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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.
Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from 1994 until 2002. It was created as part of the privatisation of British Rail, listed on the London Stock Exchange, and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. In 2002, after experiencing major financial difficulty, most of Railtrack's operations were transferred to the state-controlled non-profit company Network Rail. The remainder of Railtrack was renamed RT Group plc and eventually dissolved on 22 June 2010.
King's Cross railway station, also known as London King's Cross, is a passenger railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, on the edge of Central London. It is in the London station group, one of the busiest stations in the United Kingdom and the southern terminus of the East Coast Main Line to Yorkshire and the Humber, North East England and Scotland. Adjacent to King's Cross station is St Pancras International, the London terminus for Eurostar services to continental Europe. Beneath both main line stations is King's Cross St Pancras tube station on the London Underground; combined, they form one of the country's largest and busiest transport hubs.
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The history of rail transport began before the beginning of the common era. It can be divided into several discrete periods defined by the principal means of track material and motive power used.
The railway system of Great Britain started with the building of local isolated wooden wagonways starting in the 1560s. A patchwork of local rail links operated by small private railway companies developed in the late 18th century. These isolated links expanded during the railway boom of the 1840s into a national network, although initially being run by over one hundred competing companies. Over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries, many of these were amalgamated or were bought by competitors until only a handful of larger companies remained. The period also saw a steady increase in government involvement, especially in safety matters, such as the Railway Inspectorate.
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The Bristol/Bath to South Coast Study is a transportation study initiated by the United Kingdom's Government Office for the South West and Bath and North East Somerset Council in South West England. It was undertaken by WSP Group as a result of the de-trunking in 1999 of the A36/A46 trunk road network from Bath to Southampton. The final study reports were published in 2004.
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The impact of the privatisation of British Rail has been the subject of much debate, with the stated benefits including improved customer service, and more investment; and stated drawbacks including higher fares, lower punctuality and increased rail subsidies. The privatisation of British Rail began in the 1990s.
Paddington is a London Underground station served by the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines. It is located adjacent to the north side of Paddington mainline station and has entrances from within the mainline station and from Paddington Basin. The station is between Royal Oak and Edgware Road and is in London Fare Zone 1.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Biography page, Christian Wolmar's website.
- ↑ Topham, Gwyn (22 May 2023). "Rail passengers in England could lose wifi access amid cost cuts". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
- ↑ Wolmar, Christian (12 December 2017). "Bikes are not just for the middle classes – this is why we set up Labour Cycles". Labour List. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
- ↑ "UWA/PUB/C/2/44". cdm21047.contentdm.oclc.org. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
- ↑ Whelan, Brian (2013). "What's left: the ghosts of Brixton's radical past". Channel4. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
- ↑ Robinson, Lucy (237). Gay men and the Left in post-war Britain: How the personal got political. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-1-84779-663-9.
- ↑ "Let's make our cities a haven for cyclists". The Observer. 17 November 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
- ↑ "Christian Wolmar's website – Titles A-Z". Archived from the original on 22 September 2013.
- 1 2 "Christian Wolmar".
- ↑ "Rail privatisation: Christian Wolmar and Tony Lodge". 22 April 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
- ↑ Forrest, Adam (30 September 2024). "Ditch peak-time rail fares across UK, campaigners say". The i Paper. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
- ↑ Holdsworth, Rachel (11 September 2012). "Christian Wolmar Throws His Hat Into The 2016 Mayoral Ring". The Londonist. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
- ↑ Holdsworth, Rachel TheLondonist
- ↑ "Christian Wolmar to stand for Labour in Richmond Park by-election". BBC News . 5 November 2016.
- ↑ Craig, Jon (2 December 2016). "Lib Dem Sarah Olney beats Zac Goldsmith in Richmond Park by-election". Sky News . News Corporation . Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ↑ Gerald, Isaaman (14 November 2013). "To the Edge of the World: The Story of the Trans-Siberian Railway by Christian Wolmar". Camden Review. Archived from the original on 30 November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
