ABSTRACT
Railway services in Britain were nationalised in 1948 as a result of the 1947 Transport Act, which created the British Transport Commission. The 1962 Transport Act saw the creation of a separate British Railways Board (BRB) which remained in public ownership. The commercialisation of BRB in the 1980s, as a result of sectorisation led to some marked improvements in productivity. This chapter provides some detailed information on how the rail reform process was implemented. After presenting the reform of the British Railways, the chapter presents the various ‘new’ actors resulting from the reorganisation of British Rail and of its control by the various authorities. The chapter describes the reform of British Railways and details the current organisation. It outlines the franchising process and also describes a general evaluation at the national level is undertaken and a case study of the Northern English conurbation. The chapter examines future developments, and draws a set of conclusions.
