TheBritish Rail Double Arrow is a logo that was created forBritish Rail (BR), the then state-owned operator of Britain's railway network, in 1965. It remained in use as part of theNational Rail brand used for Britain's passenger rail services after the disbanding of British Rail, having been officially renamed as theNational Rail Double Arrow and more recently being updated and reworked for continued use under the nameRail Symbol 2. In 2025, the logo was adopted byGreat British Railways, the spiritual successor to British Rail.
The logo grew out of a desire for modernisation in the 1960s, with the management of what was then known as British Railways wanting to divest the organisation of older motifs and develop a corporate identity to rival that ofLondon Transport. BR's design panel set up a working party led byMilner Gray of theDesign Research Unit. They drew upa Corporate Identity Manual which established a coherent brand and design standard for the whole organisation, specifyingRail Blue and pearl grey as the standard colour scheme for all rolling stock;Rail Alphabet as the standard corporate typeface, designed byJock Kinneir andMargaret Calvert; and introducing the now-iconic corporate identity symbol of the "Double Arrow" logo. Designed byGerry Barney (also of the DRU), this arrow device was formed of two interlocked arrows across two parallel lines, symbolising a double track railway. The new BR corporate identity and Double Arrow were rolled out in 1965, and the brand name of the organisation was truncated to "British Rail".[1][2]
The logo was used widely by British Rail on trains, stations and tickets. It was also used by subsidiary companies, most notably on the funnels ofSealink ferries, where the standard image was used on theport side side, but a mirror image on the starboard side so that the top arrow always pointed to the bow of the ship. On flags, too, the logo appeared in reverse on the back with the top arrow pointing towards the flagpole.[3]
With theprivatisation of the railways in the mid-1990s, thetrademark registration for the logo was transferred to theSecretary of State for Transport. As British railway trains are now operated by a number of independenttrain operating companies, the double arrow logo no longer appears on railway vehicles except those preserved. However it still appears on railway tickets, which can usually be used on the services of a variety of train operators, and is used to denote stations within theNational Rail network.[4][1][2][5]
As such it is still printed on railway tickets and used to denote railway stations, including usage on street signs pointing to such stations. The logo has traditionally been used in a variety of colours, and in both positive and reversed forms.[4][6]
In September 2022 specifications for an updated version of the logo were released byNetwork Rail, the body responsible for Britain's national railway infrastructure.
Created with the input of graphic designer Nick Job and theDesign Council, the revised design appears almost identical to the original but incorporates several adjustments to improve the utility of the logo, including:[7][8]
The new guidance also details the colours the logo may be reproduced in and specifies how the logo should be used on items such as station signage and flags.
It was announced in December 2025 that the logo would be used byGreat British Railways.[9]
