OVER the 125 years from 1897, there have been a number of legislative interventions that have shaped the railway we see today. The most important acts of parliament have been the 1921 Railways Act, which saw the grouping of more than 100 independent companies into what became known as the ‘Big Four’; the 1947 Transport Act, which nationalised the railways under the control of the British Transport Commission; and the 1993 Railways Act that privatised the network.
There were also other significant measures that changed Government policy, including the 1896 Light Railways Act (implemented from 1897) and the London Passenger Transport Act in 1933. Legislation in 1962 and 1968 also altered policies in the British Railways period between Nationalisation and Privatisation, as well as wartime powers that brought Government control in the First and Second World Wars.
The aim of each of these interventions was to improve the delivery of railway services by measures that included greater co-ordination, higher levels of investment, improved connectivity, better working conditions, the improvement of financial results, and actions to stem market decline.
Rail monopoly
Prior to the First World War, little competition existed for either passenger travel or goods conveyance, and so Parliament concerned itself with preventing any abuse of monopoly power and regulating safety standards. The Railway Clearing House, which was set up by the private companies, also had an important role in allocating revenue and defining standards for what we now call inter-operability.
From the beginning of railway development in the first half of the 19th century, levels of traffic depended on a derived demand, and railway companies had to change earlier social attitudes where most travelled en masse by train for an annual break.
“Longer distance travel was restricted by relatively low speed, but to mitigate this there was a halcyon period when sleeping and restaurant car services were provided on
