British Government And The Railways

This work explains the background to, and politics behind, the infamous Beeching Report, which recommended the closure of a third of Britain's railways.

Railways presented nineteenth century governments with political as well as economic problems: their inherently monopolistic tendencies were recognized almost from the start. Hence the widely accepted notions of laissez-faire did not apply. The book traces government regulation of British railways from its beginnings in 1840. Based on departmental records, the private papers of politicians and administrators, and the archives of the companies themselves, it shows how far state intervention could go even in an age of individualism. For the student of government, it throws new light on the process of administrative decision-making, the sources of legislation and the workings of interest groups. Historians will find accounts of the origin of administrative law and the working of the civil service in the last days of patronage. For those interested primarily in railways, the book shows the influence of government on the development of such devices as interlocking signals, block working and continuous brakes.

Originally published in 1986, this is a business history of the first twenty-five years of nationalised railways in Britain. Commissioned by the British Railways Board and based on the Board's extensive archives, it fully analyses the dynamics of nationalised industry management and the complexities of the vital relationship with government. After exploring the origins of nationalisation, the book deals with the organisation, financial performance, investment and commercial policies of the British Transport Commission (1948-2), Railway Executive (1948-53) and British Railways Board (1963-73). Calculations of profit and loss, investment, and productivity are provided on a consistent basis for 1948-73. This business history thus represents a major contribution not only to the debate about the role of the railways in a modern economy but also to that concerning the nationalised industries, which have proved to be one of the most enduring problems of the British economy since the war.

This work explains the background to the infamous Beeching Report, which recommended the closure of a third of Britain's railways.

Commissioned by the Cabinet Office and using hitherto untapped British Government records, this book presents an in-depth analysis of the successful project of 1986-94. This is a vivid portrayal of the complexities of quadripartite decision-making (two countries, plus the public and private sectors), revealing new insights into the role of the British and French Governments in the process. This important book, written by Britain’s leading transport historian, will be essential reading for all those interested in PPPs, British and European economic history and international relations. The building of the Channel Tunnel has been one of Europe’s major projects and a testimony to British-French and public-private sector collaboration. However, Eurotunnel’s current financial crisis provides a sobering backcloth for an examination of the British Government’s long-term flirtation with the project, and, in particular, the earlier Tunnel project in the 1960s and early 1970s, which was abandoned by the British Government in 1975.