Aimed at the enthusiast rather than the professional, this accessible and readable guide provides an introduction to all the different components of today's railways and how they work together to keep the railway in Britain operating smoothly. It covers a wide range of topics such as the franchising system, the role of the different TOCs, passenger and freight, other operators on the network, who owns the railway infrastructure and how that is managed, the role of government, Network Rail and statutory organisations, regional bodies involved in the railways, the rolling stock leasing companies, how ticketing and timetabling is managed, what happens in the event of an accident, together with details of how the workforce is run and managed. All those interested in Britain's railways today will find this book an invaluable single volume to what the various components of the railways do and how they are integrated to make the system work as a whole.