Editing Rail transport in Great Britain (section)

==1820s–1840s: Early companies==
This is only the earliest of the main line openings: for a more comprehensive list of the hundreds of early railways see [[List of early British railway companies]]
*[[Stockton and Darlington Railway]] (1825) – First steam-hauled passenger railway in the world.
*[[Canterbury and Whitstable Railway]] (1830) – First steam-hauled passenger railway to issue season tickets.
*[[Liverpool and Manchester Railway]] (1830) – First InterCity passenger railway.
*[[Grand Junction Railway]] (1833) – The line built by the company was the first trunk railway to be completed in England, and arguably the world's first long-distance railway with steam traction.
*[[London and Greenwich Railway]] (1836) – First steam railway in the capital, the first to be built specifically for passengers, and the first elevated railway.
*[[London and Birmingham Railway]] (1837) –  First Intercity line to be built into London.
*[[Midland Counties Railway]] (1839)
*[[Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway]] (BDJR) (1839)
*[[North Midland Railway]] (1840)
*[[Taff Vale Railway]] (1840)