Flanders and Swann, writers and performers of satirical songs, wrote a lament for lines closed by the Beeching cuts entitled "Slow Train" (1963). He returned after two years to become chairman of ICI Metals Division on the recommendation of Sir Ewart Smith. Steam freight trains wait at Hawick in the summer of 1964. It is in keeping with the bold scientific age in which we live. : Lessons from British Transport Policy 194599 Dudley and Richardson, "Britain's most hated civil servant" (BBC website), "16 February 1965: Beeching plans for 'bloated' railways", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_Beeching&oldid=1114942262, There is a pub called 'Lord Beechings' at the end of the, The old station approach in the village of, This page was last edited on 9 October 2022, at 02:24. The Times, "Mr. Cousins says 'We Sacked Beeching'", 17 November 1965, p. 12. Rail lines and stations axed by Dr . ", Lord Steel says: "I think it is the only case of where the Edinburgh-London train was held up by the populous. [54], Since the Beeching cuts, road traffic levels have grown significantly and since privatisation in the mid-1990s there have been record levels of passengers on the railways owing to a preference to living in smaller towns and rural areas, and in turn commuting longer distances[56] (although the impact of this is disputed). However, despite the considerable increase in railway journeys since the mid-1990s, rail transport's share of the total passenger transport market remains below that of the early 1960s, with road overwhelmingly the dominant mode: rail's market share was 13% in 1961, 6% in 1991 and 2001, and 10% in 2014.[57]. Jeremy Bowen on reporting from Ukraine's frontline. Mr Spaven says: "We have to recognise the achievement of getting the railway back to Galashiels and Tweedbank. The findings come as the Government has launched a 500 million project to roll back the swingeing cuts overseen by the former head of British Railways, Dr Richard Beeching, which led to the . ; The industry today is very similar to Dr Beeching's vision half a century ago. ", Imran Khan survives deadly Pakistan rally shooting, Jeremy Bowen on reporting from Ukraine's frontline. The second report identified a small number of major routes for significant investment. The axing of the 98-mile. A further 2,000 miles (3,200km) were lost by the end of the 1960s, while other lines were reduced to freight use only. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. In practice, having left home in their cars, people used them for the whole journey. It was reported that he had transferred his shares into an Overseas Trust. [citation needed] In this respect, Beeching can be thus seen to have taken a courageous approach to implementing an unpopular policy which politicians had deferred for many decades. This closed as part of the Dr Beeching closures of the 1960s. Luckily he was sacked after his first butcher's job on the railways and before he could do more damage. "It will be the longest rail route reopening in modern British history. In 1965, he produced a second report, "The Development of Major Railway Trunk Routes", outlining a future railway . Palin told me: "My father travelled to London regularly on an express called the Master Cutler, which went from Sheffield to Marylebone, well that line suddenly disappeared. 30 Oct 2022 06:27:17 There are doubts over his figures and in the end the railway never did make the savings he promised. [11] Instead losses mounted, from 68 million in 1960 to 87 million in 1961, and 104 million in 1962 (2.36 billion in 2021 terms). Instead, it would concentrate on the things trains did well. What came after the Beeching Cuts, people travelling alone in their cars in isolated bubbles of asocial non-interaction, was the dawning of a less kind era, where we no longer looked out for our neighbours, no longer took such an active role in the . The Times, "The Second Stage of Dr. Beeching's Reorganisation Proposals", 17 February 1965, p. 8. In addition to the Waverley Route, Mr Spaven says the 73-mile Dumfries-Stranraer line and the 43-mile Aberdeen-Fraserburgh route were among the biggest cuts. He went for a straightforward profit and loss approach and some claim we are still reeling from that today". Railway lines and stations lost during the Beeching cuts could be reopened to drive housebuilding, including routes in Bristol, Devon and the West Midlands. Some, such as the bulk of the Midland Metro network around Birmingham and Wolverhampton, have since been incorporated into light rail lines. Brought in from ICI to stem the railway's haemorrhaging losses, Richard Beeching's initial proposals emerged . The aim was to cut the mounting debts of the nationalised British Rail by removing duplicated routes and closing the least-used branch lines of the railway. [14][43] In December 1960 questions were asked in the Lords about this "secret" and "under-the-counter" study group. Cash is also being provided for another round of the New Stations Fund which has already seen ten brand new stations in England and Wales. He adds: "I think Scotland suffered particularly in the Beeching era from the loss of some important quite long-distance routes which could have fulfilled a more strategic role than perhaps they did at the time. [27] Many surviving lines were rationalised, including reduction to single track and consolidation of signals. Like Fiennes and Hardy, Terry Gourvish's business history of British Rail sees Beeching as having a positive effect on railway management while not achieving perfection. On 27 March 1963, under orders from Marples, Beeching published his report on the future of the railways, entitled The Reshaping of British Railways. Throughout the country, campaigners want passenger services restored to railway lines like this one, axed in the 1960s by then British Railways chief Dr Richard Beeching. Sir Ewart Smith, who retired from ICI in 1959, was asked by the Conservative Minister of Transport, Ernest Marples, to become a member of an advisory group on the financial state of the British Transport Commission to be chaired by Sir Ivan Stedeford. The Times, "Lord Beeching: 'I Was Not Sacked'", 18 November 1965, p. 12. As demand for rail has grown since the 1990s, the failure to preserve the routes of closed lines (such as the one between Bedford and Cambridge, which was closed despite Beeching recommending its retention) has been criticised. News quiz: What was Erling Haaland blamed for this week? Legislation allowing this was introduced in the Transport Act 1968 (section 39 made provision for a subsidy to be paid by the Treasury for a three-year period) but this was later repealed in the Railways Act 1974. Local Galloway historian Alistair Livingston says there was some justification for the closure of the line through south west Scotland. The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. [note 11]. Available for both RF and RM licensing. 10 people found this helpful. All four Beeching boys attended the local Church of England primary school, Maidstone All Saints, and won scholarships to Maidstone Grammar School, where Richard was a prefect. by: Dr Matthew Partridge. The reshaping would also involve the shedding of around 70,000 British Railways jobs over three years. Dr. Beeching's silver lining. [52] Beeching was unrepentant about his role in the closures: "I suppose I'll always be looked upon as the axe man, but it was surgery, not mad chopping". His response was the notorious report "The Reshaping of British Railways". This means services lost under the swingeing cuts of the Beeching and British Rail cuts in the 1960s and 70s could be . Report abuse. [26], Whatever the figures, towards the end of the 1960s it became increasingly clear that rail closures were not bringing the rail system out of deficit and were unlikely ever to do so. In his report, The Development of the Major Railway Trunk Routes, he set out his conclusion that of the 7,500 miles (12,100km) of trunk railway only 3,000 miles (4,800km) "should be selected for future development" and invested in. The Times, Obituary, 25 March 1985, p. 12. Smith declined but recommended Beeching in his place, a suggestion which Marples accepted. director to be first rail board chairman", 16 March 1961, p. 14. The first was entitled The Reshaping of British Railways and published in 1963. He says: "I think at a very basic level what made the Waverley Line closure such a bad one was the fact it was such a big long chunk of line. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . [2] Some lines had never been profitable and were not subject to loss of traffic in that period. Yes Baron Beeching (to be) recommended railway cuts and 4,000 miles of line closures. Operating costs could have been reduced by reducing staff and removing redundant services on these lines while keeping the stations open. I met a famous trainspotter from Sheffield at an event to "celebrate" the 50th anniversary of Beeching's report. VideoJeremy Bowen on reporting from Ukraine's frontline, UK faces record two-year recession, Bank warns, The conspiracy theorists who could run US elections, Why the latest UN climate conference matters. He concludes that three of the 10 worst closures were in Scotland. When opening the M1 motorway, he said: "This motorway starts a new era in road travel. (The legal name of the British Railways Board did not change.) Then again, his bland-looking booklet, called the Reshaping of British Railways, did change the network forever. The Branch Lines Committee of the British Transport Commission (BTC) was formed in 1949 with a brief to close the least-used branch lines. [2] Transport minister Barbara Castle decided that some rail services, which could not pay their way but had a valuable social role, should be subsidised. Were there other factors involved in the Beeching cuts? After growing rapidly in the 19th century during the Railway Mania, the British railway system reached its height in the years immediately before the First World War, with a network of 23,440 miles (37,720km). Prime Minister Harold Macmillan stated in 1960, "the industry must be of a size and pattern suited to modern conditions and prospects. The Beeching Act of 1963 spelt the closure of over a third of Britain's Railways. The assumption at the time[citation needed] was that car owners would drive to the nearest railhead (which was usually the junction where the closed branch line would otherwise have taken them) and continue their journey onwards by train. This has since been successfully achieved by British Rail and its successors on lesser-used lines that survived the cuts, such as the East Suffolk Line from Ipswich to Lowestoft, which survives as a "basic railway". The initial report was published in 1963 and it caused much controversy. But Dr Beeching did not cut the rail lines - successive government ministers did, and. Dr Richard Beeching was appointed to implement the reorganisation. The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) were a reduction of route network and restructuring of the railways in Great Britain, according to a plan outlined in two reports, The Reshaping of British Railways (1963) and The Development of the Major Railway Trunk Routes (1965), written by Dr Richard Beeching and published by the British Railways Board.wikipedia 1963-65 plan to rationalise the British railway system, Replacement buses and proposed alternatives. [2] Stedeford and Beeching clashed on a number of issues connected with Beeching's proposal to drastically prune Britain's rail infrastructure. The plan was outlined in two reports: The Reshaping of British Railways (1963) and The Development of the Major Railway Trunk Routes (1965), written by Richard Beeching and published by the British Railways Board. 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