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.
| 🟨 Eastern | East Coast Main Line (ECML) |
| 🟨 Eastern | Newcastle and Carlisle Railway |
| 🟥 North West & Central | West Coast Main Line (WCML) |
| 🟥 North West & Central | Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) |
| 🟦 Scotland | Edinburgh to Glasgow Main Line (E&G) |
| 🟦 Scotland | West Highland Line |
| 🟩 Southern | Channel Tunnel Rail Link (HS1) |
| 🟩 Southern | Bognor Regis Branch |
| 🟧 Wales & Western | South Wales Main Line (SWML) |
| 🟧 Wales & Western | Cardiff and Rhymney Line |