106-702: The Merthyr line is a commuter railway line in South Wales ; it connects Cardiff Central with Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare . The line is part of the Cardiff urban rail network, known as the Valley Lines . Historically, the line was the Taff Vale Railway (TVR), the first rail development in the Valleys in the 1840s. It was associated with the notorious Taff Vale Judgment in 1901, when
212-571: A Weston-super-Mare to Bristol Parkway service via Bedminster. The Valley Lines network of eight lines ( Cardiff Bay Line , City Line , Coryton Line , Maesteg Line , Merthyr Line , Rhondda Line , Rhymney Line and Vale of Glamorgan Line ) incorporates 20 stations in Cardiff , the capital of Wales , and 61 in surrounding towns and villages. Its hubs are Cardiff Queen Street and Cardiff Central . Train frequencies are up to every five minutes. The Ebbw Valley Railway also carries commuters to
318-639: A network of 70 stations in the West Midlands county focused on Birmingham . West Midlands Trains operate the West Midlands suburban routes under the West Midlands Railway branding to distinguish them from their longer-distance routes. The main city-centre station is Birmingham New Street , operated by Network Rail ; the other city-centre stations are Birmingham Snow Hill and Birmingham Moor Street . The other main stations in
424-621: A "basic railway". The Marshlink line between Ashford International and Hastings , threatened with closure in the Beeching Report, is now seen as important due to the opening of the Channel Tunnel and High Speed 1 . Traffic on the single-track Golden Valley Line between Kemble and Swindon and the Cotswold Line between Oxford and Worcester has increased significantly, and double track has now been reinstated on
530-518: A 15–20 or 30 minute frequency. Routes are listed below: West Midlands Trains routes operating from Birmingham New Street : Three lines, known collectively as the Snow Hill Lines , operate from Birmingham Snow Hill and Birmingham Moor Street stations: Other routes operating from the TFWM area but not centred on Birmingham include: The West Midlands Combined Authority , created in 2016,
636-497: A Labour government under Prime Minister Harold Wilson after 13 years of Conservative government. During the election campaign Labour had promised to halt rail closures if elected, but it quickly backtracked, and later oversaw some of the most controversial closures. Tom Fraser was appointed Minister of Transport, but was replaced by Barbara Castle in December 1965. Castle published a map in 1967, Network for Development , showing
742-495: A Welsh Transport Appraisal Guidance (WelTAG) 1 study into the feasibility of extending Aberdare Line passenger services through reopened Trecynon Halt and Hirwaun stations to a new terminus serving the Tower strategic development site . As already noted, the line is now closed above Aberdare, but the aspiration to reopen with a passenger service remains and so the track is being retained in situ. On 16 July 2012, plans to electrify
848-688: A day and five passengers on average, earning only 25% of costs. Finally there was the service from Hull to York via Beverley (using part of the Yorkshire Coast Line , which was not closed, and the York to Beverley Line , which was). The line covered 80% of its operating costs, but he calculated that it could be closed because there was an alternative, albeit less direct, route. Out of 18,000 miles (29,000 km) of railway, Beeching recommended that 6,000 miles (9,700 km)—mostly rural and industrial lines—should be closed entirely, and that some of
954-519: A day, on lines controlled by multiple Victorian era signalboxes (again fully staffed, often throughout the day). Operating costs could have been reduced by reducing staff and removing redundant services on these lines while keeping the stations open. 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
1060-477: A few lines where they had been removed. Some lines closed under the Beeching cuts have reopened as private heritage railways. Some examples are East Lancs Railway , Great Central Railway (heritage railway) , Mid Hants Railway , North Yorkshire Moors Railway , North Norfolk Railway and West Somerset Railway . Flanders and Swann , writers and performers of satirical songs, wrote a lament for lines closed by
1166-648: A further 700 miles (1,100 km) a choice of four. In Scotland, only the Central Belt routes and the lines via Fife and Perth to Aberdeen were selected for development, and none were selected in Wales, apart from the Great Western Main Line as far as Swansea. Beeching's secondment from ICI ended early in June 1965 after Harold Wilson 's attempt to get him to produce a transport plan failed. It
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#17327875007061272-535: A half-hourly service during the day, which decreases to hourly in the evening. The Sunday service frequency decreases to hourly. In December 2017, the-then operator Arriva Trains Wales introduced extra Sunday morning services on the Aberdare line on a trial basis. This was in response to demand from the local Assembly Member . The trial was deemed a success and the extra Sunday services were made permanent from April 2018. Since its termination at Aberdare, following
1378-484: A key role in public transport in many of the major cities of the United Kingdom . Urban rail refers to the train service between city centres and suburbs or nearby towns that acts as a main mode of transport for travellers on a daily basis. They consist of several railway lines connecting city centre stations of major cities to suburbs and surrounding towns. Train services and ticketing are fully integrated with
1484-437: A lack of patronage, leaving large parts of the country with no public transport. The assumption at the time 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. In practice, having left home in their cars, people used them for the whole journey. Similarly for freight: without branch lines,
1590-486: A lack of standard rolling stock and too many duplicated routes. After the war, the railways faced increasing competition from a growing road transport network , which had increased to 8 million tons of freight annually by 1921. Around 1,300 miles (2,100 km) of passenger railways closed between 1923 and 1939. These closures included the Charnwood Forest Railway , closed to passengers in 1931, and
1696-582: A number of issues, but the future size of the railway system was not one of them. For all the suspicion it aroused, the committee had little to say on this and the government was already convinced of the need to reduce the size of the rail network. In spite of questions being asked in Parliament , Sir Ivan's report was not published at the time. In December 1960 questions were asked in the Lords about this "secret" and "under-the-counter" study group, criticising
1802-432: A route profitable: "Similarly, consideration of the cost figures will show that thinning out the trains, or thinning out the stations, would not make a service self-supporting even if it had no adverse effect on revenue". There is little in the Beeching report recommending general economies (in administration costs, working practices and so on). For example, a number of the stations that were closed were fully staffed 18 hours
1908-493: A statement to the House later that day confirming that the sale of shares was in hand and would be completed "very soon", noting that as part of the agreement he could be required to buy the shares from the purchaser at the original price after he ceased to hold office, if so desired by the purchaser. While it was reported that he sold the shares to his wife, she denied in a newspaper interview, that any transaction had taken place. It
2014-616: A subsidy to be paid by the Treasury for a three-year period. This was later repealed in the Railways Act 1974. Whether these subsidies affected the size of the network is questionable: the criteria for reprieving loss-making lines had not altered, merely the way their costs appeared in the railways accounts—previously their contribution to the railways' overall loss was hidden in the total deficit. The " bustitution " policy that replaced rail services with buses also failed. In many cases
2120-472: A virtual halt by the early 1970s. One of the last major closures was the 98-mile (158 km) Waverley Route between Carlisle , Hawick and Edinburgh in 1969; the reopening of a 35-mile section of this line was approved in 2006 and passenger services resumed in September 2015. Holiday and coastal resorts were severely affected by the closures. The report recommended closing almost all services along
2226-610: Is a matter of debate whether Beeching left by mutual arrangement with the government or if he was sacked. Frank Cousins , the Labour Minister of Technology , told the House of Commons in November 1965 that Beeching had been dismissed by Tom Fraser , then Minister of Transport. Beeching denied this, pointing out that he had returned early to ICI as he would not have had enough time to undertake an in-depth transport study before
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#17327875007062332-419: Is between an excessive and increasingly un-economic system, with a corresponding tendency for the railways as a whole to fall into disrepute and decay, or the selective development and intensive utilisation of a more limited trunk route system". Of the 7,500 miles (12,100 km) of trunk route, 3,700 miles (6,000 km) involves a choice between two routes, 700 miles (1,100 km) a choice of three, and over
2438-578: Is pursuing plans to restore local passenger services to the Camp Hill line in southern Birmingham, which is currently freight only, by constructing new chords into Birmingham Moor Street station. Restoration of local passenger services to the freight only Walsall to Wolverhampton Line , is also being pursued. Centro was established in 1969 following the Transport Act 1968 . The Transport Act 1985 deregulated and privatised bus services across
2544-737: Is the 13.5 mile long Severn Beach Line with 11 stations and 1.25 million journeys in 2016/7. The operator estimates that 57% of travellers on the line commute, rather than travelling for leisure. Services run every half an hour to Avonmouth and continue every hour to Severn Beach . As part of the MetroWest local rail expansion project, a further two suburban lines from Bristol Temple Meads to Henbury and Portishead were due to open in 2021 and 2023 respectively. Services also run from Gloucester - Westbury and Cardiff Central - Taunton via Bristol. Other suburban stations lie on main lines: Commuter services operate to and from nearby Bath , as well as
2650-746: Is the terminus of the City line, with a connection to the Wirral line at Lime Street underground station. There is also a connection with the Northern Line at Liverpool South Parkway in the south of Liverpool. The City Line is to be electrified to the Wigan and Manchester branches. The network includes the following lines: The West Yorkshire Metro oversees Northern suburban trains on 11 lines connecting urban centres such as Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield and Huddersfield and small commuter towns and villages in
2756-733: The Arriva Trains Wales franchise in 2003, and subsequently the KeolisAmey Wales franchise in 2018. Since 2021, works on the South Wales Metro have taken place to transform the Valley Lines into a Light Metro service, with brand new larger trains and much more frequent services. Electrification began in 2021 for the new trains which will run at a core frequency of 18 trains per hour. ScotRail operates four commuter lines (with 40 stations) in and around
2862-611: The Beeching Axe , there have been various proposals to extend the line northwards towards Hirwaun again. In recent years, these have been driven by the Welsh Assembly Government. In 2006, a study by local transport alliance Sewta appeared to rule out any such extension for the foreseeable future. In November 2009, the Welsh Assembly sponsored Network Rail in a feasibility study to reopening both
2968-654: The British Railways Board , which took over on 1 January 1963, with Dr Beeching as its first chairman. The Act put in place measures that simplified the process of closing railways by removing the need for the pros and cons of each case to be heard in detail. It was described as the "most momentous piece of legislation in the field of railway law to have been enacted since the Railway and Canal Traffic Act 1854 ". The general election in October 1964 returned
3074-474: The Devon Metro project multiple new stations within the city and its environs have opened in recent years, with the goal to eventually establish a rapid-transit style service through incremental improvements to Exeter's existing urban rail network. Recent advancements in the scheme include the openings of Newcourt , Cranbrook and Marsh Barton railway stations, as well as an increased frequency of 2tph on
3180-592: The Edinburgh tram network to take passengers to the terminal. A proposal to re-open the Edinburgh suburban railway line has been made by campaigning groups. Exeter serves as the regional hub for rail transport in Devon. There are 8 suburban stations and two main-line stations within the city limits ( Exeter St Davids and Exeter Central ), with many more in the Greater Exeter area. Local services: Under
3286-669: The Harborne Line in Birmingham , closed to passengers in 1934. Some lines had never been profitable and were not subject to loss of traffic in that period. The railways were busy during the Second World War , but at the end of the war they were in a poor state of repair and in 1948 nationalised as British Railways . The Branch Lines Committee of the British Transport Commission (BTC)
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3392-718: The Leeds city region , branded as Metro. The network incorporates the following lines, which often continue to longer distance destinations: Commuting via rail by wealthy merchants living in North Cheshire and South Lancashire into the centre of Manchester was a fairly early phenomenon thanks to the opening of railways such as the Liverpool and Manchester Railway , Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway , Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway & Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway , in
3498-777: The Riviera and Avocet Lines. Glasgow is Scotland's biggest city and has the UK's largest suburban rail network outside London. Much of the network is electrified, with some lines operated by diesel trains. Trains are operated by Abellio ScotRail ; Transport Scotland oversees the management of routes, fares and timetables for all train services in Scotland - until 2005, train services around Glasgow were managed by Strathclyde Passenger Transport . Because of this historic split there are differences between train services in Strathclyde and
3604-776: The Scottish capital: the North Clyde Line , the Borders Railway , the Edinburgh to Dunblane Line and the Fife Circle Line . Edinburgh Waverley and Haymarket are the city's two major stations with connections to mainline services. A project to open a rail link to Edinburgh Airport was cancelled in September 2007 by the Scottish Government in favour of construction of an Edinburgh Gateway station at nearby Gogar , which connects with
3710-614: The Welsh Assembly Government . The line follows the Rhondda line as far as Pontypridd , serving Cathays , Llandaf , Radyr , Taffs Well and Treforest . It then divides at Abercynon, with separate branches to Merthyr and Aberdare up diverging valleys. The Merthyr branch serves Quakers Yard , Merthyr Vale , Troed-y-rhiw , Pentre-bach and Merthyr Tydfil. The Welsh Assembly confirmed in February 2007 that it
3816-694: The West Coast Main Line to Carlisle and Glasgow ; traffic to the north-east of England would be concentrated through the East Coast Main Line as far as Newcastle ; and traffic to Wales and the West Country would go on the Great Western Main Line to Swansea and Plymouth . Underpinning Beeching's proposals was his belief that there was too much duplication in the railway network: "The real choice
3922-428: The train operating company called Merseyrail . Suburban trains run on both the electrified lines. The service operates at metro frequencies in central Liverpool and Birkenhead. The City line is operated by Northern running into Merseyside from outside the region, receiving funding from Merseytravel. The City line consists of non-electrified lines heading east and one electrified running south. Liverpool Lime Street
4028-502: The 1830s & 1840s. All had stations in what were then the outskirts of Manchester, from where citizens could take a train into the centre of the city. Sale , Alderley Edge and Wilmslow are examples of early settlements that had railway stations in the early-mid-19th century and grew into sizable commuter towns. Urban rail services to Manchester nowadays forms part of the Northern network. Around 25 million journeys are made on
4134-638: The 1960s. They are named for Dr. Richard Beeching , then-chair of the British Railways Board and the author of two reports – The Reshaping of British Railways (1963) and The Development of the Major Railway Trunk Routes (1965) – that outlined the necessity of improving the efficiency of the railways and the plan for achieving this through restructuring. The first report identified 2,363 stations and 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of railway line for closure, amounting to 55% of stations, 30% of route miles, and
4240-601: The Ayrshire Coast line, and is the only airport in Scotland with its own station. A direct rail link from Glasgow Central to Glasgow International Airport was planned, but was cancelled in 2009. The partially underground Merseyrail network consists of three lines, the Northern Line , Wirral Line and City Line , which interconnect in Liverpool's city centre. The Northern and Wirral Lines run in tunnels in
4346-485: The Beeching Axe, though the 1963 report also recommended some less well-publicised changes; including a switch to the now-standard practice of containerisation for rail freight, and the replacement of some services with integrated bus services linked to the remaining railheads. Protests resulted in the saving of some stations and lines, but the majority were closed as planned. Beeching's name remains associated with
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4452-636: The Beeching cuts entitled " Slow Train " (1963). Michael Williams' book On the slow train takes its name from the Flanders and Swann song. It celebrates 12 of the most beautiful and historic journeys in Britain, some of which were saved from the Beeching cuts. It perpetuated the myth that the Beeching cuts were concerned solely with sleepy rural branch lines, but they actually also concerned well-used "industrial" and commuter lines. The BBC TV comedy series Oh, Doctor Beeching! , broadcast from 1995 to 1997,
4558-664: The Birmingham and West Midlands County local suburban lines are centred on New Street station, including the Cross-City Line , the Chase Line and the Coventry-Wolverhampton Line . Three suburban routes, known collectively as the Snow Hill Lines run through Snow Hill and Moor Street stations. Services run at ten-minute frequencies on the busiest routes, with most other routes operating at least
4664-598: The British Transport Commission in March 1961. He would receive the same yearly salary that he was earning at ICI, the controversial sum of £24,000 (£675,000 in 2023 terms), £10,000 more than Sir Brian Robertson , the previous chairman of the BTC, £14,000 more than Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, and two-and-a-half times higher than the salary of any head of a nationalised industry at the time. At that time
4770-547: The Golden Valley Line, partly to facilitate a diversionary route during electrification and other works on the Severn tunnel line. The Conservatives increased their Commons majority in the general election of 8 October 1959 , their first with Harold Macmillan as Prime Minister. Ernest Marples , previously Postmaster General , was made Transport Minister two weeks later in a cabinet reshuffle; Macmillan noted that
4876-729: The Greater Manchester local rail network, compared to 34 million Metrolink tram journeys. Buses make up a far bigger number than both however with 225 million journeys per year. The biggest point of entry to the city is Manchester Piccadilly which accommodates 13 lines on which services are provided up to around every 15 minutes. These include lines to/from Bolton , New Mills Central , Crewe , Liverpool Lime Street , Chester , Warrington Central , Hadfield / Glossop , Huddersfield and Southport . There are also 11 routes from Manchester Victoria , all operated by Northern. Routes are as follows: 91 stations are within
4982-552: The Greater Manchester ticketing zone. There are links to the Metrolink tram network at Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Victoria, Manchester Deansgate, Altrincham, Navigation Road, Eccles (400m walk), Rochdale, Ashton-under-Lyne (from 2013), East Didsbury (200m walk) and Manchester Airport. Tickets bought for rail travel within Greater Manchester ticketing zone to the four city-centre stations (Deansgate, Oxford Road, Victoria and Piccadilly) are to "Manchester Central Zone", rendered on
5088-539: The Northern working-class boy who had won a scholarship to a grammar school was one of only two "self-made men" in his cabinet. Marples had a background with a successful road construction company. When opening the M1 motorway , he said: "This motorway starts a new era in road travel. It is in keeping with the bold scientific age in which we live. It is a powerful weapon to add to our transport system." His association with
5194-418: The Oxford–Cambridge Varsity Line closed despite its strategic location serving Milton Keynes , Britain's largest "new town". Kinross-shire, and Fife especially, suffered closures not included in the Report, including the main line from Edinburgh to Perth. King's Lynn was to have remained at the centre of routes towards Norwich , Hunstanton and Wisbech , all of which closed. With a few exceptions, after
5300-412: The Railway Development Association, whose most famous member was the poet John Betjeman . They went on to be a significant force resisting the Beeching proposals. Economic recovery and the end of petrol rationing led to rapid growth in car ownership and use. Vehicle mileage grew at a sustained annual rate of 10% between 1948 and 1964. In contrast, railway traffic remained steady during the 1950s but
5406-463: The UK. The West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive co-ordinated the services of all local private bus operators and adopted the name of Centro shortly afterwards to distinguish its new role from its previous role as an operator. In 2016 Centro was abolished and replaced by TfWM. There are 13 suburban and two main-line stations ( Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway ) in Bristol , all operated by Great Western Railway . The only suburban line
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#17327875007065512-438: The US Rail Bank scheme, which holds former railway land for possible future use, was not seen to be practical. Many redundant structures from closed lines remain, such as bridges over other lines and drainage culverts. They often require maintenance as part of the rail infrastructure while providing no benefit. Critics of Beeching argue that the lack of recommendations on the handling of closed railway property demonstrates that
5618-469: The West Midlands are Wolverhampton and Coventry . During 2014/15, there were nearly 51 million rail passenger journeys in the TfWM area. Birmingham has the highest proportion of rail commuters in England outside London. In the past few decades the proportion of journeys into central Birmingham by rail has grown sharply: 29% of journeys into Birmingham city centre in the peak hours were made by rail in 2015, compared to 17% in 2001, 12% in 1991. Most of
5724-459: The axe man, but it was surgery, not mad chopping". On 7 June 2019, former Minister for Transport Andrew Adonis delivered a speech on "Reversing Beeching". Since the Beeching cuts, road traffic levels have grown significantly. As well, 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 (although
5830-414: The bulk of the Midland Metro network around Birmingham and Wolverhampton , have since been incorporated into light rail lines. 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 (37,720 km). The network had opened up major travel opportunities for
5936-441: The capital. Transport for Wales operates the stations and services. In February 2008, the Ebbw Valley Railway re-opened after 45 years with an hourly service to Cardiff Central. Until the line's closure in 1962, passengers had had to change at Newport . The Maesteg line is incorporated into the wider network: trains continue to Cheltenham Spa from Cardiff Central. The Vale of Glamorgan Line serves Cardiff Airport . However,
6042-473: The cause of this is disputed ). A few of the railway closures have been reversed. 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. Some closed stations have reopened , and passenger services have been restored on
6148-424: The centres of Liverpool and Birkenhead. Liverpool is the nucleus of the network, which sees 100,000 people a day travel through 68 stations on the electrified lines. There are 21 stations on the City Line that serves the Merseyside area. The origins of the network are old, dating back 1848 and the Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway , one of the world's first commuter lines, and to the 1886 Mersey Railway , which
6254-494: The city centre: the North Clyde line through Queen Street and the Argyle Line through Central, from underground platforms below the mainline stations. The North Clyde and Argyle lines meet at Partick , which is also served by the Glasgow Subway . There are Glasgow Subway stations near Central ( St Enoch ) and Queen Street ( Buchanan Street ). A bus services to Glasgow Airport operates from Paisley Gilmour Street station . Glasgow Prestwick Airport has its own railway station on
6360-429: The coasts of north Devon, Cornwall and East Anglia aside from Norwich to Great Yarmouth. All services on the Isle of Wight were recommended for closure, as were all branch lines in the Lake District . One of the most significant closures was the Great Central Main Line from London Marylebone to Leicester and Sheffield. Not all the recommended closures were implemented. Reprieved lines include: The Beeching Report
6466-431: The company during his term of office, but it did lead to a sense of unease, not least within the railway sector. In April 1960, Sir Ivan Stedeford established an advisory group known as the Stedeford Committee at the request of Harold Macmillan to report on the state of the British Transport Commission and to make recommendations. Sir Ewart Smith , a retired former Chief Engineer at Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI),
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#17327875007066572-428: The continued withholding of the report and its recommendations. It was later suggested that Stedeford had recommended that the government should set up another body "to consider the size and pattern of the railway system required to meet current and foreseeable needs, in the light of developments and trends in other forms of transport ... and other relevant considerations". Marples then appointed Beeching as Chairman of
6678-570: The courts penalised trade unions for losses caused by strikes. The Aberdare line was closed in 1964 under the Beeching Axe . The line was reopened in 1988, in an attempt to stimulate jobs and employment in the valley in response to the closure of the last few coal mines. In 2005, following further grant from the Welsh Assembly, the stations at Abercynon , Penrhiwceiber , Fernhill , Cwmbach and Aberdare were extended to four-car length to accommodate longer peak trains in an initiative to relieve overcrowding; train leasing/running costs were funded by
6784-438: The decade, the scheme including the provision of a new station and a passing loop to permit an upgrade of the passenger service to two trains per hour from late 2003. There are a few gaps in the half-hourly service to enable coal/stone trains to run to/from Tower Colliery/Hirwaun. The line is currently operated by Transport for Wales (TfW), as part of the Valley Lines network. Both the Merthyr and Aberdare branch lines have
6890-590: The early 1970s proposals to close other lines were met with vociferous public opposition and were shelved. Beeching's reports made no recommendations about the handling of land after closures. British Rail operated a policy of disposing of land that was surplus to requirements. Many bridges, cuttings and embankments have been removed and the land sold for development. Closed station buildings on remaining lines have often been demolished or sold for housing or other purposes. Increasing pressure on land use meant that protection of closed trackbeds, as in other countries, such as
6996-522: The economic costs of having two break-bulk points combined to make long-distance road transport a more viable alternative. Many of the closed lines had run at only a small deficit. Some lines such as the Sunderland -to-West Hartlepool line cost only £291 per mile to operate. Closures of such small-scale loss-making lines made little difference to the overall deficit. Possible changes to light railway -type operations were attacked by Beeching, who rejected all proposals for cost savings that would not make
7102-465: The economic situation steadily deteriorated, with labour costs rising faster than income and fares and freight charges repeatedly frozen by the government to try to control inflation . By 1955, the railways' share of the transport market had dropped from 16% to 5%. The 1955 Modernisation Plan promised expenditure of over £1,240 million; steam locomotives would be replaced with diesel and electric locomotives , traffic levels would increase, and
7208-405: 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. Transport minister Barbara Castle decided that some rail services, which could not pay their way but had a valuable social role, should be subsidised. Legislation allowing this was introduced in the Transport Act 1968 . Section 39 made provision for
7314-435: The entire country that had never been available before. However, lines were sometimes uneconomic, and several Members of Parliament had direct involvement with railways, creating a conflict of interest. In 1909, Winston Churchill , then President of the Board of Trade, argued that the country's railways did not have a future without rationalisation and amalgamation. By 1914, the railways had some significant problems, such as
7420-811: The evenings and on Sundays. Networks often encompass a few major stations in a large city, with other stations being medium or minor. Services can be provided by one train operating company operating exclusively on an urban rail network, such as in Merseyside , or by a company that also operates regional and national services, like in Bristol , Cardiff , Edinburgh and Glasgow . In Northern Ireland 's capital, Northern Ireland Railways Belfast suburban rail serves Greater Belfast . Services run about every 20 minutes from 06:00 until 00:00 on: Some services run between Larne and Portadown, calling at all stations. Belfast Suburban Rail serves 39 different stations on three lines. Co-ordinated and subsidised by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), West Midlands Trains operates
7526-613: The formal end of his secondment. The first report was accepted by the Conservative government of the day, which argued that many services could be provided more effectively by buses. Most recommendations were subsequently taken forward by the Labour government elected in 1964, but many of the proposed closures sparked protests from communities that would lose their trains, a number of which (especially rural communities) had no other public transport. Line closures had been running at about 150–300 miles per year between 1950 and 1961. They peaked at 1,000 miles (1,600 km) in 1964 and came to
7632-435: The government was seeking outside talent to sort out the huge problems of the railway network, and he was confident that he could make the railways pay for themselves, but his salary, at 35 times that of many railway workers, has been described as a "political disaster". The Transport Act 1962 dissolved the British Transport Commission (BTC), which had overseen the railways, canals and road freight transport and established
7738-564: The high-profile construction company Marples Ridgway became a matter of concern to both the public and politicians. As is customary, he resigned as a director of the company in 1951 on becoming a junior minister, but he only disposed of his shares in the company in 1960 after the company won a contract to build the Hammersmith Flyover , when questions were asked both in the media and also in the Commons on 28 January 1960; he made
7844-524: The least-used 50% of stations contributed only 2% of passenger revenue, and that one third of route miles carried just 1% of passengers. By way of example, he noted that the line from Thetford to Swaffham carried five trains each weekday in each direction, carrying an average of nine passengers with only 10% of the costs of operating the line covered by fares; another example was the Gleneagles-Crieff-Comrie line which had ten trains
7950-633: The line were announced by the Government as part of a £9.4bn package of investment of the railways in England and Wales. The announcement was made as an extension of the electrification of the South Wales Main Line from Cardiff to Swansea ; the electrification of the south Wales Valley Lines at a total cost of £350 million. The investment requires new trains and should result in reduced journeys times and cheaper maintenance. Work
8056-414: The loss of 67,700 British Rail jobs, with an objective of stemming the large losses being incurred during a period of increasing competition from road transport and reducing the rail subsidies necessary to keep the network running. The second report identified a small number of major routes for significant investment. Such was the scale of these cuts that the programme came to be colloquially referred to as
8162-511: The mass closure of railways and the loss of many local services in the period that followed. A few of these routes have since reopened. Some short sections have been preserved as heritage railways , while others have been incorporated into the National Cycle Network or used for road schemes. Others have since been built over, have reverted to farmland, or remain derelict with no plans for any reuse or redevelopment. Some, such as
8268-483: The modernisation plan must be adapted to this new shape" and with the premise that the railways should be run as a profitable business. Beeching first studied traffic flows on all lines to identify "the good, the bad, and the indifferent". His analysis showed that the least-used 1,762 stations had annual passenger receipts of less than £2,500 each (£73,000 as of 2024 ), that over half of the 4,300 stations open to passengers in 1960 had receipts of less than £10,000, that
8374-924: The national rail network and are not considered separate. In London, a route for Crossrail 2 has been safeguarded. Unlike most light rail systems, most urban rail networks are part of National Rail , which often allows easy interchange with mainline rail , and only one ticket needs to be bought if a journey includes both mainline and urban rail. Bicycles can be taken on board in the majority of cases, and existing railways can be used, rather than new light railways being built. Urban rail usually has higher capacity than light rail because of longer trains (but often lower frequency), and higher average speed because of fewer stops. In some cases, suburban railway networks have their own ticketing system, as in West Yorkshire . A few urban railways offer service during peak times only, and others operate less frequent trains during
8480-548: The network neglects large residential areas in the south-west and east of Cardiff, although the South Wales Main Line runs through these areas without any stations. These areas include Caerau in the south-west and Rumney and St Mellons in the east. Between 1995 and 2001, the network (except the Maesteg Line) was operated by Valley Lines . It then became part of the Wales & Borders franchise before becoming part of
8586-518: The number of railway wagons had fallen 29% from 1,200,000 to 848,000. The first Beeching report, titled The Reshaping of British Railways , was published on 27 March 1963. The report starts by quoting the brief provided by the Prime Minister , Harold Macmillan , from 1960: "First, the industry must be of a size and pattern suited to modern conditions and prospects. In particular, the railway system must be modelled to meet current needs, and
8692-524: The original TVR route, beyond the former Abercwmboi Halt to access Tower Colliery , the line diverts onto the route of the former Vale of Neath Railway . The line continues beyond Aberdare, for goods purposes only, to serve Tower Colliery, which was the last deep coal mine to remain open in South Wales. Mountain Ash station was redeveloped with a grant from the Welsh Assembly Government in the early part of
8798-647: The rail network to a mere 1,630 miles (2,620 km), leaving only 22 miles (35 km) of railway in Wales (a section of the South Wales Main Line from the Severn Tunnel to Cardiff Central ) and none in Somerset, Devon or Cornwall. The Midland Main Line was planned to close, leaving Leicester and Derby without a rail link, while the East Coast Main Line, part of the key London/Edinburgh link,
8904-520: The railway system "stabilised" at around 11,000 route miles (17,700 km). Section 39 of the Transport Act 1968 made provision for grants to be paid in relation to loss-making lines and services, but many of the services and railway lines that would have qualified had already been closed. A number of branch lines and local services were saved by this legislation. After 1970, when the Conservatives were returned to power , serious thought
9010-483: The railways had not been restored to profitability and Beeching's approach appeared to many to have failed. It has been suggested that by closing almost a third of the network Beeching achieved a saving of just £30 million, whilst overall losses were running in excess of £100 million per year. However, the precise savings from closures are impossible to calculate. The Ministry of Transport subsequently estimated that rail operating costs had been cut by over £100 million in
9116-420: The railways' ability to transport goods "door to door" was dramatically reduced. As in the passenger model, it was assumed that lorries would pick up goods and transport them to the nearest railhead, where they would be taken across the country by train, unloaded onto another lorry and taken to their destination. The development of the motorway network, the advent of containerisation , improvements in lorries and
9222-499: The remaining lines should be kept open only for freight. A total of 2,363 stations were to close, including 435 already under threat, both on lines that were to close and on lines that were to remain open. He recommended that freight services should mainly be for bulk commodities such as minerals and coal, and that the freight system make use of new containerised handling systems rather than less efficient and slower wagon-load traffic. The latter recommendation would prove prescient with
9328-440: The replacement bus services were slower and less convenient than the trains they were meant to replace, and so were unpopular. Replacement bus services were often run between the (now disused) station sites (some of which were some distance from the population centres they served), thus losing any potential advantage over the closed rail service. Most replacement bus services lasted less than two years before they were removed due to
9434-440: The report was short-sighted. On the other hand, retaining a railway on these routes, which would obviously have increased maintenance costs, might not have earned enough to justify that greater cost. 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. By 1968,
9540-399: The rest of Scotland. There is no first class travel in Strathclyde, and morning peak time finishes at 09:00 (rather than 09:15) with no evening peak time. Glasgow Central and Glasgow Queen Street are the two mainline railway stations, both in the city centre. Services to the south leave from Central, and to the north leave from Queen Street. Two lines run underground east to west through
9646-599: The rise of intermodal freight transport in the following decades. On 16 February 1965, Beeching introduced the second stage of his reorganisation of the railways. In his report, The Development of the Major Railway Trunk Routes , he set out his conclusion that of the 7,500 miles (12,100 km) of trunk railway only 3,000 miles (4,800 km) "should be selected for future development" and invested in. This policy would result in long-distance traffic being routed along nine lines. Traffic to Coventry , Birmingham , Manchester , Liverpool and Scotland would be routed through
9752-417: The section to Hirwaun, and parts of the former Anglesey Central Railway between Llangefni on Anglesey , and Bangor . Network Rail began work on gathering evidence for its study, beginning with cutting away vegetation on track sections to examine the condition of rails and track bedding. Its report was expected to be published in early 2010, before any business case to reopen the lines can be developed. It
9858-467: The system was predicted to be back in profit by 1962. Instead losses mounted, from £68 million in 1960 to £87 million in 1961, and £104 million in 1962 (£2.8 billion in 2023 terms). The BTC could no longer pay the interest on its loans. By 1961, losses were running at £300,000 a day, despite the fact that since nationalisation in 1948, 3,000 miles (4,800 km) of line had been closed, railway staff numbers had fallen 26% from 648,000 to 474,000, and
9964-627: The ticket as "MANCHESTER CTLZ", and allow free tram travel within the Metrolink tram city fare zone (eight stops within the Piccadilly-Victoria-Deansgate station triangle). Beeching cuts The Beeching cuts , also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe , were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in
10070-402: The wake of the Beeching Report but that much of this had been swallowed up by increased wages. Some of the branches closed acted as feeders to the main lines, and that feeder traffic was lost when the branches closed; the financial significance of this is debatable, for over 90% of the railways' 1960 traffic was carried on lines which remained open ten years later. Whatever the figures, towards
10176-612: Was announced in March 2011 that the Welsh Assembly Government's 2011–12 capital programme would include the reopening of the line to Hirwaun as part of the Cynon Valley Scheme although the project appears to have advanced little at that time. In 2019-2020, the Cardiff Capital Region's transport authority secured £100,000 of funding from the Welsh Government's Local Transport Fund to undertake
10282-503: Was asked by Ernest Marples to become a member of an advisory group; Smith declined but recommended Richard Beeching in his place, a suggestion that Marples accepted. Beeching, who held a PhD in physics, had been appointed to the main board of ICI at the age of 43. The board consisted of senior figures in British businesses, and none of the board had previous knowledge or experience of the railway industry. Stedeford and Beeching clashed on
10388-516: Was expected to start between 2014 and 2019. However, as part of Welsh Government's South Wales Metro this line has been taken over, and is now being electrified in preparation for new Class 398 tram-train rolling stock. Download coordinates as: 51°36′50″N 3°19′50″W / 51.6140°N 3.3306°W / 51.6140; -3.3306 Commuter rail in the United Kingdom Urban and suburban rail plays
10494-411: Was formed in 1949 with a brief to close the least-used branch lines. This resulted in the loss (or conversion to freight-only operation) of some 3,318 miles (5,340 km) of railway between 1948 and 1962. The most significant closure was that of the former Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway in 1959. In opposition to these cuts, the period also witnessed the beginning of a protest movement led by
10600-476: Was given to a further programme of closures, but this proved politically impossible. In 1982, under the government of Margaret Thatcher , Sir David Serpell , a civil servant who had worked with Beeching, compiled the Serpell Report which said that a profitable railway could be achieved only by closing much of what remained. The report's infamous "Option A" proposed greatly increasing fares and reducing
10706-498: Was grant funding a scheme to upgrade the line north of Abercynon, in conjunction with European Union Objective 1 assistance. This included reinstatement of two miles of double track, to enable the introduction of a half-hourly train service; the revenue costs of which the Welsh Assembly also met. The enhanced service was said to commence in 2008 but was postponed to May 2009. The Aberdare branch serves Penrhiwceiber , Mountain Ash , Fernhill , Cwmbach and Aberdare. Although following
10812-423: Was intended to be cut north of Newcastle. The report was published on 20 January 1983 and received an immediate backlash from the media. It was quietly shelved in the run up to the 1983 election . Ian Hislop comments that history has been somewhat unkind to "Britain's most hated civil servant", by forgetting that Beeching proposed a much better bus service that ministers never delivered, and that in some ways he
10918-479: Was intended to be the first stage in the rail network's contraction. As a result, some lines it had not recommended for closure were subsequently shut down, such as the Woodhead line between Manchester and Sheffield in 1981, after the decline of the freight traffic (mostly coal) on which it had relied. Many surviving lines were rationalised, including reduction to single track and consolidation of signals. Most of
11024-502: Was reported that he had transferred his shares into an Overseas Trust. In July 1964, Marples Ridgway and Partners Limited were awarded a £4.1 million contract for the "Hendon Urban Motorway" extension of the M1, in the same year that the company was taken over by the Bath and Portland Group. There was no evidence of any wrongdoing on anyone's part in this or any of the other contracts awarded to
11130-654: Was the world's second oldest underground passenger railway. An early commuter was Nathaniel Hawthorne , United States consul to Liverpool, 1853–57. The 75 mile long electric third rail Northern and Wirral lines are 100% dedicated Merseyrail lines operating separately from the City Line. The City Line currently uses diesel trains operated by Northern . The local passenger transport executive, Merseytravel , brands all suburban rail lines running through Merseyside as Merseyrail with stations inside Merseyside branded as Merseyrail stations. The Northern and Wirral lines operate under
11236-443: Was used to do their "dirty work for them". Hislop describes him as "a technocrat [who] wasn't open to argument to romantic notions of rural England or the warp and weft of the train in our national identity. He didn't buy any of that. He went for a straightforward profit and loss approach and some claim we are still reeling from that today". Beeching was unrepentant about his role in the closures: "I suppose I'll always be looked upon as
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