This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/mar/02/beeching-wrong-about-britains-railways
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| How Beeching got it wrong about Britain's railways | How Beeching got it wrong about Britain's railways |
| (4 months later) | |
| The rail line from St Erth to St Ives is one of Britain's finest. Its tracks hug the cliffs that loom over the sands of Carbis Bay. In the early spring, Atlantic rollers pound the beach while gulls strut in rain-spattered tidal pools. | The rail line from St Erth to St Ives is one of Britain's finest. Its tracks hug the cliffs that loom over the sands of Carbis Bay. In the early spring, Atlantic rollers pound the beach while gulls strut in rain-spattered tidal pools. |
| It is a breathtaking journey – with a flaw. It is over so quickly. The St Ives diesel railcar takes only 17 minutes to cover the line's four miles. Have a lengthy text chat and you will miss it. | It is a breathtaking journey – with a flaw. It is over so quickly. The St Ives diesel railcar takes only 17 minutes to cover the line's four miles. Have a lengthy text chat and you will miss it. |
| And that would be unfortunate – for travellers should relish each mile of this railway gem. Fifty years ago this month, the little Cornish branch line was earmarked for closure as part of a railway restructuring that has become a byword for managerial savagery: the Beeching cuts. The story of the threatened closure of the St Ives line, and its subsequent reprieve, has much to tell us about the impact that British Rail chairman Richard Beeching had on Britain then – and today. | And that would be unfortunate – for travellers should relish each mile of this railway gem. Fifty years ago this month, the little Cornish branch line was earmarked for closure as part of a railway restructuring that has become a byword for managerial savagery: the Beeching cuts. The story of the threatened closure of the St Ives line, and its subsequent reprieve, has much to tell us about the impact that British Rail chairman Richard Beeching had on Britain then – and today. |
| Published on 27 March 1963, Beeching's report, The Restructuring of British Railways, outlined plans to cut more than 5,000 miles of track and more than 2,000 stations. Dozens of branch lines that linked villages with market towns were rated egregious loss-makers to be culled, along with great chunks of mainline. | Published on 27 March 1963, Beeching's report, The Restructuring of British Railways, outlined plans to cut more than 5,000 miles of track and more than 2,000 stations. Dozens of branch lines that linked villages with market towns were rated egregious loss-makers to be culled, along with great chunks of mainline. |
| The railways that had helped Britain become an industrial power, but which were now haemorrhaging money, were to be cut back brutally. The car would replace the train, Beeching decreed. In doing so, he ushered in an era of vast motorway expansion and cheap motorised transport. The train, deemed dirty and smoky, was earmarked for extinction. If Beeching and other transport planners of the day had had their way, only a rump of inter-city lines would have been left. | The railways that had helped Britain become an industrial power, but which were now haemorrhaging money, were to be cut back brutally. The car would replace the train, Beeching decreed. In doing so, he ushered in an era of vast motorway expansion and cheap motorised transport. The train, deemed dirty and smoky, was earmarked for extinction. If Beeching and other transport planners of the day had had their way, only a rump of inter-city lines would have been left. |
| Today the makeup of UK transport looks very different from the one envisaged by Dr Beeching. Rail passenger figures have almost doubled over the past 10 years; commuter trains are crammed; young people are deserting the car for the train; and Britain's railway bosses are struggling to meet soaring demands for seats. The legacy of Beeching – dug-up lines, sold-off track beds and demolished bridges – has only hindered plans to revitalise the network, revealing the dangers of having a single, inflexible vision when planning infrastructure. | Today the makeup of UK transport looks very different from the one envisaged by Dr Beeching. Rail passenger figures have almost doubled over the past 10 years; commuter trains are crammed; young people are deserting the car for the train; and Britain's railway bosses are struggling to meet soaring demands for seats. The legacy of Beeching – dug-up lines, sold-off track beds and demolished bridges – has only hindered plans to revitalise the network, revealing the dangers of having a single, inflexible vision when planning infrastructure. |
| "The crucial lesson to take from the Beeching anniversary is that you have to be flexible when planning transport infrastructure. Beeching was not," says Colin Divall, professor of rail history at York University. "Yes, many loss-making lines did need closing down, but nowhere near the number earmarked by Beeching, as we can now see with terrible hindsight." | "The crucial lesson to take from the Beeching anniversary is that you have to be flexible when planning transport infrastructure. Beeching was not," says Colin Divall, professor of rail history at York University. "Yes, many loss-making lines did need closing down, but nowhere near the number earmarked by Beeching, as we can now see with terrible hindsight." |
| Examples of the headaches imposed by Beeching's legacy include the Varsity line that used to link Oxford and Cambridge and which the government now wants to reopen to connect fast-growing Milton Keynes with Oxbridge's research centres. Rebuilding the disused western section between Oxford and Bedford will cost £270m and could be ready by 2017. But the track bed of the eastern section, between Bedford and Cambridge, was sold decades ago and has since been built on. How transport planners get round this problem remains to be seen. | Examples of the headaches imposed by Beeching's legacy include the Varsity line that used to link Oxford and Cambridge and which the government now wants to reopen to connect fast-growing Milton Keynes with Oxbridge's research centres. Rebuilding the disused western section between Oxford and Bedford will cost £270m and could be ready by 2017. But the track bed of the eastern section, between Bedford and Cambridge, was sold decades ago and has since been built on. How transport planners get round this problem remains to be seen. |
| Another example is the old Southampton to Dorchester line, which was closed between Brockenhurst and Hamworthy. Since then, the area has gone through a huge expansion and its roads are regularly jammed with commuters into Southampton. Reopening the Brockenhurst-Hamworthy line would certainly ease that congestion. Unfortunately, the line's western track bed was sold off and dug up. | Another example is the old Southampton to Dorchester line, which was closed between Brockenhurst and Hamworthy. Since then, the area has gone through a huge expansion and its roads are regularly jammed with commuters into Southampton. Reopening the Brockenhurst-Hamworthy line would certainly ease that congestion. Unfortunately, the line's western track bed was sold off and dug up. |
| "There are countless examples like these," says Christian Wolmar, author of Fire and Steam: How the Railways Transformed Britain. "Transport planners in the 60s simply could not conceive of the idea that a line, once closed, would need to be reopened. Their mindset saw trains as dirty and futureless. Reopening a closed rail line was simply not a possible option. So British Rail just sold off the land whenever it could, a policy that is costing us dearly today." | "There are countless examples like these," says Christian Wolmar, author of Fire and Steam: How the Railways Transformed Britain. "Transport planners in the 60s simply could not conceive of the idea that a line, once closed, would need to be reopened. Their mindset saw trains as dirty and futureless. Reopening a closed rail line was simply not a possible option. So British Rail just sold off the land whenever it could, a policy that is costing us dearly today." |
| Not every reopening has been scuppered, however. Several examples are provided in Scotland, including work to reopen 30 miles of the Waverley line that once linked Edinburgh and Carlisle but which was closed by Beeching. Its replacement, the Borders railway, which will run south for 30 miles from Edinburgh as far as Tweedbank, will be the longest new domestic railway to be built in Britain for more than a century and should be complete in 2015. Crucially, there are no problems with dug-up track bed or demolished bridges on that part of the Waverley. | Not every reopening has been scuppered, however. Several examples are provided in Scotland, including work to reopen 30 miles of the Waverley line that once linked Edinburgh and Carlisle but which was closed by Beeching. Its replacement, the Borders railway, which will run south for 30 miles from Edinburgh as far as Tweedbank, will be the longest new domestic railway to be built in Britain for more than a century and should be complete in 2015. Crucially, there are no problems with dug-up track bed or demolished bridges on that part of the Waverley. |
| The fact that routes are being reopened and other rail relaunches being planned raises a key question. Why has rail become so popular? What factors have changed to make people want to return to the train? The answer, it transpires, has more to do with the UK's fading romance with the car than a refound love of the train. | The fact that routes are being reopened and other rail relaunches being planned raises a key question. Why has rail become so popular? What factors have changed to make people want to return to the train? The answer, it transpires, has more to do with the UK's fading romance with the car than a refound love of the train. |
| "In the 60s, young people – when asked by pollsters – often said they would rather have a car than the vote," says Professor David Begg, chief executive of Transport Times. "Today they are more likely to say they would rather have an iPhone than a car." | "In the 60s, young people – when asked by pollsters – often said they would rather have a car than the vote," says Professor David Begg, chief executive of Transport Times. "Today they are more likely to say they would rather have an iPhone than a car." |
| Underlying factors for this disillusion with the car include road congestion and spiralling costs of driving, particularly for the young: car insurance has increased by 80% for young people in the past two years, for example, compared with a 20% rise for those aged 50, while numbers of those aged 17-19 who take the driving test have dropped by a fifth in the past five years. At the same time, rail companies have been aggressive in promoting cheap deals for the under-25s. | Underlying factors for this disillusion with the car include road congestion and spiralling costs of driving, particularly for the young: car insurance has increased by 80% for young people in the past two years, for example, compared with a 20% rise for those aged 50, while numbers of those aged 17-19 who take the driving test have dropped by a fifth in the past five years. At the same time, rail companies have been aggressive in promoting cheap deals for the under-25s. |
| "Young people simply cannot afford to run cars and that has driven up rail passengers numbers at a rate of about 6% a year at a time when we are going through major financial depressions," adds Begg. "It is quite extraordinary." | "Young people simply cannot afford to run cars and that has driven up rail passengers numbers at a rate of about 6% a year at a time when we are going through major financial depressions," adds Begg. "It is quite extraordinary." |
| Beeching's legacy has been to thwart plans to fulfil the country's renewed need for rail infrastructure, though there have been some benefits. There are now more than 1,500 miles of cycle pathway in Britain that have been built on old rail track, most of it generated by Beeching cuts. | Beeching's legacy has been to thwart plans to fulfil the country's renewed need for rail infrastructure, though there have been some benefits. There are now more than 1,500 miles of cycle pathway in Britain that have been built on old rail track, most of it generated by Beeching cuts. |
| And then there are the preserved steam lines, including the North Yorkshire Moors and West Somerset railways. Many of these are built on track closed by Beeching and have become a key part of Britain's heritage industry. The European Federation of Museum and Tourist Railways includes 102 passenger-carrying preserved railways in Britain and Ireland. The total for the rest of Europe is 117. The British have a love for railways that Beeching never understood. | And then there are the preserved steam lines, including the North Yorkshire Moors and West Somerset railways. Many of these are built on track closed by Beeching and have become a key part of Britain's heritage industry. The European Federation of Museum and Tourist Railways includes 102 passenger-carrying preserved railways in Britain and Ireland. The total for the rest of Europe is 117. The British have a love for railways that Beeching never understood. |
| A sense of loss that was felt at the time of his cuts is revealed by Michael Flanders and Donald Swann in their song, Slow Train, a loving tribute to the nation's lost lines: | A sense of loss that was felt at the time of his cuts is revealed by Michael Flanders and Donald Swann in their song, Slow Train, a loving tribute to the nation's lost lines: |
| "No one departs and no one arrives From Selby to Goole, from St Erth to St Ives They've all passed out of our lives." | "No one departs and no one arrives From Selby to Goole, from St Erth to St Ives They've all passed out of our lives." |
| A few jewels survived, however, though this was often due more to luck than good management. The Heart of Wales line survived only because it ran through seven marginal parliamentary seats, for example. As for the St Erth-St Ives branch, its continued existence had much to do with the whims of the incoming transport minister, Labour's Barbara Castle, who inherited the Tory government's Beeching legacy. She decided closure "would have involved destroying the whole character" of St Ives and refused to sign the line's closure notice. Thus she saved a pearl of a line for the nation – and helped St Ives thrive as a trendy resort, a point that is hard to appreciate in winter inside the deserted railcar that shuttles along the palm-fringed tracks between St Ives and St Erth on the mainline. | A few jewels survived, however, though this was often due more to luck than good management. The Heart of Wales line survived only because it ran through seven marginal parliamentary seats, for example. As for the St Erth-St Ives branch, its continued existence had much to do with the whims of the incoming transport minister, Labour's Barbara Castle, who inherited the Tory government's Beeching legacy. She decided closure "would have involved destroying the whole character" of St Ives and refused to sign the line's closure notice. Thus she saved a pearl of a line for the nation – and helped St Ives thrive as a trendy resort, a point that is hard to appreciate in winter inside the deserted railcar that shuttles along the palm-fringed tracks between St Ives and St Erth on the mainline. |
| But it is a different matter in summer, The train is filled with tourists who shun the frequently jammed road into the town. Thanks to Castle, the line has not passed out of our lives. | But it is a different matter in summer, The train is filled with tourists who shun the frequently jammed road into the town. Thanks to Castle, the line has not passed out of our lives. |
| THE AXEMAN | THE AXEMAN |
| There are few men more vilified in British history than Richard Beeching. In popularity rankings, the former ICI boss - who was, after all, responsible for axing 5,000 miles of UK rail network - usually ranks somewhere between Richard III and Robert Maxwell. | There are few men more vilified in British history than Richard Beeching. In popularity rankings, the former ICI boss - who was, after all, responsible for axing 5,000 miles of UK rail network - usually ranks somewhere between Richard III and Robert Maxwell. |
| However, in recent years others have tried to resurrect his reputation and have argued that Beeching actually saved the railways by taking his axe to the lines that were losing the most money. Had he not done so, worse cuts would have followed in later years, it is claimed. | However, in recent years others have tried to resurrect his reputation and have argued that Beeching actually saved the railways by taking his axe to the lines that were losing the most money. Had he not done so, worse cuts would have followed in later years, it is claimed. |
| Certainly, Beeching looks an unlikely villain. With his trim moustache and rotund features, the Sheerness-born businessman looks anything but sinister. | Certainly, Beeching looks an unlikely villain. With his trim moustache and rotund features, the Sheerness-born businessman looks anything but sinister. |
| But Richard Faulkner, co-author with Chris Austin of Holding the Line: How Britain's Railways Were Saved, will have no truck with any revisionist sympathy for the man. "Beeching had only one recipe for saving Britain's loss-making railways and that was to make the network smaller and smaller. He lacked vision and we are paying for that today. Of course, he was not the only public figure who completely misunderstood railways but he was certainly the most prominent." | But Richard Faulkner, co-author with Chris Austin of Holding the Line: How Britain's Railways Were Saved, will have no truck with any revisionist sympathy for the man. "Beeching had only one recipe for saving Britain's loss-making railways and that was to make the network smaller and smaller. He lacked vision and we are paying for that today. Of course, he was not the only public figure who completely misunderstood railways but he was certainly the most prominent." |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |