British Rail Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
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
The rail transport system in Great Britain developed during the 19th century. After the grouping of 1923 by the Railways Act 1921 there were four large British railway companies, each dominating its own geographic area. These were the Great Western Railway (GWR), the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and the Southern Railway (SR).
During the Second World War (1939 — 1945), the railways were taken into state control. They were heavily damaged by enemy action and were run down aiding the war effort.
Nationalisation
The Transport Act 1947 made provision for the nationalisation of the network, as part of a policy of nationalising public services by Clement Attlee's Labour Government. British Railways came into existence from 1 January 1948, under the control of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission (BTC)
The Northern Counties Committee lines owned by the LMS in Northern Ireland were quickly sold to the Stormont Government, becoming part of the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) in 1949.
The new system was split geographically into six regions along the lines of the Big Four:
British Railways
These regions would form the basis of the BR business structure until the 1980s. They retained a level of independence, though there was also some centralisation.
1955 Modernisation Plan
in 1954]]
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 principal 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
The modernisation plan however failed to take into account the effect that mass-road transport would have upon the traditional role of the railways, and as a result much money was wasted by heavy investment in things like marshalling yards, at a time when small wagon-load traffic was in rapid decline.
BR was also hampered by out of date regulations which regulated charges for freight, and also forced the railways to transport unprofitable freight. This hampered the railways abillity to compete with road transport and made profitabillity impossible.
Finances 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 British Railways Board (BRB) was created in 1962, taking over from the former British Transport Commission (BTC) which, in addition to the railway, was also responsible for the waterways (canals) and road freight transport.
In 1963, BR chairman Dr. Richard Beeching published the Re-Shaping of British Railways calling for major rationalisation of the system. Many rural routes were unprofitable in the face of increasing competition from road hauliers and the private car. The Beeching Axe fell on most branch lines and some main lines. Some of these lines have since become heritage railways.
The early sixties also saw the "Great Locomotive Cull", with mass withdrawals of steam types, and their replacement with diesels, fewer of which were now needed on the now shrinking system. Steam traction last stand came in the North-West of England in August 1968. The use of steam locomotives on independent industrial lines, particularly by the National Coal Board (NCB) continued into the 1970s. Several locomotives were preserved, often having not been scrapped immediately on withdrawal, but most fell victim to the cutter's torch.
From 1958 to 1974 the West Coast Main Line was electrified in stages to the French voltage of 25kV 50Hz AC overhead line electrification. Many commuter lines around London and Glasgow were also electrified, and the Southern Region extended its 750V DC 3rd rail system to the Kent coast. Electrification however, never reached the level to which it was effectively system-wide as on many other European railways.
During the 1960s the TOPS system for classifying locomotives and multiple units was introduced, and is the basis of the classification system. Hauled rolling stock continued to carry numbers in a separate series. Also during this time, yellow warning panels, characteristic of British railways, were added to the front of diesel and electric locomotives and multiple units in order to increase the safety of track workers.
Other developments included the Channel Tunnel and Heathrow Express
BR was privitised within the business structure that was in place. Passenger services in each sector were franchised out to private companies, mostly bus operators. National Rail was created to organise ticketing. Freight operations were sold but mostly bought by one company, EWS. Railtrack controlled infrastructure. The Shadow Strategic Rail Authority was created to oversee and advise the government. The British Railways Board remained with some residuary functions.
Privitisation has had mixed results. Passenger growth has been stimulated, but this has been at extra cost to the taxpayer and passengers who have seen steady price increases since 1997. Freight has also increased however there is debate as to whether these increases in passengers and freight have been due to privatisation, or simply to an improved economy which usually results in more travel. Some analyists have pointed out that a similar rise in passenger numbers occurred in the late 1980s when the economy was buoyant, only to fall again in the recession of the early 1990s.
Railtrack's management proved to be incompetent and the government refused to continue to subsidise the losses of shareholders. It went insolvent, was put in receivership and was replaced by a not-for-profit publicly owned Network Rail. Some saw this as the first step towards renationalisation. But given the costs this is unlikely at the present. The Shadow Strategic Rail Authority's power became real when it dropped part of its name, becoming the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA).
This is an Article on British Rail. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About British Rail The Beeching Axe and the Great Locomotive Cull
British Rail
47241 in "corporate blue" livery in 1980]]
Steam traction on British Railways ended in August 1968 and the system was rebranded as British Rail. The 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.Sectorisation
livery]]
In the 1980s, the regions of BR were abolished and the system sectorised into five sectors. The passenger sectors were InterCity (express services), Network SouthEast (London commuter services) and Regional Railways (regional slow services). Railfreight took freight. The works were split off into a new company, BREL (British Rail Engineering Limited). The new sectors were further subdivided into divisions. This sectorisation ended the "BR blue" period as gradually new liveries were adopted. Infrastructure ...?
Privatisation
took over two InterCity franchises]]
On the advice of the Adam Smith Institute, under John Major's Conservative Government's Railway Act, 1993, British Rail was split up and privatised. This was a continuation of the policy of Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government's privitisation of publicly-owned services. The unpopular Conservative Government was facing a Labour victory at the May 1997 General Election and so privitisation was rushed through and was finished in November 1997.See also
External links