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Company type | State-owned (trade name of adivision 1948–1963,statutory corporation 1963–1997) |
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Industry | Railway transport,logistics,shipping, andmanufacturing of rolling stock |
Predecessor | |
Founded | 1 January 1948 (1948-1-1) |
Defunct | 20 November 1997 (1997-11-20) |
Fate | Privatised |
Successor | |
Headquarters | , England |
Area served | Great Britain |
Key people | Alastair Morton (Final Chairman of theBritish Railways Board) |
Products | Rail transport,cargotransport,services |
Owner | Government of the United Kingdom |
Parent |
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Divisions |
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Subsidiaries |
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded asBritish Rail, was astate-owned company that operated mostrail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of theBritish Transport Commission, it became an independentstatutory corporation in January 1963, when it was formally renamed theBritish Railways Board.[1]
British Railways was formed on 1 January 1948 as a result of theTransport Act 1947, whichnationalised theBig Four British railway companies along with some other (but not all) smaller railways. Profitability of the railways became a pressing concern during the 1950s, leading to multiple efforts to bolster performance, including some line closures. The1955 Modernisation Plan formally directed a process ofdieselisation andelectrification to take place; accordingly,steam locomotives had been entirely replaced by diesel and electric traction (except for thenarrow-gaugeVale of Rheidol Railway tourist line) by 1968. On 1 January 1963, theBritish Railways Board was created to manage the railways as a successor to the British Transport Commission.
It was during the 1960s that perhaps the most substantial changes were made. Seeking to reducerail subsidies, one-third of the network and over half of all stations were permanently closed under theBeeching cuts. Trunk routes were considered to be the most important, and so electrification of theGreat Eastern Main Line from London toNorwich was completed between 1976 and 1986 and on theEast Coast Main Line from London toEdinburgh between 1985 and 1990. Train manufacturerBritish Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) produced the capableInterCity 125 andSprinter sets, the introduction of which improved intercity and regional railways, respectively, as well as the unsuccessfulAdvanced Passenger Train (APT). Gradually,passengers replacedfreight as the main source of business. From 1982, undersectorisation, the regions were gradually replaced by "business sectors", which were originally responsible for marketing and other commercial matters when they were first created but had taken over entirely by 1990.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the British Government directed theprivatisation of British Rail. Following completion of the privatisation process in 1997, responsibility for track, signalling and stations was transferred toRailtrack (later brought under public control asNetwork Rail) while services were run by a variety oftrain operating companies. At the end of the process, any remaining obligations of British Rail were transferred toBRB (Residuary) Limited.Great British Railways, a planned publicly owned body, is expected to manage railway infrastructure and passenger railway services in the future,[2] with remaining privatised franchises to be brought into public control under the provisions of thePassenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024.[3] GBR will use an updated form of theBritish Rail Double Arrow as its logo,[4] which is now owned by theSecretary of State for Transport, and which remains employed as a generic symbol on street signs in Great Britain denoting railway stations.[5]
The rail transport system in Great Britain developed during the 19th century. After the grouping of 1923 under theRailways Act 1921, there were four large railway companies, each dominating its own geographic area: theGreat Western Railway (GWR), theLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), theLondon and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and theSouthern Railway (SR). DuringWorld War I, the railways were under state control, which continued until 1921. Completenationalisation had been considered, and theRailways Act 1921[6] is sometimes considered as a precursor to that, but the concept was rejected. Nationalisation was subsequently carried out afterWorld War II, under theTransport Act 1947. This Act made provision for the nationalisation of the network as part of a policy of nationalising public services byClement Attlee'sLabour Government. British Railways came into existence as thebusiness name of theRailway Executive of theBritish Transport Commission (BTC) on 1 January 1948 when it took over the assets of the Big Four.[7]
There were alsojoint railways between the Big Four and a few light railways to consider (seelist of constituents of British Railways). Excluded from nationalisation were industrial lines like theOxfordshire Ironstone Railway. TheLondon Underground also became publicly owned, becoming theLondon Transport Executive of the British Transport Commission. TheBicester Military Railway was already run by the government. The electricLiverpool Overhead Railway was also excluded fromnationalisation.[8]
The Railway Executive was conscious that some lines on the (then very dense) network were unprofitable and hard to justify socially, and a programme of closures began almost immediately after nationalisation. However, the general financial position of BR became gradually poorer until an operating loss was recorded in 1955. The Executive itself had been abolished in 1953 by the Conservative government, and control of BR transferred to the parent Commission. Other changes to the British Transport Commission at the same time included the return of road haulage to the private sector; however, BR retained its own (smaller) in-house road haulage service.
The report, latterly known as the "Modernisation Plan",[9] was published in January 1955. It was intended to bring the railway system into the 20th century. A governmentWhite Paper produced in 1956 stated that modernisation would help eliminate BR's financial deficit by 1962, but the figures in both this and the original plan were produced for political reasons and not based on detailed analysis.[10] The aim was to increase speed, reliability, safety, and line capacity through a series of measures that would make services more attractive to passengers and freight operators, thus recovering traffic lost to the roads. Important areas included:
The government appeared to endorse the 1955 programme (costing £1.2 billion), but did so largely for political reasons.[10] This included the withdrawal of steam traction and its replacement by diesel (and some electric) locomotives. Not all modernisations would be effective at reducing costs. The dieselisation programme gave contracts primarily to British suppliers, who had limited experience of diesel locomotive manufacture, and rushed commissioning based on an expectation of rapid electrification; this resulted in numbers of locomotives with poor designs and a lack of standardisation.[11] At the same time,containerised freight was being developed.[11] The marshalling yard building programme was a failure, being based on a belief in the continued viability ofwagon-load traffic in the face of increasingly effective road competition, and lacking effective forward planning or realistic assessments of future freight.[11] A 2002 documentary broadcast onBBC Radio 4 blamed the 1950s decisions for the "beleaguered" condition of the railway system at that time.[12]
During the late 1950s, railway finances continued to worsen; whilst passenger numbers grew after restoring many services reduced during the war, and in 1959 the government stepped in, limiting the amount the BTC could spend without ministerial authority. A White Paper proposing reorganisation was published in the following year, and a new structure was brought into effect by the Transport Act 1962.[13] This abolished the commission and replaced it by several separate boards. These included a British Railways Board, which took over on 1 January 1963.[14]
Following semi-secret discussions on railway finances by the government-appointed Stedeford Committee in 1961, one of its members,Dr Richard Beeching, was offered the post of chairing the BTC while it lasted and then became the first Chairman of the British Railways Board.[15]
A major traffic census in April 1961, which lasted one week, was used in the compilation of a report on the future of the network. This report –The Reshaping of British Railways – was published by the BRB in March 1963.[16][17] The proposals, which became known as theBeeching cuts, were dramatic. A third of all passenger services and more than 4,000 of the 7,000 stations would close. Beeching, who is thought to have been the author of most of the report, set out some dire figures. One third of the network was carrying just 1% of the traffic. Of the 18,000 passenger coaches, 6,000 were said to be used only 18 times a year or less. Although maintaining them cost between £3 million and £4 million a year, they earned only about £0.5 million.[18]
Most of the closures were carried out between 1963 and 1970 (including some which were not listed in the report), while other suggested closures were not carried out. The closures were heavily criticised at the time.[19] A small number of stations and lines closed under the Beeching programme have been reopened, with further reopenings proposed.[20]
A second Beeching report, "The Development of the Major Trunk Routes", followed in 1965.[21][22] This did not recommend closures as such but outlined a "network for development"; the fate of the rest of the network was not discussed in the report.
The basis for calculating passenger fares changed in 1964. In future, fares on some routes—such as rural, holiday and commuter services—would be set at a higher level than on other routes; previously, fares had been calculated using a simple rate for the distance travelled, which at the time was 3d per mile second class, and 4½d per mile first class[23] (equivalent to £0.32 and £0.48 respectively, in 2023[24]).
In 1966, a "Whites only" recruitment policy for guards atEuston station agreed between the local union branch and station management[25][26] was dropped after the case ofAsquith Xavier, a migrant fromDominica, who had been refused promotion on those grounds, was raised in Parliament and taken up by the then Secretary of State for Transport,Barbara Castle.[27]
Passenger levels decreased steadily from 1962 to the late 1970s,[28] and reached a low in 1982.[29] Network improvements included completing electrification of theGreat Eastern Main Line from London toNorwich between 1976 and 1986 and theEast Coast Main Line from London toEdinburgh between 1985 and 1990.[30][31] A mainline route closure during this period of relative network stability was the1,500 V DC-electrifiedWoodhead line betweenManchester andSheffield: passenger service ceased in 1970 and goods in 1981.[32]
A further British Rail report from a committee chaired bySir David Serpell was published in 1983. TheSerpell Report made no recommendations as such but did set out various options for the network, including, at their most extreme, a skeletal system of less than 2,000 route km (1,240 miles). The report was received with hostility within several circles, which included figures within the government, as well as amongst the public.[33] The reaction was so strong thatMargaret Thatcher, Prime Minister at that time, stated that decisions on the report would not immediately be taken. The Serpell report was quietly shelved, although the British Government was periodically accused by its opponents of implementing the report via stealth for some years thereafter.[34][35][36]
The 1980s and 1990s saw the closure of some railways which had survived the Beeching cuts a generation earlier but which had seen passenger services withdrawn. This included the bulk of theChester and Connah's Quay Railway in 1992, theBrierley Hill toWalsall section of theSouth Staffordshire line in 1993, while theBirmingham toWolverhampton section of the Great Western Railway was closed in three phases between 1972 and 1992.
Following the election ofLabour in 1964, on a platform of revising many of the cuts,Tom Fraser instead authorised the closure 1,071 mi of railway lines, following the recommendations from theBeeching Report even lines not considered closing.[37] After he resigned in 1967, his replacementBarbara Castle continued the line and station closures but introduced the first Government rail subsidies for socially necessary but unprofitable railways in theTransport Act 1968. Part of these provisions was the creation of apassenger transport executive or PTE within larger metropolitan areas. Prior to this, public transport was run by individual local authorities and private companies, with little co-ordination. The PTEs took over the responsibility (but not ownership) of managing local rail networks.
The 1968 Act created five new bodies. These were:
This was the first real subdivision of BR since its inception in 1949, and likely saved many lines earmarked for closure,[citation needed] notably theLiverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway, whichnow forms part of theMerseyrail network.
Upon sectorisation in 1982, three passenger sectors were created:InterCity, operating principal express services; London & South East (renamedNetwork SouthEast in 1986) operating commuter services in the London area; Provincial (renamedRegional Railways in 1989) responsible for all other passenger services.[38] In themetropolitan counties local services were managed by thePassenger Transport Executives. Provincial was the most subsidised (per passenger km) of the three sectors; upon formation, its costs were four times itsrevenue.[38] During the 1980s British Rail ran theRail Riders membership club aimed at 5- to 15-year-olds.
Because British Railways was such a large operation, running not just railways but also ferries, steamships and hotels, it has been considered difficult to analyse the effects of nationalisation.[39]
Prices rose quickly in this period, rising 108% in real terms from 1979 to 1994, as prices rose by 262% but RPI only increased by 154% in the same time.[40]
Following nationalisation in 1948, British Railways began to adapt the corporate liveries on the rolling stock it had inherited from its predecessor railway companies. Initially, an express blue (followed byGWR-styleBrunswick green in 1952) was used on passenger locomotives, andLNWR-style lined black for mixed-traffic locomotives, but later green was more widely adopted.[41][42]
Development of a corporate identity for the organisation was hampered by the competing ambitions of theBritish Transport Commission and theRailway Executive. The Executive attempted to introduce a modernArt Deco-style curved logo, which could also serve as the standard for station signage totems. BR eventually adopted the common branding of the BTC as its first corporate logo, alion astride a spoked wheel, designed for the BTC byCecil Thomas; on the bar overlaid across the wheel, the BTC's name was replaced with the words "British Railways". This logo, nicknamed the "Cycling Lion", was applied from 1948 to 1956 to the sides of locomotives, while the ‘hot dog’ design was adopted for smaller station name signs, known officially as ‘lamp tablets’ and coloured for the appropriate BR region, usingGill Sans lettering first adopted by theLNER from 1929.
In 1956, the BTC was granted aheraldic achievement by theCollege of Arms and theLord Lyon, and then BTC chairmanBrian Robertson wanted a grander logo for the railways. BR's second corporate logo (1956–1965), designed in consultation withCharles Franklyn and inspired by the much more detailed BTC crest, depicted a rampant lion emerging from aheraldic crown and holding a spoked wheel, all enclosed in a roundel with the "British Railways" name displayed across a bar on either side. This emblem soon acquired the nickname of the "Ferret and Dartboard". A variant of the logo with the name in a circle was also used on locomotives.[43]
The zeal for modernisation in the Beeching era drove the next rebranding exercise, and BR management wished to divest the organisation of anachronistic, heraldic motifs and develop a corporate identity to rival that ofLondon Transport. BR's design panel set up a working party led byMilner Gray of theDesign Research Unit. They drew upa Corporate Identity Manual which established a coherent brand and design standard for the whole organisation, specifyingRail Blue and pearl grey as the standard colour scheme for all rolling stock;Rail Alphabet as the standard corporate typeface, designed byJock Kinneir andMargaret Calvert; and introducing the now-iconic corporate Identity Symbol of theDouble Arrow logo. Designed by Gerald Barney (also of the DRU), this arrow device was formed of two interlocked arrows across two parallel lines, symbolising a double-track railway. It was likened to a bolt oflightning orbarbed wire, and also acquired a nickname: "the arrow of indecision".[44][45] A mirror image of the double arrow was used on theport side of BR-ownedSealink ferry funnels. The new BR corporate identity and double arrow were displayed at the Design Centre in London in early 1965, and the brand name of the organisation was shortened to "British Rail".[43][42] It is now employed as a generic symbol on street signs in Great Britain denoting railway stations,[46] and is still printed on railway tickets as part of theRail Delivery Group's jointly managedNational Rail brand.
The uniformity of BR branding continued until the process ofsectorisation was introduced in the 1980s. Certain BR operations such asInter-City,Network SouthEast,Regional Railways orRail Express Systems began to adopt their own identities, introducing logos and colour schemes which were essentially variants of the British Rail brand. Eventually, as sectorisation developed into a prelude to privatisation, the unified British Rail brand disappeared, with the notable exception of the Double Arrow symbol, which has survived to this day and serves as ageneric trademark to denote railway services across Great Britain.[43] The BR Corporate Identity Manual is noted as a piece of Britishdesign history and there are plans for it to be re-published.[47]
With its creation in 1948, British Railways was divided into regions which were initially based on the areas the formerBig Four operated in; later, several lines were transferred between regions. Notably, these included the formerGreat Central lines from the Eastern Region to the London Midland Region, and theWest of England Main Line from the Southern Region to Western Region
The North Eastern Region was merged with the Eastern Region in 1967.
In 1982, the regions were abolished as the service provider (but retained for administration) and replaced by "business sectors", a process known assectorisation.
The passenger sectors were (by the early 1990s):
In addition, the non-passenger sectors were:
The maintenance and remaining engineering works were split off into a new company,British Rail Maintenance Limited. The new sectors were further subdivided into divisions.
This ended the BR blue period as new liveries were adopted gradually. Infrastructure remained the responsibility of the regions until the "Organisation for Quality" initiative in 1991 when this too was transferred to the sectors. The Anglia Region was created in late 1987, its first General Manager being John Edmonds, who began his appointment on 19 October 1987. Full separation from the Eastern Region – apart from engineering design needs – occurred on 29 April 1988. It handled the services fromFenchurch Street andLiverpool Street, its western boundary beingHertford East,Meldreth andWhittlesea.[49][50]
The former BR network, with the trunk routes of theWest Coast Main Line,East Coast Main Line,Great Western Main Line,Great Eastern Main Line andMidland Main Line, and other lines.
Policing on (and within) the network was carried out British Transport Police (BTP). In 1947 the Transport Act created theBritish Transport Commission (BTC), which unified the railway system. On 1 January 1949, theBritish Transport Commission Police (BTCP) were created, formed from the four old railway police forces, theLondon Transport Police, canal police and several minor dock forces. In 1957 the Maxwell-Johnson enquiry found that policing requirements for the railway could not be met by civil forces and that it was essential that a specialist police force be retained. On 1 January 1962, the British Transport Commission Police ceased to coverBritish Waterways property[51] and exactly a year later when the BTC was abolished the name of the force was amended to the British Transport Police. This name and its role within policing on the rail network was continued post-1994.
Despite its nationalisation in 1947 "as one of the 'commanding heights' of the economy",[52] according to some sources British Rail was not profitable for most (if not all)[53] of its history.[54] Newspapers reported that as recently as the 1990s, publicrail subsidy was counted as profit;[55] as early as 1961, British Railways were losing £300,000 a day.[56]
Although the company was considered the sole public-transport option in many rural areas, theBeeching cuts made buses the only public transport available in some rural areas.[57] Despite increases in traffic congestion and road fuel prices beginning to rise in the 1990s, British Rail remained unprofitable. Following sectorisation, InterCity became profitable. InterCity became one of Britain's top 150 companies, providing city centre to city centre travel across the nation fromAberdeen andInverness in the north toPoole andPenzance in the south.[58]
In 1979, the incomingConservative Government led byMargaret Thatcher was viewed as anti-railway, and did not want to commit public money to the railways. However, British Rail was allowed to spend its own money with government approval. This led to a number of electrification projects being given the go-ahead, including theEast Coast Main Line, the spur fromDoncaster toLeeds, and the lines in East Anglia out ofLondon Liverpool Street toNorwich andKing's Lynn. The list with approximate completion dates includes:[citation needed]
In the Southwest, theSouth West Main Line fromBournemouth toWeymouth was electrified along with other infill750 V DC third rail electrification in the south. In 1988, the line toAberdare was reopened. A British Rail advertisement ("Britain's Railway", directed byHugh Hudson) featured some of the best-known railway structures in Britain, including theForth Rail Bridge,Royal Albert Bridge,Glenfinnan Viaduct andLondon Paddington station.[59]London Liverpool Street station was rebuilt, opened byQueen Elizabeth II, and a new station was constructed atStansted Airport in 1991. The following year, theMaesteg line was reopened. In 1988, theWindsor Link Line, Manchester was constructed and has proven to be an important piece of infrastructure.[60]
Before the introduction ofAPTIS (Accountancy and Passenger Ticket Issuing System), British Rail used theEdmondson railway ticket, first introduced in the 1840s and phased out in the early 1970s. Tickets issued from British Rail's APTIS system had a considerable amount of information presented in a consistent, standard format. The design for all tickets was created byColin Goodall. This format has formed the basis for all subsequent ticket issuing systems introduced on the railway network – ticket-office-based, self-service and conductor-operated machines alike. APTIS survived in widespread use for twenty years but, in the early 2000s, was largely replaced by more modernPC-based ticketing systems. Some APTIS machines in theGreater London area were modified as APTIS-ANT (with no obvious difference to the ticket issued) to make themOyster card compatible.[61] The last APTIS machines were removed at the end of 2006 as there was no option to upgrade them to acceptChip and PIN credit card payments. The last APTIS-ANT ticket to be issued in the UK using one of the machines was atUpminster station on 21 March 2007.[62][63][64]
Before the rail network was privatised, British Railintroduced several discount cards through the APTIS that were available to certain demographics, issued either by National or Regional schemes:
The narrow-gaugeVale of Rheidol Railway in Ceredigion, Wales, became part of British Railways at nationalisation. Although built as a working railway, in 1948 the line was principally atourist attraction. British Rail operated the line using steam locomotives long after the withdrawal of standard-gauge steam. The line's three steam locomotives were the only ones to receiveTOPS serial numbers and be painted in BR Rail Blue livery with the double arrow logo. The Vale of Rheidol Railway was privatised in 1989 and continues to operate as a private heritage railway.[65][66]
Other preserved lines, orheritage railways, have reopened lines previously closed by British Rail. These range from picturesque rural branch lines like theKeighley and Worth Valley Railway to sections of mainline such as theGreat Central Railway.[67] Many have links to the National Rail network, both at station interchanges, for example, theSevern Valley Railway betweenKidderminster andKidderminster Town, and physical rail connections like theWatercress Line atAlton.[68][69]
Although most are operated solely as leisure amenities, some also provide educational resources, and a few have ambitions to restore commercial services over routes abandoned by the nationalised industry.
When the railways came into public ownership in 1948, British Railways inherited a number of night train services from the Big Four.[70] Sleeping car services were operated on theWest andEast coast routes andGWR mainlines to several destinations. Routes includedLondon Paddington toBirkenhead Woodside,Manchester Piccadilly toPlymouth,Liverpool Lime Street toLondon Euston and the Night Ferry sleeper fromLondon Victoria to Brussels and Paris.[71] OnPrivatisation saw the services broken up in February 1996 and the rolling stock repainted into the new liveries, with the last ever BR service being a Scottish sleeper from Euston in 1997.[70]
British Railways operated ships from its formation in 1948 on several routes. Many ships were acquired on nationalisation, and others were built for operation by British Railways or its later subsidiary,Sealink. Those ships capable of carrying rail vehicles were classed under TOPS asClass 99.
Sealink was originally the brand name for the ferry services of British Rail in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Services to France, Belgium, and the Netherlands were run by Sealink UK as part of the Sealink consortium, which also used ferries owned by French national railways (SNCF), the Belgian Maritime Transport AuthorityRegie voor Maritiem Transport/Regie des transports maritimes (RMT/RTM) and the DutchStoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland (Zeeland Steamship Company).
Historically, the shipping services were exclusively an extension of the railways across theEnglish Channel and theIrish Sea in order to provide through, integrated services to mainland Europe and Ireland. As international travel became more popular in the late 1960s and before air travel became generally affordable, the responsibility for shipping services was taken away from the British Rail Regions and, in 1969, centralised in a new division – British Rail Shipping and International Services Division.
With the advent of car ferry services, the old passenger-only ferries were gradually replaced byroll-on/roll-off ships, catering for motorists and rail passengers as well as road freight. However, given that there was now competition in the form of other ferry companies offering crossings to motorists, it became necessary to market the services in a normal business fashion (as opposed to the previous almost monopolistic situation). Thus, with the other partners mentioned above, the brand name Sealink was introduced for the consortium.[72]
In the late 1960s, as demand for international rail travel declined and the shipping business became almost exclusively dependent on passenger and freight vehicle traffic, the ferry business wasincorporated as Sealink UK Limited on 1 January 1979,[73][74] a wholly owned subsidiary of theBritish Railways Board, but still part of the Sealink consortium. In 1979, Sealink acquiredManx Line, which offered services to the Isle of Man from Heysham.
On 27 July 1984, the UK Government sold Sealink UK toSea Containers for £66 million.[75] The company was renamed Sealink British Ferries. The sale excluded the operations ofHoverspeed, theIsle of Wight services and the share in theIsle of Man Steam Packet Company, as well as thePort of Heysham.[citation needed] In 1996, the Sealink name disappeared when the UK services, by then owned by Stena,[73] were re-branded asStena Line. The agreement with the SNCF on the Dover toCalais route also ended at this time, and the French-run Sealink services were rebranded asSeaFrance.
The jointhovercraft services of British Rail in association with the FrenchSNCF.[76] British Rail Hovercraft Limited was established in 1965, under authority given to it by the British Railways Act 1967 and started its first service in 1966. Seaspeed started cross-Channel services fromDover toCalais andBoulogne-sur-Mer,France usingSR-N4 hovercraft in August 1968.[77][78] During 1981, Seaspeed merged with rival cross-channel hovercraft operatorHoverlloyd to create the combinedHoverspeed.[79][80]
Incorporated on 31 October 1969, British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) was a wholly ownedrailway systems engineering subsidiary of the British Railways Board. Created through theTransport Act 1968, to manage BR's thirteen workshops, it replaced the British Rail Workshops Division, which had existed since 1948. The works managed by BREL wereAshford,Crewe,Derby Locomotive Works,Derby Litchurch Lane,Doncaster,Eastleigh,Glasgow, Horwich Foundry, Shildon,Swindon, Temple Mills,Wolverton andYork.[81] BREL began trading in January 1970.[82] During 1989, BREL was sold to a consortium ofAsea Brown Boveri andTrafalgar House.[83][84]
A family of railway carriages designed and built by British Rail workshops (from 1969 British Rail Engineering Limited) between 1964 and 1975. They were of steel construction.
In the 1970s, British Rail developedtilting train technology in theAdvanced Passenger Train; there had been earlier experiments and prototypes in other countries, notably Italy.[85] The objective of the tilt was to minimise the discomfort to passengers caused by taking the curves of theWest Coast Main Line at high speed. The APT also hadhydrokinetic brakes, which enabled the train to stop from 150 mph within existing signal spacings.[86]
The introduction into service of the APT was to be a three-stage project. Phase 1, the development of an experimental APT (APT-E), was completed. This used agas turbine-electric locomotive, the onlymultiple unit so powered that was used by British Rail. It was formed of twopower cars (numbers PC1 and PC2), initially with nothing between them and later, two trailer cars (TC1 and TC2).[87] The cars were made of aluminium to reduce the weight of the unit and were articulated. Thegas turbine was dropped from development due to excessive noise and the high fuel costs of the late 1970s.[88] The APT-E first ran on 25 July 1971. The train drivers' union,ASLEF, black-listed the train due to its use of a single driver. The train was moved toDerby (with the aid of a locomotive inspector). This triggered a one-day strike by ASLEF that cost BR more than the research budget for the entire year.[89]
Phase 2, the introduction of three prototype trains (APT-P) into revenue service on theGlasgow –London Euston route, did occur. Originally, there were to have been eight APT-P sets running, with minimal differences between them and the main fleet. However, financial constraints led to only three being authorised after two years of discussion by the British Railways Board. The cost was split equally between the Board and theMinistry of Transport. After these delays, considerable pressure grew to put the APT-P into revenue-service before they were fully ready. This inevitably led to high-profile failures as a result of technical problems.[89]
These failures led to the trains being withdrawn from service while the problems were ironed out. However, by this time, managerial and political support had evaporated by 1982. Although the APT never properly entered service, the experience gained enabled the construction of otherhigh-speed trains. The APT powercar technology was imported without the tilt into the design of theClass 91 locomotives, and the tilting technology was incorporated intoItalian State Railway'sPendolino trains, which first entered service in 1987.
The InterCity 125, or High-Speed Train, was a diesel-powered passenger train built by BREL between 1975 and 1982 that was credited with saving British Rail.[90] Each set is made up of twoClass 43power cars, one at each end and four to nineMark 3 carriages. The name is derived from its top operational speed of 125 mph (201 km/h). Key features of the Intercity 125 over predecessors include the high power-to-weight ratio of the locomotives (1678 kW per ~70-tonne loco), high performancedisc brake system (in place of theclasp brakes traditionally used), improvedcrashworthiness, andbi-directional running avoiding the need to perform any run arounds at terminating stations.[91][92][93][94]
By 1970, the setbacks of the APT project had led theBritish Railways Board (BRB) to conclude that a stopgap solution would be desirably to reduce journey times in order to compete effectively with other modes of transport. At the instigation ofTerry Miller, Chief Engineer (Traction & Rolling Stock), the BRB authorised the development of a high-speed diesel train using tried and tested conventional technology, intended for short-term use until the APT was available.[95] Within two years, aprototype trainset had been completed by BREL; it performed extensive trial runs between 1972 and 1976.[96]
Encouraged by the prototype's performance, British Rail chose to put the type into production. The production version had a substantially redesigned forward section; this change was primarily made by the British industrial designerKenneth Grange who, after being approached by British Rail to design the livery, decided to redesign the body in coordination with an aerodynamic engineer and guided bywind tunnel testing.[97][98][99] A total of 95 Intercity 125 trainsets were ultimately brought into service.[93][94] British Rail enjoyed a boom in patronage on the routes operated by the HSTs and InterCity's revenues noticeably increased.[100]
Prior to the HST's introduction, the speed of British diesel-powered trains was limited to 100 mph (161 km/h).[101] The prototype InterCity 125 (power cars 43000 and 43001) set theworld speed record for diesel traction at 143.2 mph (230.5 km/h) on 12 June 1973.[102] This was succeeded by a production set reaching 148.5 mph (239.0 km/h) in November 1987.[103]
By the early 1980s British Rail operated a large fleet offirst generation DMUs, which had been constructed in prior decades to various designs.[38] While formulating its long-term strategy for this sector of its operations, British Rail planners recognised that there would be considerable costs incurred by undertaking refurbishment programmes necessary for the continued use of these ageing multiple units, particularly due to the necessity of handling and removing hazardous materials such asasbestos. In light of the high costs involved in retention, planners examined the prospects for the development and introduction of a new generation of DMUs to succeed the first generation.[104]
In 1984/1985, two experimental DMU designs were put into service: the BREL-builtClass 150 andMetro-Cammell-builtClass 151.[105] Both of these usedhydraulic transmission and were less bus-like than thePacers.[104] After trials, the Class 150 was selected for production. Starting in 1987, production standard units entered service. Reliability was much improved by the new units, with depot visits being reduced from two or three times per week to fortnightly.[38]
The late 1980s and early 1990s also saw the development of secondary express services that complemented the mainlineIntercity routes.Class 155 andClass 156 Sprinters were developed to replace locomotive-hauled trains on these services, their interiors being designed with longer distance journeys in mind.[106] Key Scottish and Trans-Pennine routes were upgraded with newClass 158 Express Sprinters, while a network of 'Alphaline' services was introduced elsewhere in the country.[107]
By the end of the 1980s, passenger numbers had increased and costs had been reduced to two-and-a-half times revenue.[38] Specific areas for this cost reduction include the lower fuel consumption of Sprinters in comparison to traditional locomotive-hauled trains as well as their reduced maintenance costs.[104]
In 1989, the narrow-gaugeVale of Rheidol Railway was preserved, becoming the first part of British Rail to be privatised. Between 1994 and 1997, in accordance with theRailways Act 1993, the core activities of British Rail were privatised.[108][109] Ownership of the track and infrastructure passed toRailtrack on 1 April 1994. Passenger operations were laterfranchised to 25 private-sector operators.[110][111] Of the six freight companies, five were sold toWisconsin Central to formEWS whileFreightliner was sold in amanagement buyout.[112][113]
TheWaterloo & City line, part of Network SouthEast, was not included in the privatisation and was transferred toLondon Underground in April 1994.[114] The remaining obligations of British Rail were transferred toBRB (Residuary) Limited.[115]
The privatisation, proposed by the Conservative government in 1992, was opposed by theLabour Party and the rail unions. Although Labour initially proposed to reverse privatisation,[116] theNew Labour manifesto of 1997 instead opposed Conservative plans to privatise the London Underground.[117] Rail unions have historically opposed privatisation, but formerAssociated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen general secretaryLew Adams moved to work forVirgin Rail Group, and said on a 2004 radio phone-in programme: "All the time it was in the public sector, all we got were cuts, cuts, cuts. And today, there are more members in the trade union, more train drivers, and more trains running. The reality is that it worked, we’ve protected jobs, and we got more jobs."[118][119]
The privatisation process began in 1994 when BR's passenger sectors were divided into 25shadow franchises.[120] These were publicly owned TOCs operating in the planned franchise areas, prior to the actual franchises being put to tender.
In advance of the opening of theChannel Tunnel in 1994,European Passenger Services was created as the BR division responsible for the UK component ofEurostar international services.[121]
Under the process of British Rail's privatisation, operations were split into 125 companies between 1994 and 1997.[122] The ownership and operation of the infrastructure of the railway system was taken over by Railtrack. The telecommunications infrastructure andBritish Rail Telecommunications was sold toRacal, which in turn was sold toGlobal Crossing and merged withThales Group.[123] The rolling stock was transferred to three privaterolling stock companies (ROSCOs);Angel Trains,Eversholt Rail Group andPorterbrook.[124] Passenger services were divided into 25 operating companies, which were let on a franchise basis for a set period, whilst freight services were sold off completely. Dozens of smaller engineering and maintenance companies were also created and sold off.
British Rail's passenger services came to an end upon the franchising ofScotRail with the last service being aCaledonian Sleeper service fromGlasgow andEdinburgh toLondon on 31 March 1997.[125] The final service it operated was aRailfreight Distribution freight train fromDollands Moor toWembley on 20 November 1997.[126] The British Railways Board continued in existence as a corporation until early 2001, when it was replaced by theStrategic Rail Authority as part of the implementation of theTransport Act 2000.[127]
The original passenger franchisees were:[128]
Since privatisation, many groups have campaigned for the renationalisation of UK Rail services, most notably 'Bring Back British Rail'.[129] Various interested parties also have views on theprivatisation of British Rail.
The renationalisation of the railways of Britain continues to have popular support. Polls in 2012 and 2013 showed 70% and 66% support for renationalisation, respectively.[130][131]
Due torail franchises sometimes lasting over a decade, full renationalisation would take years unless compensation was paid to terminate contracts early.
When the infrastructure-owning companyRailtrack ceased trading in 2002, theLabour government set up the not-for-dividend companyNetwork Rail to take over the duties rather than renationalise this part of the network. However, in September 2014, Network Rail was reclassified as a central government body, adding around £34 billion to public sector net debt. This reclassification had been requested by theOffice for Budget Responsibility to comply withpan-European accounting standard ESA10.[132]
TheGreen party has committed to bringing the railways 'back into public ownership' and has maintained this impetus when other parties argued to maintain the status quo. In 2016, Green MP,Caroline Lucas, put forward aBill that would have seen the rail network fall back into public ownership step by step, as franchises come up for expiry.[133]
UnderJeremy Corbyn (2015–2020), theLabour Party pledged to gradually renationalise British Rail franchises if elected, as and when their private contracts expire, creating a "People's Railway".[134] In a pledge during his successful leadership campaign to succeed Corbyn,Keir Starmer said that renationalising rail would remain as Labour Party policy under his leadership.[135] This was further outlined in April 2024 when the party announced that a Labour government would transfer passenger rail networks to public ownership within its first term.[136] After Labour's victory in the2024 general election, the incoming government began the process of bringing all remaining privatised railway franchises into public ownership at the earliest opportunity as contracts expire with thePassenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024.[3]
Following theCOVID-19 pandemic decimating franchise revenues and making them unviable, in 2021 the government announced it would take back responsibility for the operations of passenger services throughGreat British Railways with service provision to be contracted to private operators.[137] In 2024, the government announced that management of publicly owned passenger rail services would be integrated into GBR.[138]
In 1989, theITV sketch showSpitting Image parodiedHugh Hudson's 1988British Rail, Britain's Railway advert on the plans of the thenConservativeBritish Government toprivatise the railways featuring many of the show's puppets (including the show's portrayal ofPrime MinisterMargaret Thatcher), numerous BR trains and landmarks and even a cardboard cutout ofThomas the Tank Engine.[139]
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