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British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission, it became an independent statutory corporation in January 1963, when it was formally renamed the British Railways Board.
1960 – the last British steam engine is made (Evening Star). 1960s–2000s (decade) – Many countries adopt high-speed rail in an attempt to make rail transport competitive with both road transport and air transport. 1963, 27 March – Publication of The Reshaping of Britain's Railways (the Beeching Report).
Frith's The Railway Station, 1862 depiction of Paddington railway station in London. In 1830, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened. [21] Being the world's first inter-city passenger railway and the first to have 'scheduled' services, terminal stations and services as we know them today, it set the pattern for modern railways.
The history of rail transport in Great Britain 1948–1994 covers the period when the British railway system was nationalised under the name of 'British Railways', latterly known as British Rail until its eventual privatisation in 1994.
In 2019, there were 1.738 billion journeys on the National Rail network, [1] making the British network the fifth most used in the world (Great Britain ranks 23rd in world population). Unlike a number of other countries, rail travel in the United Kingdom has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years, with passenger numbers approaching their highest ...
The first proposals for railways in India were made in Madras in 1832. [105] The first train in India ran from Red Hills to Chintadripet bridge in Madras in 1837. It was called Red Hill Railway. It was hauled by a rotary steam engine locomotive manufactured by William Avery. It was built by Sir Arthur Cotton.
The service was popular at a time when long-distance travel by car involved long journey times; by 1972, British Rail was promoting the Motorail service as carrying 70,000 cars per year. [15] Additional services were introduced in 1972 between Stirling and Dover, London Kensington Olympia and Carmarthen, and Birmingham and Inverness.
Total length of the British railways at 1 January 1923 was 19,585 route miles (31,336 km). From the end of the 1920s, when it was obvious that the motor vehicle was in the ascendancy, dozens of little-used branch lines began to close: some to passenger traffic, many completely. Although few railways were constructed, some new works were undertaken.