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| Company type | State-owned (trade name of adivision 1948–1963,statutory corporation 1963–1997) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Railway transport,logistics,shipping, andmanufacturing of rolling stock |
| Predecessor | |
| Founded | 1 January 1948 (1948-01-01) |
| 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 Rail (BR) was the nationalrailway company ofGreat Britain, from 1948 to 2001. It was created bynationalization under theTransport Act 1947. Britain's railways were returned to private ownership byprivatization in 2001.
After the smaller firms were merged in 1923 under theRailways Act 1921, there were four large regional railway companies. TheBig Four were theGreat Western Railway (GWR), theLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), theLondon and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and theSouthern Railway (SR). TheTransport Act 1947 made provision for thenationalisation of the network.[1]
TheSecond World War had caused damage to all the railways. They had lost a large part of their trains, buildings and equipment.
TheTransport Act 1947 set out thenationalisation of the rail network, as part of a plan byClement Attlee'sLabour Government to nationalise public transport. TheLondon Underground, some industrial lines and some remaining light railways likeShropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway were again excluded. For a short time, duringWorld War II, the Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway line was taken over by the military. After the war the line re-opened to public use in 1946. TheBicester Military Railway had been built by the government in 1941.
TheRailways Act 1921 took effect on 1 January 1923. By that date most of the mergers had taken place, some from the previous year. TheRailway Magazine in its issue of February 1923 dubbed the new companies as "TheBig Four of theNew Railway Era".
These "Big Four" were:
See also a list ofrailway companies involved in the 1923 grouping.
The nationalisedUlster Transport Authority (UTA) ran the railways inNorthern Ireland from 1948 until 1966. They were then taken over byTranslink and calledNI Railways, also known asNorthern Ireland Railways (Irish:Iarnród Tuaisceart Éireann).[2]
The government ofNorthern Ireland andIreland ran the formerGreat Northern Railway jointly under aGreat Northern Railway Board until 1958. Most of the lines in the west of Northern Ireland were closed in the 1960s.
| Example firm | Nationalised in 1947? | What happened to it |
|---|---|---|
| Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway | Yes, from 1939 to 1946 | Survives. |
| Snailbeach District Railways | No | Lorries were more value for money. Closed in 1959. |
| Shropshire and Montgomeryshire Railway | Yes, in 1941 | Too remote. Closed in 1960. |
| Southern Railway (Great Britain) | Yes | Privatised. |
| Oxfordshire Ironstone Railway | No | Closed when the quarry did in 1967. |
| Great Northern Railway (Ireland) | Yes, jointly by Northern Ireland and Ireland in 1948 | Most lines inNorthern Ireland were closed by 1969. Some were closed inIreland too. |
| London Underground | Already had been in 1933 | Many stations closed between 1936 and 1988. |
| Great Western Railway | Yes | Privatised. |
| London, Midland and Scottish Railway | Yes | Privatised. |
| London and North Eastern Railway | Yes | Privatised. |
| Bicester Military Railway | Built by the government in 1941 | Small cuts. |
In 1955, a major modernisation programme costing £1.2 billion was authorised by the government. The period of nationalisation saw sweeping changes occur assteam trains were scrapped 1968, in favour ofdiesel trains andelectric trains. One third of the network was closed by the highly criticalBeeching report of the 1960s.
A major railway survey in April 1961 was used in the writing of a government report on the future of the network. This report was calledThe Reshaping of British Railways. It was published by the British Railways Board (BRB) in March 1963.[3][4] A third of all passenger trains would be scrapped and more than 4,000 of the 7,000 stations would be closed.
InterCity (or, in the earliest days, the hyphenated Inter-City) was introduced by British Rail in 1966 as a brand-name for its long-haul express passenger services (seeBritish Rail brand names for a full history).
Passenger levels fell steadily from the late1950s to the late1970s,[5] but experienced a sharp increase after the introduction of the high-speedIntercity 125 trains in the late 1970s and early 1980s.[6]
Between 1934 and 1975 theNorthern line ran theNorthern City Line as itsHighbury Branch.London Underground gave it to British Rail in 1975,
Before the sectorization of BR in 1982 the system was split into regions. Working around London, they wereLondon Midland Region (Marylebone, Euston, St Pancras and Broad Street),Southern Region (Waterloo, Victoria, Chairing Cross, Holborn Viaduct, Cannon Street and London Bridge),Western Region (Paddington) andEastern Region (King's Cross, Moorgate, Broad Street, Liverpool Street and Fenchurch Street). This was perceived to be a source of inefficiency, so sectorization made the regions into a single organisation covering all commuter services. At the same timeInterCity took over express services andRegional Railways took over regional services. The group was originally calledProvincial.
BR built 2537steam locomotives from 1948 to 1960, some to pre-nationalisation designs and some to its own, new, standard designs. Eventually BR chose to end the use of steam trains in 1968.
The official report known as the "Modernisation Plan"[7] of December 1954 was intended to bring therailway system into the 20th century. The aim was to increase speed, reliability, safety and line capacity, by making the railways more attractive to passengers and freight operators. The important areas were:
Long-distance trains from Marylebone began to be cut back from 1958 after the line was given fromBR Midland Western to theBR Midland Region. Then BR Midland Region thought it was an unnecessary rival of theirMidland Main Line.[8] By 1960 there were no daytime trains running to destinations north of Nottingham and only a few still ran at night.[8] Many Express services were cut.[8] By 1963, local stopping services beyond Aylesbury were cut. In 1965freight services were ended.[8] Between 1963 and 1966 only a few remaining long distance services stayed in use. A large part of the formerGreat Central Railway was closed as part of the 'Beeching axe'. This meant that Marylebone was now used only by local trains to Aylesbury and High Wycombe. After the 1960s, lack of investment meant the station itself became run down.
Some of the early models were of poor quality and design, but many later kinds proved their worth in time.
British Rail Class 127 diesel trains were chosen to operate on the services fromMarylebone usually to places such asHigh Wycombe,Aylesbury andBanbury which are on theChiltern Main Line andGreat Central Main Line (now theLondon to Aylesbury Line). Strangely, the 115 were under Table 115 in the British Rail timetable. They were similar toBritish Rail Class 127, but were superior as the class had larger windows, better seats, lights and wall surfaces. Both classes were made in the early 1960s.
TheBritish Rail Class 47 (originallyBrush Type 4) is a class of British railwaydiesel-electric locomotive that was developed in the 1960s byBrush Traction. Their reliable and trusted service lasted well in to the 2000s. Some are still working in 2018.
British Rail gaveClass 52 to the class of 74 largediesel-hydraulic locomotives built for theWestern Region ofBritish Railways between 1961 and 1964. All were given two-word names, with the first word beingWestern, and so the type was nicknamedWesterns.
TheBritish Rail Class 207 (or3D) versatilediesel-electric multiple units were built by BR atEastleigh in 1962.
Some of the early models were of poor quality and design, but many later kinds proved their worth in time.
The British Rail Class 423 (or4Vep)electric multiple units were built by BR atYork Works from 1967 to 1974. They feature manually opening doors next to every seating row and mostly found working outer suburban services inSouth London, and rural services inKent andSussex, up to replacement in 2005.
TheBritish Rail Class 303 is a type ofelectric multiple unit. They are also known asBlue Train units, since they were originally painted blue all over. They were first used in 1960 for the electrification of theNorth Clyde and theCathcart Circle lines inStrathclyde.
TheBritish Rail Class 73electro-diesel locomotives are very unusual in that they can operate from a 750 V DCthird-rail supply, but also have adiesel engine to allow them to work on non-electrified routes.
TheBritish Rail Class 86 was the standardelectric locomotive built during the 1960s. It was made after the repeated testing of the earlier classes like the81 and85. The tests led to a much improved loco design.
TheBritish Rail Class 312 is a type ofalternating current (AC)electric multiple unit (EMU) built in 1966–1974[9] intended for use on outer-suburban passenger services. It was the last class of multiple unit to be constructed to theBritish Rail Mark 2body shell, and also the last with slam doors. Their passenger seats were an improvement on former types.
British Rail Class 313electric multiple units were built byBREL atYork Works from 1976 to 1977, thus the firstsecond-generation EMUs to be constructed for British Rail. They were capable of both drawing power via 25 kV AC overhead, or 750 V DC third-rail. They were the first units in Britain to have fully automatic couplers which allowed both physical coupling and also the connection of control electric and air supplies to be carried out without the driver's need to leave the cab. Their passenger seats were also an improvement on former types.
During the late 1950s, railways continued to worsen, and in 1959 the government acted, limiting the amount the British Transport Commission (BTC) could spend on British Rail.
The government proposed that many services could be provided more cheaply bybuses, and said that most abandoned rail services would have their places taken by bus services. Only main lines would be untouched. Many other minor lines would be cut back or scrapped.
Thebusiness manLord Beeching sawSouth Wales as a failing industrial region. So it lost the majority of its network. Since 1983 it has experienced a major rail revival, with new stations such asLlanharan reopening. Four lines reopened within 20 miles (32 km) of each other:Abercynon–Aberdare,Barry–Bridgend viaLlantwit Major,Bridgend–Maesteg and theEbbw Valley Line viaNewbridge.
The station atLaurencekirk on themainline between Arbroath and Aberdeen was shut in 1967, but 42 years later in May 2009 it reopened. Other reopened stations includeGretna Green,Dyce andNew Cumnock – all closed in the mid-1960s.
Haddenham inBuckinghamshire lost its little-used station in 1963,[10] but a more popular station opened in 1987 as the town grew.[11]
A major part of the report proposed that British Railelectrify some major main lines and the use of containerised freight traffic instead of outdated and uneconomic wagon-load traffic. Some of these plans were eventually adopted, however, such as the creation of theFreightliner concept and further electrification of theWest Coast Main Line fromCrewe toGlasgow in 1974. Also the staffs' terms and conditions were improved over time.
Since the Beeching cuts of the1960s, road traffic levels grew heavily in some areas. This has come close to gridlock. Furthermore, in recent years there have been record high levels of passengers on the railways. A modest number of the railway closures have therefore been reversed.
In addition a small but significant number of closed stations have reopened, and passenger services been restored on lines where they had been closed or removed. Many of these were in the urbanmetropolitan counties and towns wherePassenger Transport Executives have a role in promoting local passenger rail use.
A notable reopening was theRobin Hood Line inNottinghamshire, betweenNottingham andWorksop viaMansfield, which reopened in the early1990s. Before the line reopened,Mansfield had been the largest town in Britain without a railway station.
Profits from therailways began to fall in the early 1980s. In 1983, thecivil servantSir David Serpell wrote what became known as theSerpell Report.[12] He wanted even more cutbacks.
In the early 1980s there was a proposal to close Marylebone and divert British Rail services viaHigh Wycombe into nearbyPaddington. There was also a plan to extend theMetropolitan Line toAylesbury, soLondon trains via Amersham would be sent toBaker Street.Marylebone station was to be converted into a bus and coach station. London Underground said theMetropolitan Line could not cope with any more trains and was full up. However these plans were deemed stupid and clumsy, and were quietly dropped.
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The funding of BR was reduced so they created the cheaper Pacer trains. TheBritish Rail Class 143 is adiesel multiple unit, part of thePacer family oftrains introduced between 1985 and 1986. They originally worked aroundNorth East England but were later transferred toWales.[13] It was made out of bus parts put on to lorry chassis and train wheels. Earlier units proved to be unreliable, but later units were of a better design.
The British Rail Class 156 "Super-Sprinter"diesel multiple units were built from 1987 to 1989 to replace elderly First Generation "Heritage" DMUs (like theClass 127 units) and locomotive-hauled passenger trains.
As funding increased before privatisation the successfulBritish Rail Class 158Express Sprinter was made. It is a type ofdiesel multiple unit (DMU) train. They were built for British Rail between 1989 and 1992 byBREL at theirDerby Works.
On 12 December 1988, three commuter trains crashed, just south-west of Clapham junction station, inLondon. 35 people died and more than 100 were injured.[14] British Rail's 30-year-oldvintageMark 1 carriages were found out to be dangerous and the brokensignalling equipment was fixed and improved.
The Britishgovernment underJohn Major said that privatisation would help passenger services, but this did not happen until much later.
The Scottish Government have re-opened the lines betweenHamilton andLarkhall,Alloa andStirling and is working on a link fromAirdrie toBathgate. The biggest line-reopening project is the formerWaverley railway Edinburgh to Borders line.[15]
The Welsh Assembly Government has re-opened theVale of Glamorgan Line betweenBarry Bock andBridgend in 2005. TheEbbw Valley Line reopened betweenEbbw Vale andCardiff in the year 2008. It will later go on to services toNewport inGwent in 2011. The Barry–Bridgend route was closed after theBeeching report of March 1963. The line's passenger service was officially shut down in June 1964, but freight continued until the late 1990s.
Some English stations likeCorby andMansfield were reopened after privatisation.Yet more stations were reopened by British Rail in Scotland, England and Wales before privatisation when the railway was run properly.
Train fares cost more than under British Rail.[16]
Regional Railways was one of the three passenger sectors of British Rail. It was created in the year 1982. It finished operation in 1996, two years afterprivatisation. In theprivatisation of British Rail,InterCity trains were divided up into several franchises. TheCaledonian Sleeper are transferred toScotRail, nowFirst ScotRail.
Since privatisation, the number of companies has changed a number of times as rules have changed and the areas covered altered. The companies that took over passenger rail services include:
Six sub-brands also occurred in the early 2000s:
The British Rail "double arrow" logo is to show direction of travel on adouble track railway on a railway map and was nicknamed "the arrow of indecision".[17][18]
Sometimesstrikes happened among British Rail staff, over staff pay, safety, working hours and alike. There were several strikes in the late 1970s, but decreased after privatisation. There were also several other strikes in the late 1970s. Other firms like the UK'scoal mines also struck at this time.
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