Title: History of rail transport in Great Britain - Wikipedia
Headings: History of rail transport in Great Britain
History of rail transport in Great Britain
Contents
Before 1830: The pioneers
1830 – 1922: Early development
1923 – 1947: The Big Four
1948 – 1994: British Rail
1995 onwards: Post-privatisation
See also
References
Sources
General
Pre-1830
1830–1922
1923–1947
1948–1994

Content: From the start of 1948, the "Big Four" were nationalised to form British Railways. Though there were few initial changes to services, usage increased and the network became profitable. Declining passenger numbers and financial losses in the late 1950s and early 1960s prompted the closure of many branch and main lines, and small stations, under the Beeching Axe. High-speed inter-city trains were introduced in the 1970s. The 1980s saw severe cuts in rail subsidies and above- inflation increases in fares, and losses decreased. Railway operations were privatised during 1994–1997. Ownership of the track and infrastructure passed to Railtrack, whilst passenger operations were franchised to individual private sector operators (originally there were 25 franchises) and the freight services were sold outright. Since privatisation, passenger volumes have increased to their highest ever level, but whether this is due to privatisation is disputed. The Hatfield accident set in motion a series of events that resulted in the ultimate collapse of Railtrack and its replacement with Network Rail, a state-owned, not-for-dividend company. Contents
1 Before 1830: