British Transport Commission

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British Transport Commission
Company type Statutory corporation [lower-roman 1]
Founded1 January 1948;76 years ago (1948-01-01)
Defunct1 January 1964;60 years ago (1964-01-01) [lower-roman 2]
Fate Dissolved
Successor

The British Transport Commission (BTC) was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain (Northern Ireland had the separate Ulster Transport Authority). Its general duty under the Transport Act 1947 [9] was to provide an efficient, adequate, economical and properly integrated system of public inland transport and port facilities within Great Britain for passengers and goods, excluding transport by air.

Contents

The BTC came into operation on 1 January 1948. Its first chairman was Lord Hurcomb, with Miles Beevor as Chief Secretary. Its main holdings were the networks and assets of the Big Four national regional railway companies: the Great Western Railway, London and North Eastern Railway, London, Midland and Scottish Railway and the Southern Railway. It also took over 55 other railway undertakings, 19 canal undertakings and 246 road haulage firms, as well as the work of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was already publicly owned. The nationalisation package also included the fleets of 'private owner wagons', which industrial concerns had used to transport goods on the railway networks.

Organisation

The BTC was one of the largest industrial organisations in the world and it owned a vast number of transport-related assets. The assets owned at its creation included: 52,000 miles (84,000 km) of railway track, 1,260,000 freight and service railway vehicles, 40,000 passenger railway coaches, 20,148 locomotives, 93,000 road vehicles, 2,050 miles (3,300 km) of canals, 122 steamships, 54 hotels and 52,000 houses. [10] In March 1953, it had 877,000 staff. [10]

At first, the Commission did not directly operate transport services, which were the responsibility of the Commission's Executives. These bodies were separately appointed, and operated under what were termed 'schemes of delegation'. The Act provided for five Executives, covering Docks & Inland Waterways, Hotels, London Transport, Railways, and Road Transport. [11] The Railway Executive traded as "British Railways". In 1949, Road Transport was divided into separate Road Haulage and Road Passenger Executives, though the latter proved short-lived.

The Commission's extensive activities included:

The Commission was permitted to "secure the provision" of road passenger services, although it did not have the general powers of compulsory purchase of bus operators. To obtain specific powers of acquisition it had first to draw up, and get approval for, a 'Road Scheme', area by area. Only one was published, the North East Area Road Scheme, though work began on a second scheme, covering East Anglia. The NEARS was never confirmed, as it was fiercely opposed by private and municipal operators.

The quasi-federal structure of Commission and Executives proved to be an obstacle to integration and was largely abolished by the Conservative government with effect from 1 October 1953 (the London Transport Executive alone survived). On 1 January 1955, the railways were re-organised on the basis of six Area Railway Boards, which had a wide measure of operational autonomy under the Commission's overall supervision. The Commission took direct charge of the remaining assets, though these were significantly reduced by the Conservatives de-nationalising much of the road haulage sector. On 1 January 1955, separate managements were also set up for road haulage, hotels, docks and inland waterways.

Abolition

By the late 1950s the BTC was in serious financial difficulties, largely due to the economic performance of the railways. It was criticised as an overly bureaucratic system of administering transport services and had failed to develop an integrated transport system (such as integrated ticketing and timetabling). It was abolished by Harold Macmillan's Conservative government under the Transport Act 1962 and replaced by five successor bodies: [12]

These changes took effect on 1 January 1963. [lower-roman 2] Notwithstanding the abolition of the BTC, the British Transport Police continues to exist, and the BTC heraldic shield is still displayed on the force's badge.

Chairmen

Notes

  1. ↑ The British Transport Commission was created by the Transport Act 1947 (i.e. a statute), [1] which provided that it was "body corporate with perpetual succession". [2]
  2. 1 2 Section 80 of the Transport Act 1962 provide that the British Transport Commission was to be dissolved on the "vesting date", which was defined as 1 January 1963 by paragraph 1 of the Transport Act 1962 (Vesting Date) Order 1962, [3] unless it appeared to the Minister of Transport that more time was required to effect the transfer of property and rights to its successor entities. [4] To give more time to effect the transfer of property and rights belonging to the British Transport Commission outside Great Britain to its successor entities, the dissolution date was postponed four times by statutory instrument to 1 April 1963, [5] 1 July 1963, [6] 1 October 1963, [7] and finally to 1 January 1964, [8] the date on which it was dissolved.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Transport Act 1947, section 1(1) (as originally enacted). Available from legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 5 November 2022.
  2. ↑ Transport Act 1947, section 1(9) and the First Schedule. Available from legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 5 November 2022.
  3. ↑ The Transport Act 1962 (Vesting Date) Order 1962, paragraph 1. Available from legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 3 November 2022.
  4. ↑ The Transport Act 1962, section 80 (as originally enacted). Available from legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 7 November 2022.
  5. ↑ "Ministry of Transport: The British Transport Commission (Continuation) Order 1962". The London Gazette . No. 42867. 25 December 1962. pp. 10075–10076.
  6. ↑ "Ministry of Transport: The British Transport Commission (Continuation No. 2) Order 1963". The London Gazette . No. 42955. 29 March 1963. p. 2835.
  7. ↑ "Ministry of Transport: The British Transport Commission (Continuation No. 3) Order 1963". The London Gazette . No. 43045. 2 July 1963. p. 5653.
  8. ↑ "Ministry of Transport: The British Transport Commission (Continuation No. 4) Order 1963". The London Gazette . No. 43111. 20 September 1963. p. 7752.
  9. ↑ "Transport Act, 1947" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  10. 1 2 Directory of Railway Officials & Year Book 1956-1957. London: Tothill Press Limited. 1956. p. 34.
  11. ↑ Wragg, David (2009). The Historical Dictionary of Railways in the British Isles. London: Wharncliffe Publishing. p. 264. ISBN   978-1844680474.
  12. ↑ "Transport Act 1962" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
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