Or any reversal under WIlson, Heath and Callaghan 1964 to 1979?
We went down the US 'route' of the car is king
, under red and blue.
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[Brighton] Dr Beeching 50 years on.
- Thread starter Leekbrookgull
- Start date
Or any reversal under WIlson, Heath and Callaghan 1964 to 1979?
We went down the US 'route' of the car is king
, under red and blue.
The railways attempt to compete with the car was the introduction of “parkway” station (Bristol Parkway, Didcot Parkway etc) with easy access, massive car parks so you could drive to the station and catch a long distance train. The trouble was that once the people got in their cars in the morning they didn’t really want to get out of them, and with the expanding motorway system just drive on to their destinations.Or any reversal under WIlson, Heath and Callaghan 1964 to 1979?
We went down the US 'route' of the car is king
But he made sure East Grinstead kept it's direct rail link to (his office in) London.
That's true, and she was Minister for Transport from 1965 to 1968 so she was in charge during a lot of the 'Beeching' cuts.
I put that in quotes as although he was appointed by the Tories and published his 'Reshaping of Britain's Railways' report under them, he'd stopped being Chairman of BR by June 1965. (This was following the Labour election victory of 1964). However neither the new government or the new BR chairman felt the need to reverse the policy, and a lot of the closures took place after he'd returned to ICI. As someone else said cutting the rail network was very much an unofficial bipartisan policy, not a case of Tories for the cars, Labour for the trains.
Anyway, at least the Serpell Report was never implemented. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpell_Report
Worried Man Blues
Well-known member
Lots of good cycle tracks though! As someone said shame some were sold / built on more tricky to go back or use for other transport ideas.
Mo Gosfield
Well-known member
- Aug 11, 2010
- 6,347
People in their cars provide massive revenue to the government. The more the merrier.Or any reversal under WIlson, Heath and Callaghan 1964 to 1979?
We went down the US 'route' of the car is king
would be very easy to install this system on many of the old track beds, wether the routes would make money i don’t know
Even use some bendy buses on them
Official Old Man
Uckfield Seagull
France are years ahead of us regarding building the high speed lines. They also have a lot more space in which to build them.
They've also banned local flights. I've got 2 tickets Paris to Barcelona in October for under £200. Both stations are city centre so no leaving for the airport 3 hours before departure.
Then I've Barca to Madrid, two first class tickets for £50
I admit flying to Paris, simply because the cost of Eurostar is crazy expensive, but then it's half British.
Lived in Uckfield 25 years and always presumed it was a Beeching cut.
British Bulldog
The great escape
- Feb 6, 2006
- 10,965
How do you improve our railway network though?
gazingdown
Well-known member
- Feb 26, 2011
- 1,067
Between 1950 and 1970 almost 7000 miles of lines were closed.
Just over 3000miles were closed BEFORE the Beeching report was published.
The report, as I recall when reading about it, was strongly suggesting buses replaced many lines - however neither tories/labour did much in the way of that!
Beeching made the report (some suggestions right, some wrong at the time, some only wrong/right in hindsight) but it was the ministers/govt. that actually make the decision/go-ahead to close routes.
This isn't a Tory/Labour thing, it was just the view of many at the time, for better or worse.
Just over 3000miles were closed BEFORE the Beeching report was published.
The report, as I recall when reading about it, was strongly suggesting buses replaced many lines - however neither tories/labour did much in the way of that!
Beeching made the report (some suggestions right, some wrong at the time, some only wrong/right in hindsight) but it was the ministers/govt. that actually make the decision/go-ahead to close routes.
This isn't a Tory/Labour thing, it was just the view of many at the time, for better or worse.
For those interested in the era of steam - particularly in Sussex, this is a great series.
www.tracingtherails.com
Very detailed but if you love history and steam railways, it's just the ticket.
Tracing the Rails - Explore Sussex's Railway History | Tracing the Rails
Join presenter Stephen Cranford on a captivating journey through the rich heritage of the Shoreham to Horsham railway line in this enchanting documentary series.
www.tracingtherails.com
Very detailed but if you love history and steam railways, it's just the ticket.
Comrade Sam
Comrade Sam
Traveling around Europe last summer, the services were excellent in France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Belgium. The weakest link was Germany, as a German friend had warned me. They were always late, one was cancelled and one broke down and we had to wrestle with everyone to try and get tickets for the next train in the ticket hall.
The USA is a special case. After the war they tried to replicate Hitler's autobahns, for tactical military military purposes. In fact the fly over height was designed to fit an ICBM on a truck underneath. It inadvertently lead to the suburbs and the drive in culture. That then lead to the massive growth in car ownership. This was helped by the near destruction of public transport. The whites only policy for the majority of the new burbs created the ghettoisation of the black community when the economic downturn happened. To this day many in the US perceive urban crime and rioting as black things, but this was due to the fact they could not leave the cities. Strangely the US took much of the rail into public hands as we privatised.
I once had tickets for the train from LA to New Orleans. As it was 24 hours late it was cancelled. So they put me up in a hotel, flew me to Arizona, then to Chicago, put me up in another hotel and finally onto a train to New Orleans.
The USA is a special case. After the war they tried to replicate Hitler's autobahns, for tactical military military purposes. In fact the fly over height was designed to fit an ICBM on a truck underneath. It inadvertently lead to the suburbs and the drive in culture. That then lead to the massive growth in car ownership. This was helped by the near destruction of public transport. The whites only policy for the majority of the new burbs created the ghettoisation of the black community when the economic downturn happened. To this day many in the US perceive urban crime and rioting as black things, but this was due to the fact they could not leave the cities. Strangely the US took much of the rail into public hands as we privatised.
I once had tickets for the train from LA to New Orleans. As it was 24 hours late it was cancelled. So they put me up in a hotel, flew me to Arizona, then to Chicago, put me up in another hotel and finally onto a train to New Orleans.
Out of interest, did you travel on any local (i.e. non-TGV) trains in France?
My experience of them suggests about 50% chance of severe delay or cancellation.
Bazzza67
Member
HM Government sold its 40% share in Eurostar nearly 10 years ago...https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-31721334
Comrade Sam
Comrade Sam
Not for years.
Official Old Man
Uckfield Seagull
Looking at the Barca to Madrid line, there are 4 companies running high speed trains all competing with each other on not only price but service as well. Obviously the London - Brighton line runs at full capacity so adding extra trains is a no no. But imagine 4 companies running trains on that line, fares would be £5 a time or under.
Is the channel tunnel tied up with Eurostar and LeShuttle because if InOui ran their trains on the line the price would certainly fall.
Official Old Man
Uckfield Seagull
The train system in the US is massive BUT they prioritise cargo over people. Any passenger train has to give way to a freight train, and as they take 30 minutes to pass by it puts the passenger train well behind.
This.
The Horsham line from Shoreham was another to go.
we're pretty good at self harm as a country.