 The Board traded asBritish Rail from 1965 until its privatisation | |
| Company type | Statutory corporation |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Predecessor | British Transport Commission |
| Founded | 1 January 1963 |
| Defunct | October 2001 |
| Fate | Privatised |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Parent | Department for Transport |
TheBritish Railways Board (BRB) was anationalised industry in theUnited Kingdom that operated from 1963 to 2001. Until 1997, it was responsible for most railway services inGreat Britain, trading under the brand name British Railways and, from 1965,British Rail. It did not operate railways inNorthern Ireland, where railways were the responsibility of theGovernment of Northern Ireland.
It is astatutory corporation, which when operating consisted of achairman and nine to fifteen other members appointed by theSecretary of State for Transport.[1] The Board, now reduced to a minimum membership of a chairman and one other member,[2] continues to exist to hold theFrench law benefits and obligations of theChannel Tunnel Rail Usage Contract.[3]
The BRB was created on 1 January 1963 under theTransport Act 1962 byHarold Macmillan'sConservative government to inherit the railway responsibilities of theBritish Transport Commission, which was dissolved at the same time.[4]
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Initially, and for the majority of its history, the BRB operated under the structure inherited from the BTC Railway Executive. Operations were initially divided into six regions –Eastern,London Midland,North Eastern,Western,Southern andScottish (later rebrandedScotRail). The North Eastern region was merged into the Eastern Region in 1967.
In the 1980s, the BRB moved to a sectoral model based on business activity –InterCity for long-distance passenger trains,Network SouthEast for commuter trains inLondon, andRegional Railways for short-distance and commuter trains outside the Network SouthEast area.Railfreight was organised separately.
As well as the railway network, for much of its history the BRB also ranferry services (later asSealink) andhotels. These were sold in the 1980s.
The final BRB structure (1994–1997) was a shadow form of the futureprivatised railway industry, becoming a holding company for over 100 subsidiaries, including 25 passenger train operating, six freight, three rolling stock leasing, and a number of track maintenance companies. These were slowly sold during privatisation (the passenger subsidiaries were franchised to private sector concerns).
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On 1 April 1994, railway infrastructure became the responsibility ofpublic limited companyRailtrack, initially Government owned. The BRB continued to operate all trains until 1996, when the process of transferring them to the private sector began.
Privatisation was completed in 1997, but the BRB continued to discharge residual functions relating to non-operational railway land and BR pensions, and to have responsibility for theBritish Transport Police. In 1999Alistair Morton was appointed the last chairman of the BRB, which began to advise on passenger railway matters. During this time it operated with theDirector of Passenger Rail Franchising under the trading name of theShadow Strategic Rail Authority.
Under theTransport Act 2000, the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising was abolished and the majority of BRB's functions were transferred to theStrategic Rail Authority's wholly owned subsidiaryBRB (Residuary) Limited. In 2001 the minimum membership of the Board itself was reduced to the chairman and one other member.[2] With the dissolution of the SRA under theRailways Act 2005, BRB (Residuary) became a wholly owned subsidiary of theSecretary of State for Transport. While the Transport Act allowed for BRB to be abolished,[5] the Board's remaining function is to hold the French law benefits and obligations of the Channel Tunnel Rail Usage Contract on trust for the Secretary of State for Transport.[3] In this function it has outlived its own residuary company, which was wound up on until 30 September 2013, pursuant to the Public Bodies review.[6]
Through its subsidiary Rail Property Ltd, BRB (Residuary) retained responsibility for non-operational railway land, for example railway lines closed in theBeeching Axe that have not been sold.
The BRB owned a large amount of archive material, including papers, maps, films and photographs, dating back before nationalisation. In 1997 these were distributed to other bodies: films (the bulk of which had been produced byBritish Transport Films) to theBritish Film Institute inLondon, photographs to theNational Railway Museum (NRM) inYork, and most papers to thePublic Record Office.
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