History of rail transport in Great Britain 1995 to date

"This article is part of a series on the History of rail transport in Great Britain"

The period from 1995 covers the history following the privatisation of British Rail.

Privatisation under the Labour government

The Labour government (elected in 1997 after the majority of the privatisation process had been completed) reneged on its earlier commitment to keep the railways in the public sector. Instead, it left the new structure in place, even completing the privatisation process with the last remaining sales. Its one innovation in the early years was the creation of the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), initially in shadow form until the Transport Act 2000 received Royal Assent.

In the wake of the Hatfield rail crash in 2000, Railtrack entered into financial meltdown and the industry was in deep crisis. Railtrack was put into Railway Administration in 2001 and a new company, Network Rail emerged to replace Railtrack in 2002. Network Rail is a nominally private "not for dividend" company. However, its borrowing is backed by the government (which allowed better interest rates on loans), so its status is a confusing one.

The Strategic Rail Authority lasted just five years. Following the passing of the Railways Act 2005 its business was wound up and its functions transferred to the Department for Transport Rail Group and the Office for Rail Regulation. [http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_railways/documents/sectionhomepage/dft_railways_page.hcsp] Further changes have followed, which has seen the government take back a greater degree of control, but the early demise of the SRA, which was its creation, suggests that the situation is still in flux and the right formula for the long-term health of the rail industry has not yet been found.

Another important development occurred in the aftermath of the Potters Bar accident in May 2002 when a commuter train derailed (coincidentally on the same stretch of the East Coast Main Line as Hatfield) due to poorly maintained points. This resulted in Network Rail taking all track maintenance back in house, and the industry went on to enjoy the longest period in modern times without a fatal accident due to industry error. This came to an end in February 2007 when a Virgin Pendolino derailed near Grayrigg in Cumbria, killing one person. The cause of the accident was identical to that in Potters Bar nearly five years earlier - once again calling into question Network Rail's maintenance procedures.

Current developments

The British railway system continues to be developed. Contemporary projects include:
* High Speed 1, a project to construct a 108-km high-speed rail line from London to the British end of the Channel Tunnel, and involving a great deal of complex civil engineering including a 1.2-km bridge over the River Medway, a 3 km tunnel under the Thames near Dartford, a 3.2-km tunnel through the North Downs, 19-km twin tunnels running into central London, a major new railway station extension to St Pancras Station in London, and a complex redesign and rebuild of the King's Cross St Pancras tube station. The southern phase 1 of the project opened in September 2003, and northern phase 2 opened in November 2007.
* The West Coast Main Line upgrade is a long-term project covering a series of technical aspects. Improvements include the four-tracking (from three) of the Trent Valley (a bypass of the West Midlands), redesigning the layout of several junction/station eg Rugby and other associated work to increase line speed. This culminated in tilting trains at 125 mph being extended to Glasgow in 2005. Work continues and the cost overruns of the programme are infamous - attributed to wide scope of programme (the promise to Virgin to build a 140 mph railway which would require moving bloc signalling) and poor project management by the defunct Railtrack.
* The Thameslink Programme, formerly known as 'Thameslink 2000' is underway as the government formally approves the project. The project includes the lengthening of platforms, station remodelling, new railway infrastructure (e.g. viaduct) and additional rolling stock, which will allow First Capital Connect to expand their Thameslink services further north and south.
* Scotland
** The Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine railway, a rare 13 mile (21km) extension to the network, to the north of the Firth of Forth in Scotland. A Bill for the railway was passed by the Scottish Parliament and received Royal Assent in August 2004. Work commenced in September 2005, with services running by Spring 2008. The line re-establishes a railway decommissioned in 1983; the new line will provide passenger connections to Glasgow, and freight links between the site of Kincardine power station, now used as a loading point for coal from open-cast sites, to avoid heavy traffic through Kincardine, and Longannet power station, and the coal terminals at Hunterston Deep Water Port. There has been recent doubt about the project as Longannet power station was due to close in 2015, and would have been operating for reduced hours before then, to meet emissions targets. However the present shortage of generating capacity has caused this to be reviewed, and full operation of the power station will continue. The passenger part of the scheme, from Stirling to Alloa was in any case secure, and the Scottish Parliament appear to be in favour of passenger services being extended to Rosyth, which is an important ferry terminal. This could possibly result in passenger stations serving the communities of Clackmannan, Kincardine, and Culross or Valleyfield, and through trains once more from Stirling to Dunfermline.
** A short extension of the Glasgow-Hamilton-Motherwell, which once again links Larkhall to the railway network after 40 years. Larkhall has for some time been the largest town in Scotland without a railway station. The new £35m line follows an existing formation, and services to Larkhall railway station resumed on 12 December 2005. [http://iclanarkshire.icnetwork.co.uk/news/hamiltonnews/tm_objectid=16243414&method=full&siteid=50144&headline=long-awaited-rail-link-on-track-to-be-open-by-christmas-name_page.html] . The new section of route is electrified and is served with trains from Dalmuir, via Glasgow Central Low Level, with connections from other northern suburbs of Glasgow such as Milngavie.
** Having received approval and construction started, the Airdrie-Bathgate line should be complete by December 2010. Work started in June 2007. The Airdrie-Bathgate proposal is quite extensive insofar as it proposes double track electrification, the present remnant of the line from just outside Edinburgh to Bathgate having been largely singled some time ago.
** A proposal for re-opening of the Waverley Route from Edinburgh to the Borders has been passed by the Scottish Parliament. This plan falls slightly short of what some people want, such as certain intermediate stations and longer passing loops, to allow more communities to be served while maintaining or improving the end to end timings.
** The Glasgow Airport Rail Link was given the final go ahead by the Scottish Parliament in December 2006. A new 1.5 mile spur will be built onto the existing Inverclyde route, and the Glasgow Central - Paisley line will be upgraded to triple track, with the additional benefit of increasing capacity on the Ayrshire and Inverclyde routes. It is expected to be open by the end of 2009.
** Progress on the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link remains stalled. The proposed route involves tunnelling under Ingilston Park and the airport campus, with politicians baulking at the high costs involved, and technical concerns of running diesel trains through such a long tunnel.

Present Locomotives and Rolling Stock

Diesel Locomotives

AC Electric Multiple Units

" Details of Withdrawn Locomotives and Rolling Stock : See Article Withdrawn British Rail Stock "

References

*cite book|last=Wolmar|first=Christian|authorlink=Christian Wolmar|title=On the Wrong Line: How Ideology and Incompetence Wrecked Britain's Railways|year=2005|edition=rev. ed.|publisher=Aurum Press|location=London|id=ISBN 1-85410-998-7

External links

* [http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/330-rev3.pdf National Rail Trends Yearbook 2006/07]