Geofurlong is a geospatial reference tool for the Network Rail managed railway network in Britain. It lets you locate, visualise, and explore any Engineer’s Line Reference (ELR) — the alphanumeric codes used by Network Rail to identify discrete sections of the railway — together with their associated mileage positions, neighbouring lines, and administrative context. Whether you need to quickly confirm the limits of an ELR, identify nearby infrastructure, or understand how a line fits into the wider network, Geofurlong brings that information together in one place.
See Also: Features • Usage • Length Conversion Tables • Definitions
Finding an ELR
There are several ways to locate an ELR, depending on what you already know:
- By code — if the ELR code is known, browse by letter to find it directly.
- By location — if you know a nearby place name, use Nearest Places to identify which ELRs pass close by.
- By council area — search by administrative area to see all ELRs within a given local authority boundary.
- By map — the Hexmap displays the entire network as a hexagonal grid, colour-coded by ELR density. Clicking any hexagon reveals the ELRs it contains and links through to localised Minimaps (a localised view showing how multiple ELRs relate to one another at a given location).
Examples
The table below illustrates the range of lines available, from major intercity routes to historic alignments. Each entry links to the ELR data page and its interactive map.
| 🟨 Eastern | East Coast Main Line (ECML) | Map |
| 🟨 Eastern | Newcastle and Carlisle Railway | Map |
| 🟥 North West & Central | West Coast Main Line (WCML) | Map |
| 🟥 North West & Central | Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) | Map |
| 🟦 Scotland | Edinburgh to Glasgow Main Line (E&G) | Map |
| 🟦 Scotland | West Highland Line | Map |
| 🟩 Southern | Channel Tunnel Rail Link (HS1) | Map |
| 🟩 Southern | Bognor Regis Branch | Map |
| 🟧 Wales & Western | South Wales Main Line (SWML) | Map |
| 🟧 Wales & Western | Cardiff and Rhymney Line | Map |