- The UK will be very different in a railway sense from Continental Europe, by virtue of the use of battery trains and alternative fuels, similar to the United States, in non-electrified lines. There is a slow program of electrification though, the Cornish Main Line, and entire MML are electrified. The XC route only to the Southwest, as HS2 through services emerge thanks to a curve at Birmingham. These fancy trains are both more expensive than Continental Europe in operation and something European railfans love. On the other hand, some unexpected lines are electrified, like the S&C line, a major freight corridor.
- On the other hand, Wales and Scotland have more electrified infrastructure, the only exceptions being the Heart of Wales and the lines west of Carmarthen and the Stranraer and Highland lines.
- No relevant closures even though, with all transport being net-zero, there is talk about closing some branches, which the Welsh and Scottish government refuse. The only closure in this period (aside from some random freight spurs) is Barton to Habrough.
- Everything is either DOO or GOO (self-driving). The advent of unified European ticketing, and its really complicated routeing guide, saves some ticket offices, there are around 15 in the country.
- The UK has an interesting high-speed network: HS2 and NPR are open in full, and there's talk about high-speed rail to Newcastle, Scotland or a high-speed bypass to Bristol and Exeter. The UK enters Schengen, but not the EU, and a new chord allows HS2 to have through services from Europe, reversing at both St Pancras and Euston. The saturation of HS2 prompted talk about a direct line to East Midlands Parkway, but the advent of faster-than-HSR travel put paid to that. Sleepers from London to the EU appeared after Schengen but Hyperloop ended them. Lille-Europe is a very busy station with British travellers to the continent changing there for Hyperloop.
- The oldest stock still around is some 80X, which is soon to be replaced, due to its lack of level boarding in all doors.
- The London commuter network has grown in ridership, and some lines struggle with capacity. The GWML has 6 tracks to Heathrow Junction, Digswell Viaduct has a parallel viaduct and Crossrail 3 is being talked about. The SWML has 6 tracks out to New Malden, even though 2 are underground as part of XR2. The Green Belt was scrapped by the Government in the late 40s, and outer suburban services are way busier than in the 20s.
- Freight usage has skyrocketed with the phaseout of ICE trucks, which have no full road replacement, and passenger services are struggling to keep to the timetables in many mainlines. HS2 to Newcastle or the S&C electrification aim at increasing freight capacity, even though the capacity crunch is very real. Projects for a new line from the North London Line to the MML/WCML/ECML have started, using EWR as an axis. EWR is being wired.
- Despite the calls for a replacement on safety grounds, third rail is still around.
- There's been some modest expansion of the London Tube. Leeds still has no subway, but has 2 high-speed lines and a tram network. Merseyrail has expanded (Skem, Wrexham, the City Line link to Liverpool Central)
- Some limited reopenings but not a lot of them.
- Scottish rail is a ScotRail monopoly, except for the English trains running to Scotland, and freight. The Caledonian Sleeper was withdrawn on independence. The London chord allows for services from Scotland to Paris or Brussels.
- There's a consensus that the UK needs a new high-speed network, but there's a dispute between Maglev and Hyperloop. Maglev seems more reasonable for the UK's small size but the Scottish Government pushes for Hyperloop, as it's the European standard. It looks likely that a second, Hyperloop Chunnel will be built, and the rest of England will have to connect to Maglev.
- The EU pushed for a bridge to Ireland, and the North Wales Coast Line is now the Anglo-Irish Mainline. The Camden Chords connect Dublin and Belfast to Paris and Brussels, via London.
