British Rail
British Railways (BR), later rebranded as British Rail, ran the British railway system, from the nationalisation of the 'Big Four' British railway companies in 1948 until its privatisation in stages between 1994 and 1997.
History
Background
After the grouping of 1923 by the Railways Act 1921 there were four large British railway companies, the Great Western Railway (GWR), the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), the London and Nort Eastern Railway (LNER) and the Southern Railway (SR).
During World War II the railways were taken into state control, but heavily damaged by enemy action. The Transport Act 1947 made provision for the nationalisation of the network, and British Railways came into existence from 1 January 1948.
British Railways
The new system was split into six regions, the Eastern Region (southern LNER ilnes), the North Eastern Region (NER) (northern LNER lines in England), the London Midland Region (LMR) (LMS lines in England), the Scottish Region (LMS and LNER lines in Scotland), the Southern Region (SR lines) and the Western Region (WR) (GWR lines).
1955 Modernisation Plan
The 1955 Modernisation plan, detailed in the British Transport Commission's (BTC) Modernisation and Re-equipment of British Railways argued for spending £1,240 million over a period of 15 years. Services were to be made more attractive to passengers and freight operators, thus recovering traffic which was being haemorrhaged to the roads. There were three important areas:
- Electrification of principle routes
- Large-scale introduction of diesel and electric traction with new coaching stock to replace the steam locomotives of British Railways
- Resignalling and track renewal
An HM government White Paper was produced in 1956, stating that modernisation would help eliminate BR's deficit by 1962. Finances however, got worse and the plan was reappraised in 1959. The new plan was to speed up modernisation, and rationalisation . This led to mass orders for new diesel types which were then in development, many of which proved unsatisfactory later.
The Beeching Axe
In 1963, BR chairman Dr. Richard Beeching published the Re-Shaping of British Railways calling for major rationalisation of the system. The Beeching Axe fell on most branch lines and some main lines. Some of these lines have since become heritage railways.
British Rail
Steam traction on British Railways ended in 1968 and the following rebranded as British Rail. The double-arrow logo was used nationwide "double-arrow" logo still used by National Rail to represent the industry as a whole (though some cynics claimed the logo meant the railway "didn't know if it was coming or going"), the standardised typeface used for all communications and signs, and the "rail blue" livery which was applied to nearly all locomotives and rolling stock.
The British Railways Board was created in the early 1960s, taking over from the former British Transport Commission which, in addition to the railway, was also responsible for the waterways (canals) and road freight transport.
Privatisation
Under John Major's Conservative Government's Railway Act, 1993, British Rail was split up and privatised into Railtrack and other companies. By November 1997, British Rail had been divested of all its operational railway functions.
The British Railways Board is still responsible for non-operational railway land, the disposal of which is handled through Rail Property Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary. The British Railways Board also retains responsibility for the British Transport Police. As a residuary body the Board is responsible for discharging a number of functions, including its obligations in respect of liabilities acquired as a major employer over nearly half a century and as a direct result of the privatisation process.
When the Labour Government gained office in May 1997, it charged BR with providing advice on railway policy, in particular to improve public control and accountability, and to identify ways in which the railway can serve modern transport needs and be integrated with other modes.
The separation of infrastructure maintenance from train operation has been cited as a major influence in fatal rail crashes such as those at Southall, Ladbroke Grove and Hatfield.
The Government created a Strategic Rail Authority in 2000. In the aftermath of the chaos following the Hatfield disaster, Railtrack was replaced by a state-owned, not-for-profit company called Network Rail, in what was seen by many as a move toward renationalisation.
See also
