Rail Settlement Plan is a division of the Association of Train Operating Companies

Association of Train Operating Companies

The Association of Train Operating Companies is a body which represents 24 train operating companies that provide passenger railway services on the privatised British railway system. It owns the National Rail brand. The Association is an unincorporated association owned by its members...

 (ATOC) in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. It provides a wide range of common services to the UK's franchised passenger rail operators and third party providers of information and retail services.

The company was established on the privatisation of British Railways primarily for the purpose of distributing the revenue received from the purchase of generic, non-company specific train tickets. This revenue is split between the retailer and the Train Operating Companies (TOCs) that run trains along the route. For example, the same railway ticket is valid from London Bridge

London Bridge station

London Bridge railway station is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex in the London Borough of Southwark, occupying a large area on two levels immediately south-east of London Bridge and 1.6 miles east of Charing Cross. It is one of the oldest railway stations in the...

 to East Croydon

East Croydon station

East Croydon station is a railway station and tram stop in Croydon, 10.35 miles south of London Bridge in Travelcard Zone 5. It is the largest and busiest station in Croydon and the busiest in London outside Travelcard Zone 1 in terms of the number of passengers entering and exiting...

 on all services. The RSP provides a process to share the revenue between the three train operating companies who run trains along this route (Southern

Southern (train operating company)

Southern is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Officially named Southern Railway Ltd., it is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead Group and Keolis, and has operated the South Central rail franchise since October 2000 and the Gatwick Express service...

, First Capital Connect

First Capital Connect

First Capital Connect is a passenger train operating company in England that began operations on the National Rail network on 1 April 2006...

 and Southeastern

Southeastern (train operating company)

London & South Eastern Railway Limited, trading as Southeastern is a train operating company in south-east England. On 1 April 2006 it became the franchisee for the new Integrated Kent Franchise , replacing the publicly owned South Eastern Trains on the former South East Franchise...

).

Since privatisation the company has increased the range of services it provides to train operators. The company now:

• collects retail sales data from 10,000 points-of-sale
• carries out the correct allocation of ticket revenue to train operators
• settles that revenue to the operators
• sets standards and accredits all industry points of sale
• maintains the central industry fares database and provides tools for train operators to set fares
• distributes fares, timetable, station and other industry data to points of sale and other information systems
• provides the National Reservations Service enabling retailers to book reservations on all trains with reservable seats
• provides the cabability to pick up preordered tickets at station ticket machines (Ticket-on-Departure)
• provides all the industry ticket stock

The green background of all UK rail tickets is made up of the words "Rail Settlement Plan" repeated.