British Rail - British Rail Network/British Rail Regions - E

British Rail - E

British Rail Network

British Rail Regions

With its creation in 1948, British Railways was divided into regions which were initially based on the areas the former Big Four operated in, later, several lines were transferred between regions. Notably, these included the former Great Central lines from the Eastern Region to the London Midland Region, and the West of England Main Line from the Southern Region to Western Region

Southern Region: former Southern Railway lines.
Western Region: former Great Western Railway lines.
London Midland Region: former London, Midland and Scottish Railway lines in England and Wales.
Eastern Region: former London and North Eastern Railway lines south of York.
Anglia Region: split from Eastern Region in 1988.
North Eastern Region: former London and North Eastern Railway lines in England north of York.
Scottish Region: all lines, regardless of the original company, in Scotland.

The North Eastern Region was merged with the Eastern Region in 1967.

British Rail Sectorisation

In 1982, the regions were abolished as the service provider (but retained for administration) and replaced by "business sectors", a process known as sectorisation.

The passenger sectors were (by the early 1990s):

InterCity (express services).
Caledonian sleeper services (Night train services) (later transferred to ScotRail).
Gatwick Express (express service to/from Gatwick Airport).
Network SouthEast (London commuter services).
Regional Railways (regional services).
Alphaline (enhanced regional express passenger services) (Added in 1994).
ScotRail (regional and sub-intercity services in Scotland).
TransPennine Express (sub-intercity services in the North).

In addition, the non-passenger sectors were:

Trainload Freight took trainload freight.
Railfreight Distribution took non-trainload freight.
Freightliner took intermodal traffic.
Rail Express Systems took parcels traffic.

The maintenance and remaining engineering works were split off into a new company, British Rail Maintenance Limited. The new sectors were further subdivided into divisions.

This ended the BR blue period as new liveries were adopted gradually. Infrastructure remained the responsibility of the regions until the "Organisation for Quality" initiative in 1991 when this too was transferred to the sectors. The Anglia Region was created in late 1987, its first General Manager being John Edmonds, who began his appointment on 19 October 1987. Full separation from the Eastern Region – apart from engineering design needs – occurred on 29 April 1988. It handled the services from Fenchurch Street and Liverpool Street, its western boundary being Hertford East, Meldreth and Whittlesea.

The former BR network, with the trunk routes of the West Coast Main Line, East Coast Main Line, Great Western Main Line, Great Eastern Main Line and Midland Main Line, and other lines.

British Rail Overview

British Rail Type: State-owned enterprise

British Rail Industry: Railway transport, logistics, shipping, and manufacturing of rolling stock

British Rail Predecessor:

Great Western Railway

London, Midland & Scottish Railway

London & North Eastern Railway

Southern Railway

British Rail Founded: 1 January 1948

British Rail Defunct: 20 November 1997

British Rail Fate: Privatised

British Rail Successor:

National Rail

Train Operating Franchises:

Railtrack

EWS

Freightliner

British Rail Headquarters: London, England

British Rail Area Served: Great Britain

British Rail Key People: Alastair Morton

(Final Chairman of the British Railways Board)

British Rail Products: Rail transport, cargo transport, services

British Rail Owner: Government of the United Kingdom

British Rail Parent:

1948–1962:

British Transport Commission

1962–1997:

British Railways Board

British Rail Divisions:

From 1948:

Eastern Region

London Midland Region

North Eastern Region

Scottish Region

Southern Region

Western Region

British Rail Research Division

Collection & Delivery

Freightliner

Motorail

Night Star Parcels

Speedlink

Rail Express Parcels

Red Star Parcels

From 1982:

InterCity

Network SouthEast

Railfreight

Railfreight Distribution

Rail Express Systems

Regional Railways

Trainload Freight

British Rail Subsidiaries:

British Rail Engineering Ltd

British Transport Hotels

European Passenger Services

Sealink

Seaspeed

Travellers Fare

Rail Holidays
Rail Vacations

Luxury Trains
Luxury Tours

International Trains
International Tours