View source for British Rail

{{Short description|British state-owned rail transport operator (1948–1997)}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{About|the nationalised railway service from 1948 to 1997|current rail transport in Great Britain|Rail transport in Great Britain|a historic overview|History of rail transport in Great Britain}}
{{redirect|British Railways|the planned public body that will manage railway infrastructure and passenger services|Great British Railways}}
{{Infobox company
| name = British Railways<br />British Rail
| image_caption = A BR [[InterCity 125]] at [[Reading railway station|Reading]] in 1989
| type = [[State-owned enterprise|State-owned]] ([[trade name]] of a [[Division (business)|division]] 1948–1963, [[statutory corporation]] 1963–1997)
| logo = British Rail - full colour logo.svg
| logo_size = 
| image = Railway Station, Reading - geograph.org.uk - 4364509.jpg
| image_size =
| location_city = [[London]]
| location_country = England
| industry = [[Railway transport]], [[logistics]], [[shipping]], and [[British Rail Engineering Limited|manufacturing of rolling stock]]
| owner = [[Government of the United Kingdom]]
| parent = {{ubli|indent=1em|1948–1962:|[[British Transport Commission]]|1962–1997:|[[British Railways Board]]}}
| products = [[Rail transport]], cargo transport, [[Service sector|services]]
| revenue = 
| foundation = {{start date and age|1948|1|1|df=yes}}
| defunct = {{end date and age|1997|11|20|df=y}}
| area_served = Great Britain
| predecessor = {{ubli|ident=1em|[[Great Western Railway]]|[[London, Midland & Scottish Railway]]|[[London & North Eastern Railway]]|[[Southern Railway (England)|Southern Railway]]}}
| net_income = 
| operating_income = 
| num_employees = 
| key_people = [[Alastair Morton]]<br /><small>(Final Chairman of the [[British Railways Board]])</small>
| divisions = {{ubli|indent=1em|From 1948:|[[Eastern Region of British Railways|Eastern Region]]|[[London Midland Region of British Railways|London Midland Region]]|[[North Eastern Region of British Railways|North Eastern Region]]|[[Scottish Region of British Railways|Scottish Region]]|[[Southern Region of British Railways|Southern Region]]|[[Western Region of British Railways|Western Region]]|[[British Rail Research Division]]|[[Collection & Delivery]]|[[Freightliner Group|Freightliner]]|[[Motorail (British Rail)|Motorail]]|[[Night Star Parcels]]|[[Speedlink]]|[[Rail Express Parcels]]|[[Red Star Parcels]]|From 1982:|[[InterCity (British Rail)|InterCity]]|[[Network SouthEast]]|[[Railfreight]]|[[Railfreight Distribution]]|[[Rail Express Systems]]|[[Regional Railways]]|[[Trainload Freight]]}}
| subsid = {{ubli|indent=1em|[[British Rail Engineering Limited|British Rail Engineering Ltd]]|[[British Transport Hotels]]|[[Eurostar International Limited|European Passenger Services]]|[[Sealink]]|[[Seaspeed]]|[[Travellers Fare]]}}
| fate = [[Privatisation of British Rail|Privatised]]
| successor = {{ubl|[[National Rail]]|[[#Successor companies|Train operating franchises]]|[[Railtrack]]|[[DB Cargo UK|EWS]]|[[Freightliner Group|Freightliner]]}}
}}
'''British Railways''' ('''BR'''), which from 1965 traded as '''British Rail''', was a [[state-owned company]] that operated most [[rail transport in Great Britain]] from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the [[British Transport Commission]], it became an independent [[statutory corporation]] in January 1963, when it was formally renamed the [[British Railways Board]].<ref>s.1 Transport Act 1962</ref>

British Railways was formed on 1 January 1948 as a result of the [[Transport Act 1947]], which [[nationalised]] the [[Big Four (British railway companies)|Big 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. The [[History of rail transport in Great Britain 1948–1994#The Modernisation Plan|1955 Modernisation Plan]] formally directed a process of [[dieselisation]] and [[Railway electrification in Great Britain|electrification]] to take place; accordingly, [[steam locomotive]]s had been entirely replaced by diesel and electric traction (except for the [[narrow-gauge railway|narrow-gauge]] [[Vale of Rheidol Railway]] tourist line) by 1968. On 1 January 1963, the [[British 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 reduce [[rail subsidies]], one-third of the network and over half of all stations were permanently closed under the [[Beeching cuts]]. Trunk routes were considered to be the most important, and so electrification of the [[Great Eastern Main Line]] from London to [[Norwich railway station|Norwich]] was completed between 1976 and 1986 and on the [[East Coast Main Line]] from London to [[Edinburgh Waverley railway station|Edinburgh]] between 1985 and 1990. Train manufacturer [[British Rail Engineering Limited]] (BREL) produced the capable [[InterCity 125]] and [[Sprinter (British Rail)|Sprinter]] sets, the introduction of which improved intercity and regional railways, respectively, as well as the unsuccessful [[Advanced Passenger Train]] (APT). Gradually, [[Passenger train|passengers]] replaced [[freight train|freight]] as the main source of business. From 1982, under [[sectorisation]], 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 the [[privatisation of British Rail]]. Following completion of the privatisation process in 1997, responsibility for track, signalling and stations was transferred to [[Railtrack]] (later brought under public control as [[Network Rail]]) while services were run by a variety of [[train operating company|train operating companies]]. At the end of the process, any remaining obligations of British Rail were transferred to [[BRB (Residuary) Limited]]. [[Great British Railways]], a planned publicly owned body, is expected to manage railway infrastructure and passenger railway services in the future,<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Hakimian |first=Rob |date=17 July 2024 |title=Rail reform and establishment of Great British Railways confirmed for this Parliament |url=https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/rail-reform-and-establishment-of-great-british-railways-confirmed-for-this-parliament-17-07-2024/ |access-date=4 December 2024 |magazine=New Civil Engineer |language=en}}</ref> with remaining privatised franchises to be brought into public control under the provisions of the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024.<ref name="PRSbill2024">{{Cite web |title=Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament |url=https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3732 |access-date=4 December 2024 |website=bills.parliament.uk |language=en}}</ref> GBR will use an updated form of the [[British Rail Double Arrow]] as its logo,<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 December 2023 |title=Great British Railways: Williams-Shapps plan for rail |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/great-british-railways-williams-shapps-plan-for-rail |access-date=4 December 2024 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref> which is now owned by the [[Secretary of State for Transport]], and which remains employed as a generic symbol on street signs in Great Britain denoting railway stations.<ref>{{cite web |author=Her Majesty's Government |year=2002 |title=The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 (SI 2002:3113) |url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2002/023113dh.gif |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090419172250/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2002/023113dh.gif |archive-date=19 April 2009 |access-date=27 March 2009}}</ref>

== History ==
{{Main|History of rail transport in Great Britain 1948–1994}}
[[File:British Railways filmstrip (2).jpg|thumb|British Rail filmstrip showing how the railways were unified under BR]]

=== Nationalisation in 1948 ===
{{Anchor|Nationalisation in 1948}}<!-- backup anchor for section links – do not rename -->
[[File:70013 Oliver Cromwell Carlisle Kingmoor.jpg|thumb|[[BR Standard Class 7 70013 Oliver Cromwell|BR steam locomotive 70013 ''Oliver Cromwell'']] at Carlisle Kingmoor in 1968]] 

The rail transport system in Great Britain developed during the 19th century. After the grouping of 1923 under the [[Railways Act 1921]], there were four large railway companies, each dominating its own geographic area: the [[Great Western Railway]] (GWR), the [[London, Midland and Scottish Railway]] (LMS), the [[London and North Eastern Railway]] (LNER) and the [[Southern Railway (England)|Southern Railway]] (SR). During [[World War I]], the railways were under state control, which continued until 1921. Complete [[nationalisation]] had been considered, and the [[Railways Act 1921]]<ref>{{cite hansard |title = The State and the Railways |url = https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1920/aug/03/the-state-and-the-railways |series= [[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |house = [[House of Lords]] |date = 3 August 1920 |access-date = 14 March 2019 |column_start = 711 |column_end = 713 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090719130758/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1920/aug/03/the-state-and-the-railways |archive-date = 19 July 2009 |url-status = live }}</ref> is sometimes considered as a precursor to that, but the concept was rejected. Nationalisation was subsequently carried out after [[World War II]], under the [[Transport Act 1947]]. This Act made provision for the nationalisation of the network as part of a policy of nationalising public services by [[Clement Attlee]]'s [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] Government. British Railways came into existence as the [[business name]] of the [[Railway Executive]] of the [[British Transport Commission]] (BTC) on 1 January 1948 when it took over the assets of the Big Four.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docSummary.php?docID=67 |title = Transport Act 1947 |author = Her Majesty's Government |year = 1947 |via = The Railways Archive |publisher = Her Majesty's Stationery Office |access-date = 25 November 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120325224406/http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docsummary.php?docID=67 |archive-date = 25 March 2012 |url-status = live  }}</ref>

There were also [[joint railway]]s between the Big Four and a few light railways to consider (see [[list of constituents of British Railways]]). Excluded from nationalisation were industrial lines like the [[Oxfordshire Ironstone Railway]]. The [[London Underground]] also became publicly owned, becoming the [[London Transport Executive]] of the British Transport Commission. The [[Bicester Military Railway]] was already run by the government. The electric [[Liverpool Overhead Railway]] was also excluded from [[nationalized|nationalisation]].<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.citymetric.com/transport/liverpool-overhead-railway-was-legendary-it-worth-rebuilding-3575 |title = The Liverpool Overhead Railway was legendary – but is it worth rebuilding? |website = citymetric.com |date = 4 January 2018 |access-date = 25 April 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180426080003/https://www.citymetric.com/transport/liverpool-overhead-railway-was-legendary-it-worth-rebuilding-3575 |archive-date = 26 April 2018 |url-status = live}}</ref>

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.

{{clear left}}

=== 1955 Modernisation Plan ===
{{Main|History of rail transport in Great Britain 1948–1994#The Modernisation Plan}}
[[File:Bristol Pullman (8226781197).jpg|thumb|[[Blue Pullmans|Blue Pullman]] at [[Bristol Bath Road TMD]]]]
The report, latterly known as the "Modernisation Plan",<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docSummary.php?docID=23 |title = Modernisation and Re-Equipment of British Rail |author = British Transport Commission |via = The Railways Archive |publisher = British Transport Commission |year = 1954 |access-date = 25 November 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061031102337/http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docSummary.php?docID=23 |archive-date = 31 October 2006 |url-status = live  }}</ref> was published in January 1955. It was intended to bring the railway system into the 20th century. A government [[White 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.<ref name="last trains">{{cite book |last = Loft |first = Charles |year = 2013 |title = Last Trains – Dr Beeching and the Death of Rural England |publisher = Biteback |isbn = 9781849545006}}</ref> 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:
* [[Railway electrification system|Electrification]] of principal main lines, in the [[Eastern Region of British Railways|Eastern Region]], [[Kent]], Birmingham to Liverpool/Manchester and Central [[Scotland]]
* Large-scale [[dieselisation]] to replace [[steam locomotives of British Railways|steam locomotives]]
* New passenger and freight [[rolling stock]]
* [[Railway signalling|Resignalling]] and track renewals
* Modern [[marshalling yard]]s
* The closure of an unspecified but relatively small number of lines

The government appeared to endorse the 1955 programme (costing £1.2&nbsp;billion), but did so largely for political reasons.<ref name="last trains" /> 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.<ref name="b4873">{{cite book |title = British Railways, 1948–73: a business history |first=Terence Richard |last = Gourvish |author2 = N. Blake |publisher = Cambridge University Press |year = 1986 |pages = 286–290}}</ref> At the same time, [[containerised]] freight was being developed.<ref name="b4873" /> The marshalling yard building programme was a failure, being based on a belief in the continued viability of [[wagon-load]] traffic in the face of increasingly effective road competition, and lacking effective forward planning or realistic assessments of future freight.<ref name="b4873" /> A 2002 documentary broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4]] blamed the 1950s decisions for the "beleaguered" condition of the railway system at that time.<ref>{{Cite news |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1989357.stm |title = Bad railways? Blame it on the 1950s |date = 16 May 2002 |work = BBC News |access-date = 25 September 2018 |language = en-GB |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180925180652/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1989357.stm |archive-date = 25 September 2018 |url-status = live}}</ref>

=== The Beeching reports ===
[[File:Beeching2.svg|thumb|right|upright|Network for development proposed in 1965 report ''"The Development of the Major Trunk Routes"'' (bold lines) {{legend-line|black solid 2px|To be kept}}{{legend-line|yellow solid 2px|To be closed}}]]
{{Main|Beeching cuts}}
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.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docSummary.php?docID=116 |title = Transport Act 1962 |author = Her Majesty's Government |year = 1962 |via = The Railways Archive |publisher = Her Majesty's Stationery Office |access-date = 25 November 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070819224356/http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docSummary.php?docID=116 |archive-date = 19 August 2007 |url-status = live  }}</ref> This abolished the commission and replaced it by several separate boards. These included a British Railways Board, which took over on 1 January 1963.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1093 |title = nationalarchives.gov.uk |access-date = 17 March 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180317104642/http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1093 |archive-date = 17 March 2018 |url-status = live  }}</ref>
[[File:British Railways Delivery Truck London 1962.jpg|thumb|left|A [[Scammell Scarab]] truck in British Railways livery, London, 1962. British Railways was involved in numerous related businesses, including road haulage.]]

Following semi-secret discussions on railway finances by the government-appointed Stedeford Committee in 1961, one of its members, [[Richard Beeching|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.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/beeching_prog1.shtml |title = Back to Beeching |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091003010237/http://www0.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/beeching_prog1.shtml |archive-date = 3 October 2009 |publisher = [[BBC Radio 4]] |date = 27 February 2010}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docSummary.php?docID=13 |title = The Reshaping of British Railways – Part 1: Report |author = British Transport Commission |year = 1963 |via = The Railways Archive |publisher = Her Majesty's Stationery Office |access-date = 25 November 2006 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20101019045735/http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docSummary.php?docID=13 |archive-date = 19 October 2010 |url-status = live  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docSummary.php?docID=35 |title = The Reshaping of British Railways—Part 2: Maps |author = British Transport Commission |year = 1963 |via = The Railways Archive |publisher = Her Majesty's Stationery Office |access-date = 25 November 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061026155439/http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docSummary.php?docID=35 |archive-date = 26 October 2006 |url-status = live  }}</ref> The proposals, which became known as the [[Beeching 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{{nbsp}}million and £4{{nbsp}}million a year, they earned only about £0.5{{nbsp}}million.<ref>Richard Beeching "The Reshaping of British Railways", p. 15.</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docSummary.php?docID=236 |title = The Economics and Social Aspects of the Beeching Plan |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110605021806/http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docsummary.php?docID=236 |archive-date = 5 June 2011 |author = Lord Stoneham |publisher = House of Lords |via = railwaysarchive.co.uk  |date = 1963}}</ref> A small number of stations and lines closed under the Beeching programme have been reopened, with further reopenings proposed.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8099912.stm |title = Move to reinstate lost rail lines |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090617194906/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8099912.stm |archive-date=17 June 2009 |publisher = BBC News |date = 15 June 2009}}</ref>

A second Beeching report, "The Development of the Major Trunk Routes", followed in 1965.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docsummary.php?docID=14 |title = The Development Of The Major Railway Trunk Routes |via = The Railways Archive |publisher = British Railways Board |date = February 1965 |access-date = 27 March 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120418212554/http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docsummary.php?docID=14 |archive-date = 18 April 2012 |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work = The Times |title = The Second Stage of Dr. Beeching's Reorganisation Proposals |date = 17 February 1965 |page = 8}}</ref> 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.

=== Post-Beeching ===
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 3[[Penny#Name|d]] per mile second class, and 4½d per mile first class<ref>{{cite magazine |editor-first = B.W.C. |editor-last = Cooke |date = July 1964 |department = Notes and News |title = New fares structure |magazine = [[The Railway Magazine]] |volume = 110 |issue = 759 |page = 592 |publisher = Tothill Press |location = Westminster}}</ref> (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|{{#expr: 3 / 240}}|1964|r=2}}}} and £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|{{#expr: 4.5 / 240}}|1964|r=2}}}} respectively, in {{Inflation-year|UK}}{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}).

In 1966, a "[[racism in the United Kingdom|Whites only]]" recruitment policy for guards at [[Euston railway station|Euston station]] agreed between the local union branch and station management<ref>{{cite web |last1 = Davis |first1 = Rachael |title = Euston's first Black train guard who ended racial segregation on London's railway |url = https://www.mylondon.news/news/nostalgia/euston-station-black-train-guard-19910274 |website = MyLondon |date = 9 March 2022 |publisher = Reach plc |access-date = 3 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1 = Page |first1 = Chris |title = Resistance to change |url = https://www.railfuture.org.uk/article1722-Resistance-to-change |publisher = Railfuture Ltd |access-date = 3 April 2023}}</ref> was dropped after the case of [[Asquith Xavier]], a migrant from [[Dominica]], 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]].<ref name="BBC-54272188">{{cite web |title = Asquith Xavier: Plaque honours train guard who fought Whites-only policy |url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-54272188 |work = BBC News |access-date = 24 September 2020 |date = 24 September 2020}}</ref>

Passenger levels decreased steadily from 1962 to the late 1970s,<ref>The UK [https://web.archive.org/web/20041017235852/http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_transstats/documents/divisionhomepage/031571.hcsp Department for Transport] (DfT), specifically Table 6.1 from [http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_transstats/documents/downloadable/dft_transstats_613483.pdf Transport Statistics Great Britain 2006] {{webarchive |url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080908033415/http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_transstats/documents/downloadable/dft_transstats_613483.pdf |date = 8 September 2008 }} (4&nbsp;MB PDF file)</ref> and reached a low in 1982.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/social-trends-rd/social-trends/social-trends-40/social-trends-40---transport-chapter.pdf |title = UK Government Web Archive |access-date = 13 August 2017 |archive-url = http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160105224526/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/social-trends-rd/social-trends/social-trends-40/social-trends-40---transport-chapter.pdf |archive-date = 5 January 2016 |url-status = bot: unknown  }}</ref> Network improvements included completing electrification of the [[Great Eastern Main Line]] from London to [[Norwich railway station|Norwich]] between 1976 and 1986 and the [[East Coast Main Line]] from London to [[Edinburgh Waverley railway station|Edinburgh]] between 1985 and 1990.<ref>{{cite book |last1 = Cowley |first1 = Ian |title = Anglia East |date = 1987 |publisher = David & Charles |location = Newton Abbot, UK |isbn = 0-7153-8978-5 |pages = 43–47}}</ref><ref name = "raileng elect18">{{cite news |last1 = Shirres |first1 = David |title = ECML: Electrification as it used to be |url = https://www.railengineer.uk/2017/11/27/ecml-electrification-as-it-used-to-be/ |work = Rail Engineer |publisher = Rail Media Group |place = Coalville |access-date = 10 January 2018 |archive-date = 11 January 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180111165146/https://www.railengineer.uk/2017/11/27/ecml-electrification-as-it-used-to-be/ |url-status = dead }}</ref> A mainline route closure during this period of relative network stability was the {{nowrap|1,500 V DC}}-electrified [[Woodhead line]] between [[Manchester Piccadilly railway station|Manchester]] and [[Sheffield Victoria railway station|Sheffield]]: passenger service ceased in 1970 and goods in 1981.<ref>{{cite magazine |title = Over the Woodhead in the cab of ''Tommy'' |first = Christopher |last = Nicholson |pages = 43–47 |magazine = The Railway Magazine |date = September 2014 |volume = 160 |issue = 1,362 |issn = 0033-8923}}</ref>

A further British Rail report from a committee chaired by [[David Serpell|Sir David Serpell]] was published in 1983. The [[Serpell 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{{nbsp}}route{{nbsp}}km (1,240{{nbsp}}miles). The report was received with hostility within several circles, which included figures within the government, as well as amongst the public.<ref name="GH">{{cite news |last1 = Rogers |first1 = Roy |title = Hostile reception for Serpell options |url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19830121&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date = 15 February 2017 |work = The Glasgow Herald |date = 21 January 1983}}</ref> The reaction was so strong that [[Margaret 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.<ref name="GH20Jan1983p11">{{cite news |last1 = Rogers |first1 = Roy |title = Fresh ingredients that will be unpalatable to the rail industry |url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19830120&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date = 10 July 2020 |work = The Glasgow Herald |date = 20 January 1983 |page = 11}}</ref><ref name="Telegraphobit">{{cite news |title = Sir David Serpell |url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/2512056/Sir-David-Serpell.html |access-date = 22 February 2017 |work = The Telegraph |date = 6 August 2008}}</ref><ref name="IndObit">{{cite news |last1 = Dalyell |first1 = Tam |title = Sir David Serpell: Able and influential civil servant |url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/sir-david-serpell-able-and-influential-civil-servant-888236.html |access-date = 6 November 2017 |work = The Independent |date = 7 August 2008}}</ref>

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 the [[Chester and Connah's Quay Railway]] in 1992, the [[Brierley Hill railway station|Brierley Hill]] to [[Walsall railway station|Walsall]] section of the [[South Staffordshire line]] in 1993, while the [[Birmingham Snow Hill railway station|Birmingham]] to [[Wolverhampton Low Level railway station|Wolverhampton]] section of the Great Western Railway was closed in three phases between 1972 and 1992.

=== Transport Act 1968 ===
{{Main|Transport Act 1968}}
Following the election of [[Labour government, 1964–1970|Labour]] in 1964, on a platform of revising many of the cuts, [[Tom Fraser]] instead authorised the closure 1,071&nbsp;mi of railway lines, following the recommendations from the ''[[Beeching cuts|Beeching Report]]'' even lines not considered closing.<ref>{{cite book |last = Henshaw |first = David |title = The Great Railway Conspiracy |publisher = McDermott|page = 165 |edition = Third |year = 2013 |isbn = 978-0-957651 1-0-4}}</ref> After he resigned in 1967, his replacement [[Barbara Castle]] continued the line and station closures but introduced the first Government rail subsidies for socially necessary but unprofitable railways in the [[Transport Act 1968]]. Part of these provisions was the creation of a [[passenger 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:

* [[West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive|West Midlands PTE]] on 1 October 1969
* [[Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive|SELNEC PTE]] (South East Lancashire & North East Cheshire) on 1 November 1969 (now ''Greater Manchester'')
* [[Merseytravel|Merseyside PTE]] on 1 December 1969 (now Liverpool City Region)
* [[Tyneside Passenger Transport Executive|Tyneside PTE]] on 1 January 1970 (now ''Tyne and Wear'')
* [[Strathclyde Partnership for Transport|Greater Glasgow PTE]] on 1 June 1973 (now ''Strathclyde'')

This was the first real subdivision of BR since its inception in 1949, and likely saved many lines earmarked for closure,{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}} notably the [[Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway]], which [[Northern line (Merseyrail)|now]] forms part of the [[Merseyrail]] network.

=== Sectorisation ===
[[File:Charing Cross station geograph-3300926-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg|thumb|[[Network SouthEast]] [[British Rail Class 465|Class 465]] at [[Charing Cross railway station|Charing Cross]]]]
Upon sectorisation in 1982, three passenger sectors were created: [[InterCity (British Rail)|InterCity]], operating principal express services; London & South East (renamed [[Network SouthEast]] in 1986) operating commuter services in the London area; Provincial (renamed [[Regional Railways]] in 1989) responsible for all other passenger services.<ref name="Thomas" /> In the [[metropolitan county|metropolitan counties]] local services were managed by the [[Passenger Transport Executive]]s. Provincial was the most subsidised (per passenger km) of the three sectors; upon formation, its costs were four times its [[revenue]].<ref name="Thomas">{{cite Q|Q112224535 |author-link = David St John Thomas|first1 = David St John|last1 = Thomas |last2 = Whitehouse |first2 = Patrick}}</ref> During the 1980s British Rail ran the [[Rail 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.<ref>{{cite book |last = Boocokc |first = Colin |title = Spotlight on BR: British Railways 1948–1998 Success or Disaster? |year = 1998 |publisher = Atlantic Transport |isbn = 978-0-906899-98-4}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite book |title = British Rail 1974–1997: From Integration to Privatisation |last = Gourvish |first = Terry |page = 277}}</ref>

== Branding ==
{{Main|British Rail corporate liveries}}

=== Pre-1960s ===
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 by [[Great Western Railway|GWR]]-style [[Brunswick green]] in 1952) was used on passenger locomotives, and [[London and North Western Railway|LNWR]]-style lined black for mixed-traffic locomotives, but later green was more widely adopted.<ref>{{cite book |first1 = Brian |last1 = Haresnape |title = Railway Liveries: BR Steam 1948-1968 |last2 = Boocock |first2 = Colin |year = 1989 |publisher = [[Ian Allan Publishing|Ian Allan]] |location = Shepperton |isbn = 0-7110-1856-1 |page = 11 }}</ref>{{sfn|Height|Cresswell|1979}}

Development of a corporate identity for the organisation was hampered by the competing ambitions of the [[British Transport Commission]] and the [[Railway Executive]]. The Executive attempted to introduce a modern [[Art 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, a [[Lion (heraldry)|lion]] astride a spoked wheel, designed for the BTC by [[Cecil Thomas (sculptor)|Cecil 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, using [[Gill Sans]] lettering first adopted by the [[London and North Eastern Railway|LNER]] from 1929.

In 1956, the BTC was granted a [[Achievement (heraldry)|heraldic achievement]] by the [[College of Arms]] and the [[Lord Lyon]], and then BTC chairman [[Brian Robertson, 1st Baron Robertson of Oakridge|Brian Robertson]] wanted a grander logo for the railways. BR's second corporate logo (1956–1965), designed in consultation with [[Charles Franklyn]] and inspired by the much more detailed BTC crest, depicted a rampant lion emerging from a [[Crown (heraldry)|heraldic 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.{{sfn|Jackson|2013}}

<gallery mode="packed" heights="120px">
File:Lion on Wheel emblem on the side of M79990.jpg|The first lion emblem
File:Train Stations and Trains National Rail Museum (5632693721).jpg|The later lion emblem on BR locomotives
File:British Railways London Midland Region station totem for Liverpool Central Low Level.jpg|[[Liverpool Central railway station|Liverpool Central station]] sign using the 'hot dog' totem, properly called a lamp tablet
</gallery>

=== 1960s ===
[[File:British Rail - colour reversed logo.svg|thumb|The [[British Rail Double Arrow]] designed by Gerald Barney (1965)]]
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 of [[London Transport Board|London Transport]]. BR's design panel set up a working party led by [[Milner Gray (designer)|Milner Gray]] of the [[Design Research Unit]]. They drew up [[British Rail Corporate Identity Manual|a Corporate Identity Manual]] which established a coherent brand and design standard for the whole organisation, specifying [[Rail Blue]] and pearl grey as the standard colour scheme for all rolling stock; [[Rail Alphabet]] as the standard corporate typeface, designed by [[Jock Kinneir]] and [[Margaret Calvert]]; and introducing the now-iconic corporate Identity Symbol of the [[British Rail Double Arrow|Double 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 of [[lightning]] or [[barbed wire]], and also acquired a nickname: "the arrow of indecision".<ref>{{cite web |url = https://madebysix.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/the-arrow-of-indecision/ |title = The Arrow of Indecision |website = madebysix.wordpress.com |date = 5 January 2012 |access-date = 26 April 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170427102214/https://madebysix.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/the-arrow-of-indecision/ |archive-date = 27 April 2017 |url-status = live  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last = Shannon |first = Paul |title = Blue Diesel Days |work=<!--This webpage is actually a publisher's advert for the book (ISBN 978-0-7110-3225-5), but shows online the usage of the phrase referenced. A link to the book itself might be better in due course...--> |publisher = [[Ian Allan Publishing]] |url = http://www.ianallanpublishing.com/product.php?productid=56658&cat=1027&bestseller=Y |archive-url = https://archive.today/20081201010813/http://www.ianallanpublishing.com/product.php?productid=56658&cat=1027&bestseller=Y |archive-date = 1 December 2008 |access-date = 16 November 2008}}</ref> A mirror image of the double arrow was used on the [[port side]] of BR-owned [[Sealink]] 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".{{sfn|Jackson|2013}}{{sfn|Height|Cresswell|1979}} It is now employed as a generic symbol on street signs in Great Britain denoting railway stations,<ref>{{cite web |title = The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002 (SI 2002:3113) |author = Her Majesty's Government |year = 2002 |url = http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2002/023113dh.gif |access-date = 27 March 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090419172250/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2002/023113dh.gif |archive-date = 19 April 2009 |url-status = live  }}</ref> and is still printed on railway tickets as part of the [[Rail Delivery Group]]'s jointly managed [[National Rail]] brand.

=== Post-1960s ===
[[File:Livree BR.GIF|thumb|Corporate liveries, 1923–1994]]

The uniformity of BR branding continued until the process of [[sectorisation]] was introduced in the 1980s. Certain BR operations such as [[InterCity (British Rail)|Inter-City]], [[Network SouthEast]], [[Regional Railways]] or [[Rail 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 a [[generic trademark]] to denote railway services across Great Britain.{{sfn|Jackson|2013}} The BR Corporate Identity Manual is noted as a piece of British [[design history]] and there are plans for it to be re-published.<ref>{{cite news |title = Is the British Rail logo a design icon? |url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-35144496 |work = BBC News |access-date = 20 December 2015 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151220132046/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35144496 |archive-date = 20 December 2015}}</ref>

== Network ==

=== Regions ===
With its creation in 1948, British Railways was divided into regions which were initially based on the areas the former [[Big Four (British railway companies)|Big Four]] operated in; later, several lines were transferred between regions. Notably, these included the former [[Great Central Railway|Great Central]] lines from the Eastern Region to the London Midland Region, and the [[West of England Main Line]] from the Southern Region to Western Region
* [[Southern Region of British Railways|Southern Region]]: former Southern Railway lines.
* [[Western Region of British Railways|Western Region]]: former Great Western Railway lines.
* [[London Midland Region of British Railways|London Midland Region]]: former London, Midland and Scottish Railway lines in England and Wales.
* [[Eastern Region of British Railways|Eastern Region]]: former London and North Eastern Railway lines south of York.
* Anglia Region: split from Eastern Region in 1988.<ref>{{cite book |last = Baker |first = Stuart K. |title = Rail Atlas Great Britain & Ireland |edition = 5th |year = 1988 |orig-year = 1977 |publisher = Oxford Publishing Co |location = Yeovil |isbn = 0-86093-419-5|page = 40 |id = T419 }}</ref>
* [[North Eastern Region of British Railways|North Eastern Region]]: former London and North Eastern Railway lines in England north of York.
* [[Scottish Region of British Railways|Scottish Region]]: all lines, regardless of the original company, in Scotland.

The North Eastern Region was merged with the Eastern Region in 1967. 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 from {{stnlnk|Fenchurch Street}} and {{stn|Liverpool Street}}, its western boundary being {{stnlnk|Hertford East}}, {{stnlnk|Meldreth}} and {{stnlnk|Whittlesea}}.<ref>{{cite magazine |date = December 1987 |editor-last = Slater |editor-first = John |title = Anglia Region created |magazine = [[Railway Magazine]] |location = Cheam |publisher = Prospect Magazines |volume = 133 |issue = 1040 |page = 758 |issn = 0033-8923}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |date = July 1988 |editor1-last = Slater |editor1-first = John |title = Anglia takes over |magazine = [[Railway Magazine]] |location = Cheam |publisher = Prospect Magazines |volume = 134 |issue = 1047 |page = 426 |issn = 0033-8923}}</ref>

=== Sectorisation ===
[[File:BR InterCity Logo.svg|thumb|right|InterCity swallow Logo]]
[[File:Regional railways logo.svg|thumb|right|Regional railways logo]]

In 1982, the regions were abolished as the service provider (but retained for administration) and replaced by "business sectors", a process known as [[sectorisation]].

The passenger sectors were (by the early 1990s):
* [[InterCity (British Rail)|InterCity]] (express services).
** [[InterCity Sleeper (British Rail)|InterCity Sleeper]] (Night train services)
** [[Gatwick Express]] (express service to/from [[Gatwick Airport]])
* [[Network SouthEast]] (London commuter services).
** [[Stansted Express]] (express service to/from [[Stansted Airport]])
* [[Regional Railways]] (regional services).
** [[Alphaline]] (enhanced regional express passenger services) (Added in 1994)
** [[ScotRail (British Rail)|ScotRail]] (regional and sub-intercity services in Scotland).
** [[First TransPennine Express|TransPennine Express]] (sub-intercity services in the North).

In addition, the non-passenger sectors were: 
* [[Railfreight]] responsible for all freight operations, later subdivided into train operations.
* [[Trainload Freight]] took trainload freight. 
* [[Railfreight Distribution]] took non-trainload freight. 
** [[Speedlink]] a wagonload freight service utilising air-braked wagons.
* [[Freightliner Group|Freightliner]] took [[intermodal freight transport|intermodal]] traffic. 
* [[Rail Express Systems]] took parcels traffic.

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.

[[File:Maesteg Castle Street Station - geograph.org.uk - 3905158.jpg|thumb|Crowds on a railtour at [[Maesteg Castle Street railway station|Maesteg Castle Street station]] since reopened by BR as the [[Maesteg Line]]]]
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 former BR network, with the trunk routes of the [[West Coast Main Line]], [[East Coast Main Line]], [[Great Western Main Line]], [[Great Eastern Main Line]] and [[Midland Main Line]], and other lines.

== Security ==
{{Main|British Transport Police}}
Policing on (and within) the network was carried out British Transport Police (BTP). In 1947 the Transport Act created the [[British Transport Commission]] (BTC), which unified the railway system. On 1 January 1949, the '''British Transport Commission Police''' (BTCP) were created, formed from the four old railway police forces, the [[London Passenger Transport Board|London 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 cover [[British Waterways]] property<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.btp.police.uk/History%20Society/Publications/History%20Society/Constituent%20Force/Canal%20Forces/Sharpness%20Dock%20Police%20%20(1874%201948).htm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040614073125/http://www.btp.police.uk/History%20Society/Publications/History%20Society/Constituent%20Force/Canal%20Forces/Sharpness%20Dock%20Police%20%20%281874%201948%29.htm |url-status = dead |archive-date = 14 June 2004 |title = Sharpness Dock Police (1874–1948) |website = British Transport Police }}</ref> 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.

== Finances ==
Despite its nationalisation in 1947 "as one of the 'commanding heights' of the economy",<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.rail.co.uk/british-railway-history/british-railways/ |title = History of Railways in Britain |work = Rail.co.uk |access-date = 27 November 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151207124639/http://www.rail.co.uk/british-railway-history/british-railways/ |archive-date = 7 December 2015 |url-status = live  }}</ref> according to some sources British Rail was not profitable for most (if not all)<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.rail.co.uk/british-railway-history/ |title = History of the British Railway |work = Rail.co.uk |access-date = 27 November 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151128090614/http://www.rail.co.uk/british-railway-history/ |archive-date = 28 November 2015 |url-status = live }}</ref> of its history.<ref>{{cite book |title = British Railways 1948–73: A Business History |first = T. R. |last = Gourvish |publisher = Cambridge University Press |year = 2011 |isbn = 978-0-521-18883-8}}</ref> Newspapers reported that as recently as the 1990s, public [[rail subsidy]] was counted as profit;<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/british-rail-profit-figure-masks-doubling-of-subsidy-1589866.html |title = British Rail 'profit' figure masks doubling of subsidy |work = Independent |first = Christian |last = Wolmar |date = 23 October 2011 |access-date = 27 November 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151231205914/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/british-rail-profit-figure-masks-doubling-of-subsidy-1589866.html |archive-date = 31 December 2015 |url-status = live }}</ref> as early as 1961, British Railways were losing £300,000 a day.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2013/03/fifty-years-on-from-beeching-and-britains-railways-are-better-than-ever/ |title = Fifty years on from Beeching and Britain's railways are better than ever |work = The Spectator |first = Sebastian |last = Payne |date = 27 March 2013 |access-date = 27 November 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150928193402/http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2013/03/fifty-years-on-from-beeching-and-britains-railways-are-better-than-ever/ |archive-date = 28 September 2015 |url-status = live }}</ref>

Although the company was considered the sole public-transport option in many rural areas, the [[Beeching cuts]] made buses the only public transport available in some rural areas.<ref>{{cite journal |url = http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr09/f12_wek.html |title = Railway Services for Rural Areas |first = John |last = Welsby |journal = Japan Railway & Transport Review |issue = 9 |pages = 12–17 |access-date = 27 November 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233508/http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr09/f12_wek.html |archive-date = 3 March 2016 |url-status = dead  }}</ref> 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 from [[Aberdeen railway station|Aberdeen]] and [[Inverness railway station|Inverness]] in the north to [[Poole railway station|Poole]] and [[Penzance railway station|Penzance]] in the south.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.railstaff.uk/2013/12/19/the-fall-and-rise-of-britains-railways-3/ |title = The fall and rise of Britain's railways |work = [[Railnews|Rail Staff News]] |date = 19 December 2013 |access-date = 11 November 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161111193714/http://www.railstaff.uk/2013/12/19/the-fall-and-rise-of-britains-railways-3/ |archive-date = 11 November 2016 |url-status = live }}</ref>

=== {{anchor|British Rail Investment}}Investment ===
In 1979, the incoming [[Conservative Government 1979-1983|Conservative Government]] led by [[Margaret 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 the [[East Coast Main Line]], the spur from [[Doncaster railway station|Doncaster]] to [[Leeds railway station|Leeds]], and the lines in East Anglia out of [[Liverpool Street railway station|London Liverpool Street]] to [[Norwich railway station|Norwich]] and [[King's Lynn railway station|King's Lynn]]. The list with approximate completion dates includes:{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}
*[[St Pancras railway station|St Pancras]] – [[Bedford railway station|Bedford]] 1981–83
*[[Rock Ferry railway station|Rock Ferry]] – [[Hooton railway station|Hooton]] 1985
*[[Hitchin railway station|Hitchin]] – [[Leeds railway station|Leeds]] 1985–88
*[[Colchester railway station|Colchester]] – [[Norwich railway station|Norwich]] 1986
*[[Bishops Stortford railway station|Bishops Stortford]] – [[Cambridge railway station|Cambridge]] 1987
*[[Watford Junction railway station|Watford Junction]] – [[St Albans Abbey railway station|St Albans Abbey]] 1988
*[[Royston railway station|Royston]] – Cambridge 1988
*[[Snow Hill Tunnel (London)|Snow Hill Tunnel]] as part of [[Thameslink]] project 1988
*[[Doncaster railway station|Doncaster]] – [[York railway station|York]] 1989
*[[Airdrie railway station|Airdrie]] – [[Drumgelloch railway station (1989)|Drumgelloch]] 1989
*York – [[Edinburgh Waverley railway station|Edinburgh Waverley]] (and the spur to [[North Berwick railway station|North Berwick]]) 1991
*[[Carstairs railway station|Carstairs]] – Edinburgh Waverley 1991
*Cambridge – [[King's Lynn railway station|King's Lynn]] 1992
*Hooton – [[Ellesmere Port railway station|Ellesmere Port]] and [[Chester railway station|Chester]] 1993–94
*[[Paddington railway station|London Paddington]] – [[Heathrow Terminal 4 railway station|Heathrow Airport]] 1993–98
*Leeds and [[Bradford Forster Square railway station|Bradford Forster Square]] – [[Skipton railway station|Skipton]] and [[Ilkley railway station|Ilkley]] 1994

In the Southwest, the [[South West Main Line]] from [[Bournemouth railway station|Bournemouth]] to [[Weymouth railway station|Weymouth]] was electrified along with other infill {{nowrap|[[750 V DC]]}} third rail electrification in the south. In 1988, the line to [[Aberdare]] was reopened. A British Rail advertisement ("Britain's Railway", directed by [[Hugh Hudson]]) featured some of the best-known railway structures in Britain, including the [[Forth Rail Bridge]], [[Royal Albert Bridge]], [[Glenfinnan Viaduct]] and [[Paddington railway station|London Paddington station]].<ref>{{cite AV media |url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsyyJaX0j3Y |title = Britain's Railway Advert 16:9 HD |date = 31 August 2011 |via = YouTube |access-date = 26 May 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150522030634/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsyyJaX0j3Y |archive-date = 22 May 2015 |url-status = live  }}</ref> [[Liverpool Street railway station|London Liverpool Street]] station was rebuilt, opened by [[Queen Elizabeth II]], and a new station was constructed at [[Stansted Airport railway station|Stansted Airport]] in 1991. The following year, the [[Maesteg line]] was reopened. In 1988, the [[Windsor Link Line, Manchester]] was constructed and has proven to be an important piece of infrastructure.<ref>{{cite magazine |title = Bridge completes Windsor Link |magazine = Railway Magazine |issue = 1046 |date = June 1988 |page = 350 }}</ref>

=== {{anchor|APTIS ticket}}APTIS ticket ===
[[File:Annotated APTIS.jpg|thumb|A 1996 APTIS ticket for travel from Leamington Spa to Bradford-on-Avon]]
Before the introduction of [[APTIS]] (Accountancy and Passenger Ticket Issuing System), British Rail used the [[Edmondson 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 by [[Colin 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 modern [[Personal computer|PC-based]] ticketing systems. Some APTIS machines in the [[Transport for London|Greater London area]] were modified as APTIS-ANT (with no obvious difference to the ticket issued) to make them [[Oyster card]] compatible.<ref>{{cite magazine |title = Ticketing: APTIS replacement takes shape |magazine = Modern Railways |issue = 631 |date = April 2001 |pages = 37–42}}</ref> The last APTIS machines were removed at the end of 2006 as there was no option to upgrade them to accept [[EMV|Chip and PIN]] credit card payments. The last APTIS-ANT ticket to be issued in the UK using one of the machines was at [[Upminster station]] on 21 March 2007.<ref name=Rail563>{{cite magazine |title = An apt end for BR's APTIS |magazine = [[Rail (magazine)|Rail]] |issue = 563 |date = 11 April 2007 |page =  14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.c2c-online.co.uk/latest_updates/news/last_call_for_ticket_work_horse |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080724185058/http://www.c2c-online.co.uk/latest_updates/news/last_call_for_ticket_work_horse |title = Last call for ticket work horse |publisher = [[c2c]] |date = 23 March 2007|archive-date = 24 July 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title = Last APTIS ticket sold |magazine = [[Today's Railways UK]] |issue = 66 |date = June 2007 |page = 11}}</ref>

Before the rail network was privatised, British Rail [[Concessionary fares on the British railway network|introduced several discount cards]] through the APTIS that were available to certain demographics, issued either by National or Regional schemes:

* [[16–25 Railcard]]
* [[Network Railcard|The Network Railcard]], introduced in 1986 by British Rail upon the creation of their [[Network SouthEast]] sector in parts of Southern England
* [[Disabled Persons Railcard]], introduced in 1981 to coincide with the [[International Year of Disabled Persons]].
* [[Senior Railcard]], introduced in 1970.

== Accidents and incidents ==
{{Main|List of accidents on British Rail}}

== Preserved lines ==
The narrow-gauge [[Vale 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 a [[tourist 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 receive [[TOPS]] 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.<ref>{{cite magazine |title = The Great British Rail Sale is Over |magazine = [[The Railway Magazine]] |issue = 1152 |date = April 1997 |pages = 24–25}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last = Boyd-Hope |first = Gary |title = Rheidol revival: 20 years of private enterprise |journal = Steam Railway |volume = 358 |date = January 2009 |pages = 91–95}}</ref>

Other preserved lines, or [[heritage railways]], have reopened lines previously closed by British Rail. These range from picturesque rural branch lines like the [[Keighley and Worth Valley Railway]] to sections of mainline such as the [[Great Central Railway]].<ref>{{Cite news |url = https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leicestershire-35534096 |title = 'Split' rail line to be reconnected |date = 12 February 2016 |publisher = BBC News |access-date = 5 February 2019 |language = en-GB}}</ref> Many have links to the National Rail network, both at station interchanges, for example, the [[Severn Valley Railway]] between {{stnlnk|Kidderminster}} and [[Kidderminster Town railway station|Kidderminster Town]], and physical rail connections like the [[Watercress Line]] at {{stnlnk|Alton}}.<ref name=MHRGuide >{{cite web |last = Pearson |first = Mike |title = Mid Hants Railway (The Watercress Line) – A Guide |url = http://www.watercressline.co.uk/mhrguide.htm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080224160319/http://www.watercressline.co.uk/mhrguide.htm |archive-date = 24 February 2008 |website = watercressline.co.uk |publisher = Mid Hants Railway |access-date = 2 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last = Marshall |first = John |title = The Severn Valley Railway |year = 1989 |publisher = David St John Thomas |location = Newton Abbot |isbn = 0-946537-45-3 |author-link = John Marshall (railway historian)}}</ref>

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.

== Night trains ==
{{Main|InterCity Sleeper (British Rail)}}

When the railways came into public ownership in 1948, British Railways inherited a number of night train services from the Big Four.<ref name="railmagazine_com">{{cite web |title=BR's last hurrah! |url=https://www.railmagazine.com/news/rail-features/br-s-last-hurrah |website=www.railmagazine.com |access-date=4 June 2024 |language=en}}</ref> Sleeping car services were operated on the [[West Coast Main Line|West]] and [[East Coast Main Line|East]] coast routes and [[Great Western Railway|GWR]] mainlines to several destinations. Routes included {{Stnlnk|London Paddington}} to {{Stnlnk|Birkenhead Woodside}}, {{Stnlnk|Manchester Piccadilly}} to {{Stnlnk|Plymouth}}, {{Stnlnk|Liverpool Lime Street}} to {{Stnlnk|London Euston}} and the Night Ferry sleeper from {{Stnlnk|London Victoria}} to Brussels and Paris.<ref>{{cite web |first1=Nicky |last1=Gardner |first2=Susanne |last2=Kries |website=Europe by Rail |title=Anglo-Scottish Night Trains Sixty Years Ago |url=https://www.europebyrail.eu/anglo-scottish-night-trains-sixty-years-ago/ |access-date=4 June 2024 |date=12 August 2020}}</ref> On [[Privatisation of British Rail|Privatisation]] 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.<ref name="railmagazine_com" />

== Marine services ==

=== Ships ===
{{Main|British Railways ships}}
[[File:Gb~brail.png|thumb|Sealink house flag]]
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 as [[British Rail Class 99 (ships)|Class 99]].

=== Sealink ===
{{Main|Sealink}}
[[File:Ulidia.jpg|thumb|Sealink train ferry ''Ulidia'' at Dover]]
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 Authority [[Regie voor Maritiem Transport]]/Regie des transports maritimes (RMT/RTM) and the Dutch [[Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland]] (Zeeland Steamship Company).

Historically, the shipping services were exclusively an extension of the railways across the [[English Channel]] and the [[Irish 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 by [[roll-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.<ref>{{cite magazine |title = Sealink title for BR and alliped shipping services |magazine = [[Railway Gazette International|Railway Gazette]] |date = 21 November 1969 |page = 843 }}</ref>

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 was [[incorporation (business)|incorporated]] as Sealink UK Limited on 1 January 1979,<ref name=company1402237>{{cite web |url = http://data.companieshouse.gov.uk/doc/company/01402237 |website = Companies House |title = Extract company no 1402237 |quote = Stena Line Limited formerly Stena Sealink Line Limited formerly Sealink Stena Line Limited formerly Sealink UK Limited }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title = Sealink UK Limited formed |magazine = [[Railway Magazine]] |issue = 935 |date = March 1979 |page = 111 }}</ref> a wholly owned subsidiary of the [[British Railways Board]], but still part of the Sealink consortium. In 1979, Sealink acquired [[Manx Line]], which offered services to the Isle of Man from Heysham.

On 27 July 1984, the UK Government sold Sealink UK to [[Sea Containers]] for £66{{nbsp}}million.<ref>{{cite magazine |title = The Great British Rail Sale is Over |magazine = The Railway Magazine |issue = 1152 |date = April 1997 |pages = 24–25 }}</ref> The company was renamed Sealink British Ferries. The sale excluded the operations of [[Hoverspeed]], the [[Isle of Wight]] services and the share in the [[Isle of Man Steam Packet Company]], as well as the [[Heysham Port|Port of Heysham]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2020}} In 1996, the Sealink name disappeared when the UK services, by then owned by Stena,<ref name="company1402237" /> were re-branded as [[Stena Line]]. The agreement with the SNCF on the Dover to [[Calais]] route also ended at this time, and the French-run Sealink services were rebranded as [[SeaFrance]].

=== Hovercraft ===
{{Main|Seaspeed}}
The joint [[hovercraft]] services of British Rail in association with the French [[SNCF]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/1981/fulltext/138c03.pdf |title = Chapter 3: British Rail Hovercraft Ltd |website = [[Competition Commission]] |url-status = usurped |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050302103859/http://www.competition-commission/rep_pub/reports/1981/fulltext/138c03.pdf |archive-date = 2 March 2005}}</ref> 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 from [[Port of Dover|Dover]] to [[Calais]] and [[Boulogne-sur-Mer]], [[France]] using [[SR-N4]] hovercraft in August 1968.<ref name="hov2006">{{cite web |date=6 March 2006 |title=Hovercraft |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/southeast/series9/week_nine.shtml |publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=D. G. |first=Williams |title=An examination of the application of corporate planning in the four major organisations within the nationalised transport sector in the United Kingdom with special attention to the British Railways Board. PhD Thesis. |publisher=University of Bath |year=1981 |location=Bath |pages=190}}</ref> During 1981, Seaspeed merged with rival cross-channel hovercraft operator [[Hoverlloyd]] to create the combined [[Hoverspeed]].<ref name = "kew 1981">{{cite web |url = https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C11186344 |title = Merger of British Rail Hovercraft Ltd and Hoverlloyd Ltd to form Hoverspeed UK Ltd |publisher = The National Archives, Kew |date = 1 November 1981}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mmc.gov.uk/rep_pub/reports/1981/fulltext/138c01.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=13 August 2007 |archive-date=28 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928072939/http://www.mmc.gov.uk/rep_pub/reports/1981/fulltext/138c01.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== British Rail Engineering Limited ==
{{Main|British Rail Engineering Limited}}
[[File:British Rail Engineering Limited Logo 2.png|thumb|Variant logo used on rolling stock and corporate sales]]
Incorporated on 31 October 1969, British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) was a wholly owned [[railway systems engineering]] subsidiary of the British Railways Board. Created through the [[Transport 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 were [[Ashford Works|Ashford]], [[Crewe Works|Crewe]], [[Derby Works|Derby Locomotive Works]], [[Derby Litchurch Lane Works|Derby Litchurch Lane]], [[Doncaster Works|Doncaster]], [[Eastleigh Works|Eastleigh]], [[Glasgow Works|Glasgow]], Horwich Foundry, Shildon, [[Swindon Works|Swindon]], Temple Mills, [[Wolverton Works|Wolverton]] and [[York Carriage Works|York]].<ref>{{cite web |url = https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/people/ap96/british-rail-engineering-ltd |title = British Rail Engineering Ltd |website = Science Museum Group Collection |language = en-gb |access-date = 23 February 2020}}</ref> BREL began trading in January 1970.<ref>{{cite magazine |title = British Rail Engineering Limited formed |magazine = [[Railway Gazette International|Railway Gazette]] |date = 5 December 1969 |page = 882 }}</ref> During 1989, BREL was sold to a consortium of [[ABB|Asea Brown Boveri]] and [[Trafalgar House (company)|Trafalgar House]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title = Buyer for BREL |magazine = The Railway Magazine |issue = 1955 |date = March 1989 |page = 143 }}</ref><ref name="rb">{{cite web |url = http://www.railwaybritain.co.uk/british%20rail%20workshops.html |title = British Rail Workshops |work = railwaybritain.co.uk |access-date = 2 August 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100412011049/http://www.railwaybritain.co.uk/british%20rail%20workshops.html |archive-date = 12 April 2010|url-status = usurped}}</ref>

=== Mark 2 carriages ===
{{Main|British Railways Mark 2}}
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.

=== Advanced Passenger Train ===
{{Main|Advanced Passenger Train}}
[[File:Apt 370004 - euston - 13-02-1980.jpg|thumb|An [[British Rail Class 370|Advanced Passenger Train]] departs [[Euston railway station|Euston]] for [[Glasgow Central railway station|Glasgow]].]]
In the 1970s, British Rail developed [[tilting train]] technology in the [[Advanced Passenger Train]]; there had been earlier experiments and prototypes in other countries, notably Italy.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/tilting/ |title = Tilting Trains |website = Railway Technology |language = en-GB |access-date = 25 April 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190425142333/https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/tilting/ |archive-date = 25 April 2019 |url-status = live}}</ref> The objective of the tilt was to minimise the discomfort to passengers caused by taking the curves of the [[West Coast Main Line]] at high speed. The APT also had [[hydrokinetic brake]]s, which enabled the train to stop from 150&nbsp;mph within existing signal spacings.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docSummary.php?docID=87 |title = Tomorrow's Train, Today |author = British Railways Board |year = 1980 |via = The Railways Archive |publisher = British Railways Board |page = 18 |access-date = 25 November 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070820044056/http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docSummary.php?docID=87 |archive-date = 20 August 2007 |url-status = live}} (Promotional leaflet)</ref>

The introduction into service of the APT was to be a three-stage project. Phase 1, the development of an experimental APT ([[British Rail APT-E|APT-E]]), was completed. This used a [[gas turbine-electric locomotive]], the only [[multiple unit]] so powered that was used by British Rail. It was formed of two [[power car]]s (numbers PC1 and PC2), initially with nothing between them and later, two trailer cars (TC1 and TC2).<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.old-dalby.com/apt-e.htm |title = E Train |work = The Old Dalby Test Track |access-date = 26 November 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070829065627/http://www.old-dalby.com/apt-e.htm |archive-date = 29 August 2007 |url-status = live }}</ref> The cars were made of aluminium to reduce the weight of the unit and were articulated. The [[gas turbine]] was dropped from development due to excessive noise and the high fuel costs of the late 1970s.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.northeast.railfan.net/pro_faq2.html#turbine |title = Diesel-Electric Engine Operation – NE Rails |access-date = 26 November 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070106163915/http://www.northeast.railfan.net/pro_faq2.html#turbine |archive-date = 6 January 2007 |url-status = live }}</ref> The APT-E first ran on 25 July 1971. The train drivers' union, [[Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen|ASLEF]], black-listed the train due to its use of a single driver. The train was moved to [[Derby]] (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.<ref name="APTP">{{cite web |url = http://www.apt-p.com/APTWithHindsight.htm |title = APT – With Hindsight |access-date = 26 November 2006 |author=Alan Wickens |work = Prototype Advanced Passenger Train (APT-P.com)}}</ref>

Phase 2, the introduction of three prototype trains (APT-P) into revenue service on the [[Glasgow Central railway station|Glasgow]] – [[Euston railway station|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 the [[Department for Transport|Ministry 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.<ref name="APTP"/>

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 other [[High-speed rail|high-speed trains]]. The APT powercar technology was imported without the tilt into the design of the [[British Rail Class 91|Class 91]] locomotives, and the tilting technology was incorporated into [[Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane|Italian State Railway's]] ''[[Pendolino]]'' trains, which first entered service in 1987.

=== InterCity 125 ===
{{Main|InterCity 125}}
[[File:Intercity 125 original logo.svg|thumb|InterCity logo 1978–1985]]
[[File:Intercity 125 2169045.jpg|thumb|left|An [[InterCity 125]] about to depart [[Manchester Piccadilly railway station|Manchester Piccadilly]] in 1986]]

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.<ref>{{Cite news |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/berkshire/5407016.stm |title = High Speed Train marks 30 years |date = 4 October 2006 |access-date = 23 July 2018 |language = en-GB |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180723214328/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/berkshire/5407016.stm |archive-date = 23 July 2018 |url-status = live}}</ref> Each set is made up of two [[British Rail Class 43 (HST)|Class 43]] [[power car]]s, one at each end and four to nine [[British Rail Mark 3|Mark 3]] carriages. The name is derived from its top operational speed of {{convert|125|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}}. Key features of the Intercity 125 over predecessors include the high power-to-weight ratio of the locomotives (1678&nbsp;kW per ~70-tonne loco), high performance [[disc brake]] system (in place of the [[clasp brake]]s traditionally used), improved [[crashworthiness]], and [[push-pull train|bi-directional running]] avoiding the need to perform any run arounds at terminating stations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nrm.org.uk/OurCollection/LocomotivesAndRollingStock/CollectionItem.aspx?objid=1988-7000 |title=HST Power Car |publisher=[[National Railway Museum]] |access-date=18 May 2009 |archive-date=11 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011100217/http://www.nrm.org.uk/OurCollection/LocomotivesAndRollingStock/CollectionItem.aspx?objid=1988-7000 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last = Marsden |first = Colin |publisher = Ian Allan |year = 2001 |title = HST: Silver Jubilee |page = foreword |isbn = 0-7110-2847-8}}</ref><ref name="Semmens1990"/><ref name="CC125"/>

By 1970, the setbacks of the APT project had led the [[British 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 of [[Terry Miller (engineer)|Terry 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.<ref>Marsden 2001, pp. 10–11.</ref> Within two years, a [[prototype]] trainset had been completed by BREL; it performed extensive trial runs between 1972 and 1976.<ref>Marsden, pp. 15–16.</ref>

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 designer [[Kenneth 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 by [[wind tunnel]] testing.<ref>{{cite web |title=How we made the InterCity 125 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/sep/09/how-we-made-intercity-125 |work=The Guardian |access-date=1 June 2022 |date=9 September 2013}}</ref><ref>Channel 5 documentary ''Intercity 125'' episode 1, broadcast 15 May 2018</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.ft.com/content/2221b178-87f6-11e0-a6de-00144feabdc0 |title= Everywhere and Nowhere |newspaper= Financial Times |location= London |date=27 May 2011 |access-date=21 August 2011}}</ref> A total of 95 Intercity 125 trainsets were ultimately brought into service.<ref name="Semmens1990">{{cite book |last1=Semmens |first1=Peter |title=Speed On The East Coast Main Line: A Century and a Half of Accelerated Services |date=1990 |publisher=Patrick Stephens Ltd |isbn=0-85059-930-X |pages=129–225}}</ref><ref name="CC125">{{cite web |title=Trackside Classic: 1976 British Rail Inter City 125 High Speed Train – Still Setting The Standard |date=18 October 2021 |url=https://www.curbsideclassic.com/trackside-classic/trackside-classic-1976-british-rail-inter-city-125-high-speed-train-still-setting-the-standard/ |publisher=Curbside Classic |access-date=30 March 2022}}</ref> British Rail enjoyed a boom in patronage on the routes operated by the HSTs and InterCity's revenues noticeably increased.<ref>{{cite book |last = Harris |first = Sim |publisher = Ian Allan |year = 2016 |title = The Railway Dilemma |page = 16 |isbn = 978-0-7110-3835-6 }}</ref>

Prior to the HST's introduction, the speed of British diesel-powered trains was limited to {{convert|100|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name = 'EarlyHighspeedBR' >{{cite journal |title=High speed track on the Western Region of British Railways |last= Collins |first=R.J. |volume=64 |issue=2 |date=May 1978 |pages=207–225 |journal=Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers |url=http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/iicep.1978.2755 |doi=10.1680/iicep.1978.2755 |publisher= [[Institution of Civil Engineers]] |access-date = 2 October 2015|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The prototype InterCity 125 (power cars 43000 and 43001) set the [[Land speed record for railed vehicles|world speed record]] for diesel traction at {{convert|143.2|mph|abbr=on}} on 12 June 1973.<ref name="proto">{{cite web |url = http://www.traintesting.com/HST_prototype.htm |title = Testing the prototype HST in 1973 |publisher = traintesting.com |access-date = 29 April 2009 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090915204316/http://www.traintesting.com/HST_prototype.htm |archive-date = 15 September 2009 }}</ref> This was succeeded by a production set reaching {{convert|148.5|mph|abbr=on}} in November 1987.<ref>{{cite magazine |title = World speed record smashed |magazine = [[Rail (magazine)|Rail]] |issue = 76 |date = January 1988 |page = 5 }}</ref>

===Sprinters===
{{Main|Sprinter (British Rail)}}
[[File:150001 pancras.jpg|thumb|Prototype 150001 at St Pancras]]
By the early 1980s British Rail operated a large fleet of [[List of British Rail diesel multiple unit classes#First generation|first generation DMUs]], which had been constructed in prior decades to various designs.<ref name="Thomas"/> 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 as [[asbestos]]. 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.<ref name="shore">{{cite journal |last1 = Shore |first1 = A. G. L. |title = British Rail Diesel Multiple Unit Replacement Programme |journal = Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part D: Transport Engineering |date = April 1987 |volume = 201 |issue = 2 |pages = 115–122 |doi = 10.1243/PIME_PROC_1987_201_165_02 |s2cid = 109194039 }}</ref>

In 1984/1985, two experimental DMU designs were put into service: the BREL-built [[British Rail Class 150|Class 150]] and [[Metro-Cammell]]-built [[British Rail Class 151|Class 151]].<ref name="Motive">{{cite book |first = Brian |last = Morrison |year = 1986 |title = Motive Power Annual 1987 |publisher =  Ian Allan |location = Shepperton |isbn = 0-7110-1635-6 |display-authors = etal}}</ref> Both of these used [[Torque converter|hydraulic transmission]] and were less bus-like than the [[Pacer (British Rail)|Pacer]]s.<ref name="shore"/> 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.<ref name="Thomas"/>

The late 1980s and early 1990s also saw the development of secondary express services that complemented the mainline [[InterCity (British Rail)|Intercity]] routes. [[British Rail Class 155|Class 155]] and [[British Rail Class 156|Class 156]] Sprinters were developed to replace locomotive-hauled trains on these services, their interiors being designed with longer distance journeys in mind.<ref name="TodayMar09">{{cite magazine |title = The Class 156 Super Sprinter story |magazine = Today's Railways UK |issue = 87 (March 2009) |pages = 44–56}}</ref> Key Scottish and Trans-Pennine routes were upgraded with new [[British Rail Class 158|Class 158]] Express Sprinters, while a network of '[[Alphaline]]' services was introduced elsewhere in the country.<ref>{{cite magazine |title = Crack 158 services to be marketed as Alphaline |magazine = [[The Railway Magazine]] |issue = 1123 |date = November 1994 |page = 10}}</ref>

By the end of the 1980s, passenger numbers had increased and costs had been reduced to two-and-a-half times revenue.<ref name="Thomas"/> 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.<ref name = "shore"/>

==Hospitality==
{{Main|Travellers Fare}}
{{Main|British Transport Hotels}}
[[File:BTH_place_setting.jpg|thumb|alt=BTH table setting|British Railways Hotels table set]]
British Rail operated a network of station buffets and on-train catering services, which from the 1970s were managed under the [[Travellers Fare|Travellers-Fare]] brand.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=How British Rail limited the butter on its sandwiches, and other Station Stories |url=https://blog.railwaymuseum.org.uk/how-british-rail-limited-the-butter-on-its-sandwiches/ |website=National Railway Museum blog |access-date=19 September 2025 |date=23 November 2012}}</ref> The company also ran a portfolio of railway-owned hotels grouped under [[British Transport Hotels]], offering accommodation and dining facilities at key locations. Many of the hotels were sold during the 1980s and catering services were later contracted out, thus by 1986 the private sector was running the catering at 85 stations; 96 more stations were put under private operation in 1987.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}

One of the most enduring cultural references to British Rail’s catering was the so-called "[[British Rail sandwich]]". Frequently criticised for being overpriced or of poor quality, it became a symbol of the perceived shortcomings of railway catering during the period. Despite the reputation, Travellers-Fare served millions of meals each year, and its food remains a notable aspect of the public memory of British Rail.<ref name=":0" />

== <span class="anchor" id="Privatisation of British Rail"></span>Privatisation ==
[[File:GBR rail passengers by year 1830-2023.png|thumb|alt=Line graph|Passenger rail usage in Great Britain, 1830–2021]]
[[File:UK total rail subsidies 1986-2015.png|thumb|UK rail subsidy 1985–2015 (in 2015 terms), showing the huge increase after the Hatfield crash]]
{{Main|Privatisation of British Rail|Impact of the privatisation of British Rail}}
In 1989, the narrow-gauge [[Vale of Rheidol Railway]] was preserved, becoming the first part of British Rail to be privatised. Between 1994 and 1997, in accordance with the [[Railways Act 1993]], the core activities of British Rail were privatised.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docSummary.php?docID=12 |title = Railways Act 1993 |author = Her Majesty's Government |year = 1903 |via = The Railways Archive |publisher = Her Majesty's Stationery Office |access-date = 26 November 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060520015332/http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docSummary.php?docID=12 |archive-date = 20 May 2006 |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |publisher = [[House of Commons Library]] |url =  http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN01157/SN01157.pdf |title = Railways: privatisation, 1987-1996 |date = 18 March 2010 |first = Louise |last = Butcher}}</ref>  Ownership of the track and infrastructure passed to [[Railtrack]] on 1 April 1994. Passenger operations were later [[Franchising|franchised]] to 25 private-sector operators.<ref>{{cite journal |url = https://www.socresonline.org.uk/7/1/strangleman.html |first = Tim |last = Strangleman |date = 2002 |title = Nostalgia for Nationalisation – the Politics of Privatisation |journal = Sociological Research Online |volume = 7 |number = 1 |pages = 92–105 |doi = 10.5153/sro.701 |s2cid = 144684740 |access-date = 5 December 2022 |archive-date = 5 December 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221205024644/https://www.socresonline.org.uk/7/1/strangleman.html |url-status = live }}</ref><ref name = "trainselloff bbc2000">{{cite news |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/982037.stm |title = The great train sell-off: Who dunnit? |work = BBC News |date = 20 October 2000 |access-date = 5 December 2022 |archive-date = 5 December 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221205033050/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/982037.stm |url-status = live }}</ref> Of the six freight companies, five were sold to [[Wisconsin Central Limited|Wisconsin Central]] to form [[DB Cargo UK|EWS]] while [[Freightliner Group|Freightliner]] was sold in a [[management buyout]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.ews-railway.co.uk/about/history.html |title = EWS Railway—Company History |access-date = 26 November 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060930234359/http://www.ews-railway.co.uk/about/history.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 30 September 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title = Secretary of State for Transport - Written Answers |url = https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199697/cmhansrd/vo961127/text/61127w12.htm |publisher = Hansard |date = 27 November 1996}}</ref>

[[File:Waterloo-city-1992.jpg|thumb|alt=Underground train in a station|The [[Waterloo & City line]] was part of [[Network SouthEast]].]]
The [[Waterloo & City line]], part of Network SouthEast, was not included in the privatisation and was transferred to [[London Underground]] in April 1994.<ref>{{cite magazine |title = LUL to take over the Drain |magazine = [[Modern Railways]] |issue = 547 |date = April 1994 |page = 201 }}</ref> The remaining obligations of British Rail were transferred to [[BRB (Residuary) Limited]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title = BRB Residuary axed as Government cuts back on Quangos |magazine = [[Rail Express]] |issue = 175 |date = December 2012 |page = 10}}</ref>

The privatisation, proposed by the Conservative government in 1992, was opposed by the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] and the rail unions. Although Labour initially proposed to reverse privatisation,<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/blair-softpedals-over-reversing-br-privatisation-1567308.html |title = Blair soft-pedals over reversing BR privatisation |first = Donald |last = Macintyre |date = 10 January 1995 |newspaper = The Independent |access-date = 25 August 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150925155237/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/blair-softpedals-over-reversing-br-privatisation-1567308.html |archive-date = 25 September 2015 |url-status = live }}</ref> the [[New Labour]] manifesto of 1997 instead opposed Conservative plans to privatise the London Underground.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.labour-party.org.uk/manifestos/1997/1997-labour-manifesto.shtml |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20020821164207/http://www.labour-party.org.uk/manifestos/1997/1997-labour-manifesto.shtml |url-status = dead |archive-date = 21 August 2002 |at = Railways |title = Labour Party Manifesto |year = 1997 |work = labour-party.org.uk (website unaffiliated with the official Labour Party)}}</ref> Rail unions have historically opposed privatisation, but former [[Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen]] general secretary [[Lew Adams]] moved to work for [[Virgin 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."<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.pppcouncil.ca/pdf/cknw.pdf |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130625153929/http://pppcouncil.ca/pdf/cknw.pdf |archive-date = 25 June 2013 |title = TRANSCRIPT FROM THE BILL GOOD SHOW, CKNW RADIO, VANCOUVER – Interview with Lew Adams, Board Member, Strategic Rail Authority, UK |date = 26 November 2004 |publisher = Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships website |type = transcript |url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name="Virgin1">{{cite news |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_company_file/196210.stm |title = Union boss hops on board Virgin |work = BBC News |date = 19 October 1998 |access-date = 22 September 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170831121820/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_company_file/196210.stm |archive-date = 31 August 2017 |url-status = live }}</ref>

The privatisation process began in 1994 when BR's passenger sectors were divided into 25 [[shadow franchise]]s.<ref>{{cite web |date = 18 March 2010 |title = Railways: privatisation, 1987-1996 |url = http://www.parliament.uk/briefingpapers/commons/lib/research/briefings/snbt-01157.pdf |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101013201522/http://www.parliament.uk/briefingpapers/commons/lib/research/briefings/snbt-01157.pdf |archive-date = 13 October 2010 |access-date = 14 September 2010 |publisher = House of Commons Library |page = 10}}</ref> These were publicly owned TOCs operating in the planned franchise areas, prior to the actual franchises being put to tender.
{|class="wikitable"
|+ Initial Train Operating Companies post-privatisation
|-
![[InterCity (British Rail)|InterCity]]||[[Network SouthEast]]||[[Regional Railways]]
|-
|[[Virgin CrossCountry]]||[[Chiltern Railways]]||[[Anglia Railways]] (Regional)
|-
|[[Great North Eastern Railway]]||[[Island Line, Isle of Wight|Island Line]]||[[Valley Lines (train operating company)|Valley Lines]]
|-
|[[Gatwick_Express#Express_service|Gatwick Express]]||[[c2c|LTS Rail]]||[[Central Trains]]
|-
|[[Anglia Railways]] (InterCity)||[[Silverlink]]||[[Arriva Trains Merseyside]]
|-
|[[FirstGroup#Operations|First Great Western]]||[[Network SouthCentral]]||[[First North Western]]
|-
|[[Midland Mainline (train operating company)|Midland Mainline]]||[[Connex South Eastern]] / [[Connex South Central]]||[[Arriva Trains Northern]]
|-
|[[Virgin Trains]]||[[South West Trains]]||[[ScotRail (National Express)|ScotRail]]
|-
|[[ScotRail (British Rail)|Caledonian Sleeper]]||[[Thameslink (train operating company 1997–2006)|Thameslink]]||[[Wales & West]]
|-
|||[[Thames Trains]]||
|-
|||[[West Anglia Great Northern]]||
|}
In advance of the opening of the [[Channel Tunnel]] in 1994, [[European Passenger Services]] was created as the BR division responsible for the UK component of [[Eurostar]] international services.<ref>{{Cite web |title = European Passenger Services Limited |url = https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02461708 |access-date = 19 January 2024 |website = Companies House}}</ref>

== Successor companies ==
{{See also|History of rail transport in Great Britain 1995 to date|Privatisation of British Rail|Impact of the privatisation of British Rail}}
Under the process of British Rail's privatisation, operations were split into 125 companies between 1994 and 1997.<ref>{{cite magazine |title = Total number of businesses into which BR was split - 125 |magazine = The Railway Magazine |issue = 1153 |date = May 1997 |page = 12 }}</ref> The ownership and operation of the infrastructure of the railway system was taken over by Railtrack. The telecommunications infrastructure and [[British Rail Telecommunications]] was sold to [[Racal]], which in turn was sold to [[Global Crossing]] and merged with [[Thales Group]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title = Rush of sales as BR auction reaches climax |magazine = [[Railway Gazette International]] |date = January 1996 |page = 15 }}</ref> The rolling stock was transferred to three private [[rolling stock company|rolling stock companies]] (ROSCOs); [[Angel Trains]], [[Eversholt Rail Group]] and [[Porterbrook]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title = ROSCOs sold for £1,699.5m |magazine = [[Rail Business Intelligence|Rail Privatisation News]] |issue = 18 |date = 16 November 1995 |page = 1 }}</ref> 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 of [[ScotRail (British Rail)|ScotRail]] with the last service being a ''[[Caledonian Sleeper]]'' service from [[Glasgow Central railway station|Glasgow]] and [[Edinburgh Waverley railway station|Edinburgh]] to [[Euston railway station|London]] on 31 March 1997.<ref>{{cite magazine |title = British Rail operates final trains |magazine = [[Rail Express]] |issue = 13 June 1997 |page = 12 }}</ref> The final service it operated was a [[Railfreight Distribution]] freight train from [[Dollands Moor Freight Yard|Dollands Moor]] to [[Wembley]] on 20 November 1997.<ref>{{cite magazine |title = Farewell to BR as EWS finally takes over |magazine = [[Today's Railways UK]] |issue = 25 |date = January 1998 |page = 9 }}</ref> The British Railways Board continued in existence as a corporation until early 2001, when it was replaced by the [[Strategic Rail Authority]] as part of the implementation of the [[Transport Act 2000]].<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/38/contents |title = Transport Act 2000 |publisher = [[Government of the United Kingdom]] |date = 2000}}</ref>

The original passenger franchisees were:<ref>{{cite magazine |title = The Great British Rail Sale is Over |magazine = The Railway Magazine |issue = 1152 |date = April 1997 |pages = 24, 25 }}</ref>
{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Anglia Railways]]
* [[Arriva Trains Merseyside]]
* [[Arriva Trains Northern]]
* [[Central Trains]]
* [[Chiltern Railways]]
* [[Connex South Central]]
* [[Connex South Eastern]]
* [[c2c (1996–2025)|c2c]]
* [[First Great Eastern]]
* [[First Great Western]]
* [[First North Western]]
* [[Gatwick Express]]
* [[Great North Eastern Railway|GNER]]
* [[Island Line (train operating company)|Island Line]]
* [[Midland Mainline (train operating company)|Midland Mainline]]
* [[ScotRail (National Express)|ScotRail]]
* [[Silverlink]]
* [[South West Trains]]
* [[Thames Trains]]
* [[Thameslink (train operating company 1997–2006)|Thameslink]]
* [[Valley Lines (train operating company)|Valley Lines]]
* [[Virgin CrossCountry]]
* [[Virgin Trains West Coast]]
* [[West Anglia Great Northern|WAGN]]
* [[Wales & West]]
{{Div col end}}

== Future ==
{{See also|Renationalisation of British Rail}}
Since privatisation, many groups have campaigned for the renationalisation of UK Rail services, most notably '[[Campaign to Bring Back British Rail|Bring Back British Rail]]'.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.ellieharrison.com/jeremyvine/ |title = Should we bring back British Rail? |date = 20 September 2018 |website = ellieharrison.com }}</ref> Various interested parties also have views on the [[privatisation of British Rail]].

[[File:Bring Back British Rail logo.jpg|thumb|upright|Bring Back British Rail logo]]
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.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.globalrailnews.com/2012/09/13/70-want-end-to-rail-privatisation/ |title = 70% want end to rail privatisation |date = 13 September 2012 |work = globalrailnews.com |access-date = 5 June 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140716203326/http://www.globalrailnews.com/2012/09/13/70-want-end-to-rail-privatisation/ |archive-date = 16 July 2014 |url-status = dead  }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1 = Merrick |first1 = Jane |title = Jeremy Corbyn reveals first official policy: To renationalise the railways |url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-reveals-first-official-policy-to-renationalise-the-railways-10509504.html |website = [[The Independent]] |access-date = 5 May 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170424075329/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-reveals-first-official-policy-to-renationalise-the-railways-10509504.html |archive-date = 24 April 2017 |url-status = live  }}</ref>

Due to [[Rail franchising in Great Britain|rail franchises]] sometimes lasting over a decade, full renationalisation would take years unless compensation was paid to terminate contracts early.

When the infrastructure-owning company [[Railtrack]] ceased trading in 2002, the [[Second Blair ministry|Labour government]] set up the not-for-dividend company [[Network 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&nbsp;billion to public sector net debt. This reclassification had been requested by the [[Office for Budget Responsibility]] to comply with [[European System of Accounts|pan-European accounting standard]] ESA10.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/budget/10709868/Budget-2014-fears-of-more-austerity-in-spite-of-growth.html#source=refresh |title = Budget 2014: fears of more austerity in spite of growth |work = The Daily Telegraph |date = 19 March 2014 |access-date = 20 May 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140621005742/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/budget/10709868/Budget-2014-fears-of-more-austerity-in-spite-of-growth.html#source=refresh |archive-date = 21 June 2014 |url-status = live  }}</ref>

The [[Green Party of England and Wales|Green 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 a [[Private Members Bill|Bill]] that would have seen the rail network fall back into public ownership step by step, as franchises come up for expiry.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2016/01/22/caroline-lucas-mp-brings-railway-bill-to-parliament/ |title = Caroline Lucas MP brings Railway Bill to Parliament |date = 22 January 2016 |website = The Green Party |access-date = 9 June 2019}}</ref>

Under [[Jeremy Corbyn]] (2015–2020), the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] pledged to gradually renationalise British Rail franchises if elected, as and when their private contracts expire, creating a "People's Railway".<ref>{{cite news |last1 = Elgot |first1 = Jessica |title = Corbyn to launch transport campaign with rail pledges |url = https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/aug/16/corbyn-to-launch-transport-campaign-with-rail-pledges |work = The Guardian |access-date = 5 May 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170705224321/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/aug/16/corbyn-to-launch-transport-campaign-with-rail-pledges |archive-date = 5 July 2017 |url-status = live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/keir-starmer-labour-leadership-election-abolish-tuition-fees-nationalisation-396843 |title = Keir Starmer promises to abolish tuition fees and nationalise industries if he becomes PM |newspaper = [[i (British newspaper)|i]] |first = Hugo |last = Gye |date = 11 February 2020 }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Corbett |first1=Helen |title=Labour pledge to renationalise railways within five years |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/renationalise-railways-labour-election-starmer-b2534505.html |access-date=29 April 2024 |work=The Independent |date=25 April 2024 |language=en}}</ref> After Labour's victory in the [[2024 United Kingdom general election|2024 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 the [[Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill|Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024]].<ref name="PRSbill2024" />

Following the [[COVID-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 through [[Great British Railways]] with service provision to be contracted to private operators.<ref>{{cite magazine |url = https://www.railjournal.com/policy/british-government-announces-plans-for-major-railway-sector-reform/ |title = British government announces plans for major railway sector reform |magazine = [[International Railway Journal]] |date = 20 May 2021 }}</ref> In 2024, the government announced that management of publicly owned passenger rail services would be integrated into GBR.<ref>{{Cite web |title=First train services to return to public ownership revealed |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/first-train-services-to-return-to-public-ownership-revealed |access-date=4 December 2024 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref>

== Parodies ==
In 1989, the [[ITV (TV Network)|ITV]] sketch show ''[[Spitting Image]]'' parodied [[Hugh Hudson]]'s 1988 ''British Rail, Britain's Railway'' advert on the plans of the then [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[British Government]] to [[privatise]] the railways featuring many of the show's puppets (including the show's portrayal of [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Margaret Thatcher]]), numerous BR trains and landmarks and even a cardboard cutout of [[Thomas the Tank Engine]].<ref>{{cite AV media |url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFcBRHC9MV0 |title = Britain's Railway |date = 20 November 2009 |via = YouTube |access-date = 26 May 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140415210111/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFcBRHC9MV0 |archive-date = 15 April 2014 |url-status = live  }}</ref>

== See also ==

===History===
* [[History of rail transport in Great Britain]]
* [[Impact of the privatisation of British Rail]]

===Divisions, brands and liveries===
* [[British Rail brand names]]
* [[British Rail corporate liveries]]
* [[List of companies operating trains in the United Kingdom]]

===Classification and numbering schemes===
* [[British carriage and wagon numbering and classification]]
* [[British Rail locomotive and multiple unit numbering and classification]]
* [[List of British Rail classes]]

===Rolling stock===
* [[List of British Railways steam locomotives as of 31 December 1967]]
* [[List of LMS locomotives as of 31 December 1947]]
* [[List of LNER locomotives as of 31 December 1947]]

===Other===
* [[British Rail flying saucer]]
* [[British Rail sandwich]]
* [[British Transport Films]]
* [[British Transport Police]]
* [[Channel Tunnel]]
* {{anli|Great British Railways}}
* [[National Association of Railway Clubs]]
* [[Rail transport in Great Britain]]
* [[The wrong type of snow]]

== References ==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book |last1 = Height |first1 = Frank |last2 = Cresswell |first2 = Roy |title = Design for Passenger Transport |date = 1979 |publisher = Pergamon |isbn = 978-1-4831-5309-4 |page = 118 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7swgBQAAQBAJ&q=british%20rail%20liveries&pg=PA118 |access-date = 11 September 2015 }}
* {{cite book |last1 = Jackson |first1 = Tanya |title = British Railways: The Nation's Railway |date = 2013 |publisher = The History Press |location = Stroud |isbn = 978-0-7524-9742-6 |chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Jcc7AwAAQBAJ&q=british%20rail%20ferret%20dartboard&pg=PT120 |access-date = 11 September 2015 |chapter = 6: In Search of an Identity }}
* {{Cite book |title=HST Silver Jubilee |last1=Marsden |first1=Colin |publisher=Ian Allan Publishing |year=2001 |isbn=0-711028-47-8}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last = Brady |first = Robert A. |title = Crisis in Britain. Plans and Achievements of the Labour Government |url = https://archive.org/details/crisisinbritainp0000brad |url-access = registration |year = 1950 |publisher = University of California Press}}, on nationalisation 1945–50, pp 236–83
* {{cite journal |last = Smith |first = Lewis Charles |title = Marketing modernity: Business and family in British Rail's "Age of the Train" campaign, 1979–84 |journal = The Journal of Transport History' |volume = 40 |number = 3 |date = 2019 |pages = 363–394|doi = 10.1177/0022526619848549 |s2cid = 182020681 }}

== External links ==
{{Commons and category|British Railways and British Rail|British Rail}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030402102753/http://ndad.ulcc.ac.uk/datasets/AH/britrail.htm British Railways Board history] (archived)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040105005301/http://www.brb.gov.uk/ BRB (Residuary) Ltd.] (archived)
* [https://mrc.epexio.com/records/BRB Catalogue of the BR Technical Research Department archives], held at the [[Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick]]

{{British Rail}}
{{National railway companies of Europe}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:British Rail| ]]
[[Category:British companies established in 1948]]
[[Category:Defunct railway companies of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Former nationalised industries of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Railway companies established in 1948]]
[[Category:Railway companies disestablished in 1997]]
[[Category:1948 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1997 disestablishments in the United Kingdom]]