Doctor Who? The Atomic Bomber Beeching and his War on the Railways.
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Describe your issue Have a question not already answered in the links at left or on our main FAQ page? Richard Beeching is the infamous architect of massive British railway closures in the 's, designed to boost the roads lobby.
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He was also, revealed for the first time, one of the key designers of the British A-bomb. Doctor Who's story is employed by the author to attack the inability of British transport planners and politicians to design a coherent transport policy. The UK lost a third of its railway network to Beeching's drastic surgery.
Today many of his decisions are being expensively restored to traffic. But Richard Cottrell's book digs wider and deeper.
He deploys the story of Beeching to castigate the constant inability of British politicians and decision makers to make coherent decisions when it comes to transport projects. He brings in the story of the exploding Comet airliners, the tragic but predictable story of the supersonic Concorde jet and its fate, the muddled and chaotic roll out of the motorway programme, the collapse of British motor manufacturing thanks to antiquated designs, Margaret Thatcher's attempt to strangle the famous Docklands renewal project at birth by denying the new hyper development an underground railway to placate the rival City of London , and not least the blanket fatwa imposed by British Airways and the airline lobby to stop high speed trains operating through the Channel Tunnel challenging premium airline business.
New Zealand discovered state railways work for public Perhaps Britain's free post war socialist health service and social security miracle meant the British had it too good for too long? Readers Benefits of registering Where are my ebooks? In John Cockcroft set the chain reaction in motion when he devised some intricate alchemy with atomic nuclei, popularly but not entirely correctly known as splitting the atom. Those steam engines chuffed off to the overgrown lines that Beeching closed, and as a result many have been preserved. And it was Thomson who first spotted the talents of the shy young introvert from Kent when he tutored Beeching in his pre war PhD studies at Imperial College.
He points to the hyper expensive trans-London Crossrail underground railway as ill-conceived along with plans to expand high speed rail transport north of London, minus sensible logistics. The author's theme points to the stark contrast with France, where politicians and planners form a united charmed circle to force projects through: In contrast the British languish in muddle and confusion and every project either over runs cost projections or collapses.
As a former European MP he castigates the British system of railway privatisation, lifted from EU rules, as nothing more than a huge roulette wheel run for the benefit of the UK state treasury. But he concludes, what would the infamous Doctor Who make of the massive resurgence of railway traffic not only in the UK but everywhere in Europe. What price now the massive and senseless closures which deprived a third of the UK from access to rail transport?
‘Beeching Report’: Myth v reality
Running costs of lines they wanted to close were grossly inflated, but nether rail unions nor public were allowed to see the figures to check them. A top secret de-industrialization plan was in place too. In late , British Rail printed a secret 'Blue Book of Maps' with details of coalmines, steelworks etc. What hapless Britons are left with now after railway privatization in is the most expensive railway network in the world to travel on.
Banks and hedge funds own the rolling stock which is leased to deeply-indebted train operating companies such as First Group, which leases the bare minimum of carriages. This leaves trains jam-packed with standing-room only through large parts of the day. Even the minimum fares seem carefully pegged just above what it would cost in petrol to make a journey by car. A legacy, perhaps, of the energy industry's economic imperative, still nudging rail commuters to buy a car. Along with electricity, gas, water, telecommunications, defense procurement, airports, the Royal Mail postal service, home care and housing, rail travel is just another government-approved scam.
With commuters lining the pockets of overpaid bosses and shareholders, and exorbitant prices for what should be national utilities, turning a profit, at home or in business, becomes almost impossible.
The Atomic Bomber Beeching and his War on the Railways. - Kindle edition by Richard Cottrell, Brian Burdsall. Download it once and read it on your Kindle. Doctor Who? Richard Beeching is the infamous architect of massive British railway closures in the 's, designed to boost the roads lobby.
Like energy and housing costs, travel costs by rail or car are slowly bankrupting families and small businesses alike. If policies don't change, all that will be left will be the boards of directors of the giant transnational corporations who have won the favor of what is now the ultimate power in the Western world, the banksters. Perhaps Britain's free post war socialist health service and social security miracle meant the British had it too good for too long?
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Perhaps because the London media is too close to the City's dark heart? Or perhaps it's just because all the main political parties have sold out? But the British public, it seems, will put up with anything. Not so in New Zealand, where privatization of the railways brought about a political storm as well as a split in the Labour party. It was re-nationalized in Meanwhile, as the British government sinks ever deeper into the black it will be forced to consider the astounding success of Britain's only state run East Coast Main Line region which is not only top-rated in the UK for customer satisfaction but, unlike the privately run regions, has paid over a billion pounds into the treasury.
Nevertheless the government is determined to sell off the East Coast operating company two months before the general election in March It seems even with such a crystal clear example of the only state run railway being the best in the country the government still determined to overturn it and set up another racket with a Tory party donor in charge and hundreds of thousands of captive passengers as the victims.
It's a tough ask, but perhaps so close to a general election, and with Labour toying with the idea of rail nationalization, they, together with the commuting public could break the combined lobby of the oil industry, road lobby, media and banks? Those steam engines chuffed off to the overgrown lines that Beeching closed, and as a result many have been preserved. Now over charitable steam railways, some of which are regular enough to be used by commuters, are dotted across the country on the old closed lines.
It is as if those heritage rail services are biding their time, waiting for the day when the policy-makers slip out of the grip of the oil lobby, regain their sanity and re-lay the old tracks.
Doctor Who? The Atomic Bomber Beeching and his War on the Railways.
Travelers can then once again begin to pay, for the first time since the s, just a little more than it costs railway operator, to get where they need to go. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT. This website uses cookies. Read RT Privacy policy to find out more.
Tony has spent much of his life too advocating solutions which heal the wealth divide, such as free housing for all and a press which reflects the concerns of ordinary people rather than attempting to lead opinion, sensationalise or dumb-down. Tony tweets at TonyGosling.
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