names used for marketing purposes by the train operating companies. Most (though not all) named lines will tend to be rural and/or relatively lightly used routes, or used for local journeys rather than as part of a much longer journey. Obvious names defined by places at each end (e.g. Settle & Carlisle Line) or by the terminus (e.g. Severn Beach Line) do not need a 'translation', and are generally not included here. Traditional line names are beyond the scope of this page, unless they are used for marketing purposes, though may be added in future. Many cases are subjective (particularly examples such as 'Northampton Line'), so certain favourites may not appear here, or some lines may be included that perhaps ought not.
| Line name | Route |
|---|---|
| Abbey Line | Watford - St Albans Abbey |
| Aberdare Line | Cardiff Central - Aberdare |
| Airedale Line | Leeds - Skipton |
| Argyle Line | Milngavie/Dalmuir - Larkhall/Motherwell/Lanark lines |
| Arun Valley Line | Three Bridges - Horsham - Arundel |
| Atlantic Coast Line | Newquay branch |
| Avocet Line | Exmouth branch |
| Berks & Hants Line | Reading - Westbury |
| BedPan Line | Bedford - St Pancras route not 100% sure that this was used on marketing material |
| Bentham Line | Leeds - Morecambe via Lancaster |
| Bishop Line | Darlington - Bishop Auckland |
| Bittern Line | Sheringham branch |
| Borderlands Line | Wrexham - Bidston |
| Calder Vale Line | Leeds - Halifax - Huddersfield/Todmorden lines |
| Cambrian Line | Shrewsbury - Aberystwyth |
| Cambrian Coast Line | Pwllheli branch |
| Cardiff Bay Line | Cardiff Bay - Pontypridd |
| Castle Line | Nottingham - Lincoln |
| Catford Loop | Victoria - Bromley via Catford |
| Cathedrals Route | London Liverpool Street - Cambridge - Ely - Lincoln - Doncaster (- York) Great Eastern Railway marketing |
| Chase Line | Wolverhampton - Rugeley |
| Chiltern Line | Marylebone - Aylesbury/Banbury |
| CityFlyer | Bedford - Brighton |
| City Line | Liverpool - Wigan |
| City Line | Cardiff - Fairwater - Radyr |
| CityMetro | Luton - Sutton - Wimbledon loop |
| Coastway | Hastings - Brighton - Portsmouth |
| Coastway East | Hastings - Brighton |
| Coastway West | Brighton - Portsmouth |
| Conwy Valley Line | Llandudno Junction - Blaenau Ffestiniog |
| Coryton Line | Penarth - Coryton/Caerphilly |
| Cotswold Line | Oxford - Worcester |
| Cotswolds And Malverns Line | Oxford - Worcester - Hereford |
| Cross City Line | Lichfield - Redditch |
| Crouch Valley Line | Southminster branch |
| Cumbrian Coast Line | Barrow-in-Furness - Carlisle |
| Daffodil Line | Ledbury and Gloucester Railway not 100% sure that this was used on marketing material |
| Dartmoor Line | Exeter to Okehampton |
| Dearne Valley Line | York - Sheffield |
| Derwent Valley Line | Derby - Matlock |
| Durham Coast Line | Middlesbrough - Sunderland |
| East Coast Main Line | London Kings Cross - Edinburgh |
| East Devon Line | Exeter - Axminster |
| East Lancashire Line | Colne - Preston |
| East Suffolk Line | Ipswich - Lowestoft |
| Elephant & Bear Line | Leamington Spa - Coventry - Nuneaton |
| Erewash Valley | Nottingham - Sheffield |
| Esk Valley Line | Whitby branch |
| Far North Line | Inverness - Wick including Thurso branch |
| Fen Line | Cambridge - Kings Lynn |
| Fife Circle | Edinburgh - Dunfermline - Kirkcaldy - Edinburgh loop |
| Flitch Line | Braintree branch |
| Furness Line | Barrow-in-Furness - Carnforth |
| Fylde Line | Blackpool South branch |
| Gainsborough Line | Sudbury branch |
| Golden Valley Line | Gloucester - Swindon |
| Great Eastern | Liverpool Street - Ipswich and Branches |
| Great Northern | King's Cross/Moorgate - Peterborough/Cambridge |
| Hallam Line | Sheffield - Leeds |
| Harlequin Line | Euston - Watford DC lines |
| Heart of Wales Line | Llanelli - Craven Arms |
| Heart of Wessex Line | Bristol - Weymouth |
| Hereward Line | Peterborough - Ely |
| Heritage Line | Darlington - Bishop Aukland - (Stanhope) |
| Hope Valley Line | Sheffield - Manchester |
| Humber Linc Line | Cleethorpes - Barton |
| Icknield Line | Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway |
| Inverclyde Line | Glasgow - Gourock/Wemyss Bay |
| Island Line | Isle of Wight |
| Ivanhoe Line | Leicester - Loughborough |
| Kennet Valley Line | Reading - Bedwyn/Newbury (Berks & Hants Line now used) |
| Kent Coast | Victoria/Charing Cross/Cannon Street to and around Kent coast |
| Kent Link | Victoria/Charing Cross/Cannon Street suburban services to Kent |
| Lakes Line | Oxenholme - Windermere |
| Lea Valley Line | Hackney Downs - Tottenham Hale - Cheshunt line |
| Liberty Line | Romford - Upminster |
| Lioness Line | Watford Junction - London Euston |
| London Tilbury & Southend Line | Fenchurch Street - Southend |
| Looe Valley Line | Liskeard - Looe |
| Lovejoy Line | Sudbury branch |
| Marches Line | Newport - Shrewsbury |
| Maritime Line | Falmouth branch |
| Marshlink Line | Hastings - Ashford |
| Marston Vale Line | Bedford - Bletchley |
| Mayflower Line | Harwich branch |
| Medway Valley Line | Paddock Wood - Strood |
| Merthyr Line | Cardiff Central - Merthyr Tydfil |
| Mid-Cheshire Line | Chester - Manchester via Northwich |
| Midland Electrics | Bedford - St Pancras |
| Midland Main Line | St Pancras - Sheffield |
| Mildmay Line | Richmond/Clapham Junction - Stratford |
| Northampton Line | Euston - Northampton; Bletchley - Bedford |
| North & West Line | Cardiff - Manchester |
| North Clyde Electrics | Drumgelloch/Coatbridge - Helensburgh/Balloch |
| North Downs | Reading to Gatwick/Tonbridge via Redhill |
| Northern Heights | Finsbury Park - Edgware/High Barnet/Alexandra Palace Great Northern Railway marketing |
| Northern Line | Hunts Cross - Kirkby/Ormskirk/Southport |
| Northern Suburban Line | Glasgow - Maryhill - Anniesland |
| North London Line | Richmond - North Woolwich (later to Stratford only) |
| North London Lines | Euston - Watford; Watford - St. Albans; North Woolwich - Richmond; Barking - Gospel Oak |
| North Staffordshire Line | Crewe - Derby via Stoke on Trent |
| Oxford Canal Line | Oxford - Banbury |
| Poacher Line | Grantham - Skegness |
| Primrose Line | South Devon Railway |
| Regatta Line | Henley-On-Thames Branch |
| Ribble Valley Line | Blackburn - Clitheroe (sometimes used from Manchester Victoria) |
| Riviera Line | Exeter - Paignton |
| Robin Hood Line | Nottingham - Worksop |
| Shakespeare Line | Jewellery Quarter - Shirley - Stratford-upon-Avon |
| Solent & Wessex | Waterloo - Portsmouth/Weymouth |
| South Fylde Line | Preston - Blackpool South |
| South London Lines | Victoria/London Bridge suburban services to Surrey/Sussex |
| South Western Lines | Waterloo Suburban services to Berkshire, Hampshire and Surrey |
| Stour Line | Rugby - Birmingham - Stafford |
| Stour Valley Line | Sudbury Branch |
| Strawberry Line | Shepton Mallet to Clevedon not 100% sure that this was used on marketing material when an operational railway |
| Suffragette Line | Gospel Oak - Barking Riverside |
| Sunshine Coast Line | Walton/Clacton branches |
| Sussex Coast | Victoria/London Bridge to and around Sussex coast |
| Tamar Valley Line | Gunnislake branch |
| Tarka Line | Barnstaple branch |
| Tees Valley Line | Bishop Aukland - Saltburn |
| Thames Line | Paddington - Reading and branches |
| Thameslink | Sevenoaks/Brighton/Guildford via Elephant & Castle/London Bridge and Blackfriars - Bedford, including Moorgate - Farringdon This is as the service started, and is significantly different from the Thameslink map as it is now |
| Treherbert Line | Cardiff Central - Treherbert |
| Trent Valley line | Rugby - Stafford (direct) |
| Tyne Valley Line | Newcastle - Carlisle |
| Vale of Glamorgan Line | Cardiff - Rhoose - Bridgend |
| Vale of Glamorgan Line/Rhymney Line | Bridgend/Barry Island - Cardiff Central/Rhymney note that the 2024 Transport for Wales route diagram does not distinguish between these two lines, showing one line and colour thought but labelled separately at each end |
| Varsity Line | Oxford - Cambridge |
| WatEus Line | Suggested name for Watford - Euston suburban route, named in similar manner to BedPan line. Believed (but not certain) never seriously considered or used, Harlequin Line used instead |
| Weaver Line | Liverpool Street - Enfield Town/Cheshunt/Chingford |
| West Anglia | Liverpool Street - Kings Lynn and branches |
| West Coast Main Line | Euston - Glasgow |
| West Highland Line | Craigendoran - Fort William |
| West Of England | Waterloo - Exeter via Salisbury |
| Wharfedale Line | Ilkley branch |
| Wherry Line | Norwich - Great Yarmouth/Lowestoft |
| Windrush Line | Highbury & Islington - New Cross/Clapham Junction/Crystal Palace/West Croydon |
| Wirral Line | Liverpool - New Brighton/West Kirby/Ellesmere Port/Chester |
| Yorkshire Coast Line | Hull - Scarborough |