In 1996 the group acquired its first UK rail franchises, Gatwick Express and Midland Mainline.

* Midland Mainline absorbed into East Midlands Trains franchise

Midland Mainline ( legal name Midland Main Line Limited, company no 3007934 ) was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated the Midland Main Line franchise from April 1996 until November 2007.

Midland Mainline ran fast and semi-fast passenger services from London to the East Midlands and Yorkshire, on the Midland Main Line.

InterCity Midland Mainline were probably the forgotten operator in the 1990s.

All this changed in 1999 when Midland Mainline introduced a new timetable and new trains.

* All Midland Mainline services ( except The Master Cutler morning up service ) called at Leicester with the fastest journey time to and from London of 1 hour 9 minutes.

Midland Mainline operated a limited service between St Pancras and Leeds, with three early morning departures from Leeds and four evening return trips from St Pancras.

Midland Mainline had plans for a regular service between St Pancras and Leeds via Nottingham, the Erewash Valley Line, Sheffield and Barnsley but these were rejected by the Strategic Rail Authority.

Midland Mainline operated weekend services between St Pancras and York via Doncaster.

From May 2003 until September 2004 Midland Mainline operated an hourly service between St Pancras and Manchester Piccadilly at the request of the Strategic Rail Authority whilst the West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Manchester underwent engineering work using former Virgin CrossCountry High Speed Trains.

Former Virgin Cross-Country High Speed Trains were used and after overhaul were repainted into Midland Mainline livery.

Categorised as a long distance operator Midland Mainline compared favourably to other operators in its category.

The last performance figures for Midland Mainline published by the Office of Rail Regulation were a Public Performance Measure of 92. 9 % for the third quarter of the financial year 2007 / 8 and a Monthly Annual Average of 92. 4 %.

Midland Mainline was also awarded Passenger Operator of the Year 2006.

Midland Mainline trains boasted a buffet car, known as the MM's Bar, which served hot and cold food and drinks.

Midland Mainline was the only operator to offer complimentary free tea and coffee to all passengers, including those in standard class.

Midland Mainline inherited a fleet of High Speed Trains from British Rail.

In October 1997 Midland Mainline ordered seventeen Class 170 Turbostar trains to operate stopping services.

In February 2002 Midland Mainline ordered sixteen four-carriage and seven nine-carriage Class 222 Meridian trains based on the Virgin Cross Country Class 220 Voyager, but with developments to improve passenger comfort and address some of the criticisms aimed at the Voyager.

To cover for a shortage of High Speed Trains Midland Mainline hired two Fragonset Class 47s to top and tail a HSBC Rail Mark 2 set on a morning service from Nottingham to St Pancras and evening return to Sheffield from February until October 2002.

On 29 May 1854 the Midland Railway had laid a third rail along their tracks from Bristol to Gloucester to give a mixed gauge so that they could operate standard gauge passenger trains while broad gauge goods trains could still run to collieries north of Bristol.

* Travel Midland Metro ( Midland Metro light rail system in the West Midlands, UK )

Central Midland Railway ( CMR ), a division of Progressive Rail Inc. of Minnesota, provides regular freight rail service to industrial customers located in the Chesterfield Valley.

New Jersey Transit's Plauderville rail station on the Bergen County Line in the township's southwest corner, located at the intersection of Plauderville Avenue and Midland Avenue.

The second rail line into Midland was that of the Hart brothers ’ railroad.

The line was operated by the Midland Railway, who owned most of the rail network in the area, and was eventually bought by the Midland in part due to interest from the rival railway company, the Great Northern.

It was a swing bridge and was used only for road traffic until 1864 when the Midland Railway acquired powers to also use it for rail traffic.

Today Beeston has good rail transport links with Beeston station, on the Midland Main Line, served by East Midlands Trains and Arriva Cross Country.

Since the closure of the rival Great Central Main Line in the 1960s, the Midland has been the only direct main-line rail link between London and the East Midlands and South Yorkshire.

British Rail APT-E built at Derby rail technical centre and extensively tested on the Midland Main Line its first run being on 25 July 1972 from Derby to Duffield

In 1977 the Parliamentary Select Committee on Nationalised Industries recommmended considering electrification of more of Britain's rail network, and by 1979 BR presented a range of options that included electrifying the Midland Main Line from London to Yorkshire by 2000.

For rail travel, the Midland Main line can be accessed at the railway station in Market Harborough.

The Midland was also under pressure from Scottish railway companies which were eagerly awaiting the Midland traffic reaching Carlisle as it would allow them to challenge the Caledonian Railway's dominance over the west coast rail traffic to Glasgow and Edinburgh.

By 1866 however, Towcester was linked to the national rail network by the first of several routes which came together to form the Stratford and Midland Junction Railway, known as the " SMJ ".

Snow Hill is the terminus of the Chiltern Main Line to London Marylebone as well as a number of local services from across the West Midlands, it is also the terminus of the Midland Metro light rail line from Wolverhampton ( via Wednesbury and West Bromwich ), pending the line's extension.

Although once served by two railway lines ( the Great Western Railway and the Midland and South Western Junction Railway ) the town no longer has any direct rail access.

It is served by the Midland Metro light rail ( tram ) system, with stops at Great Western Street and Wednesbury Parkway.

Because of good rail links, a large and growing commuter population takes advantage of Kettering's position on the Midland Main Line railway.

Midland began as a railroad town about 1913 with the arrival of rail service.

* London Midland, a rail operator based in the West Midlands, England