Title: Privatisation of British Rail - Wikipedia
Headings: Privatisation of British Rail
Privatisation of British Rail
Contents
Background
To 1979
1980s
1990s
Legislation
Domestic system
As implemented
Subsequent changes
Channel Tunnel infrastructure and services
Impact
See also
References
Further reading
External links
Bibliography

Content: Despite opposition from the Labour Party, who gained power in 1997 under Tony Blair, the process has never been reversed wholesale by any later government, and the system remains largely unaltered. A significant change came in 2001 with the collapse of Railtrack, which saw its assets passed to the state-owned Network Rail (NR), with track maintenance also brought in-house under NR in 2004. The regulatory structures have also subsequently changed. Contents
1 Background
1.1 To 1979
1.2 1980s
1.3 1990s
2 Legislation
3 Domestic system
3.1 As implemented
3.2 Subsequent changes
4 Channel Tunnel infrastructure and services
5 Impact
6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links
9.1 Bibliography
Background
Main article: History of rail transport in Great Britain 1948–1994
UK rail journeys per capita from 1840 to 2018, showing a steady decline in the decades leading up to privatisation. To 1979
Historically, the pre- nationalisation railway companies were almost entirely self-sufficient, including, for example, the production of the steel used in the manufacturing of rolling stock and rails. As a consequence of the nationalisation of the railways in 1948 some of these activities had been hived off to other nationalised industries and institutions, e.g. "Railway Air Services Limited" was one of the forerunners of British Airways; the railways' road transport services, which had carried freight, parcels and passengers' luggage to and from railheads, ultimately became part of the National Freight Corporation, but not until 1969. A 1950s Mk1-based Class 411 (4-CEP) "slam-door" EMU at London Victoria station, in Network SouthEast livery (March 2003)
The preferred organisational structure in the 1970s was for the BRB to form wholly owned subsidiaries which were run at an arm's-length relationship, e.g. the railway engineering works became British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) in 1970; the ferry operations to Ireland, France, Belgium and the Netherlands were run by Sealink, part of the Sealink consortium, which also used ferries owned by the French national railway SNCF, the Belgian Maritime Transport Authority Regie voor maritiem transport/Regie des transports maritimes (RMT/RTM), and the Dutch Zeeland Steamship Company.