The Beeching Report

The Beeching Report

Doctor Richard Beeching was not responsible for every post-war railway closure. More than three thousand route miles had been lost in the 14 years preceding his notorious report. But he has become the symbol of that contraction, and arguably a fall-guy for it.

How did we get from a network of more than 23,000 route miles to one of barely ten thousand? The story is one of vested interests, political pressure, scheming and ignorance. Practical consequences were felt in communities up and down the land. There was genuine hardship. And some would argue that the industry – and country – is still suffering for the decisions taking fifty years ago.

In this section...

	Derailed: the complicity dividend
	An overview of the shenanigans surrounding the Beeching Report, from the power exerted by lobby groups to the skewing of statistics.

	Documents for further study
	Links to the Beeching report on the Railways Archive website, and other documents associated with it.

	The effect on passenger services
	See for yourself the lengthy list of passenger service cuts recommended by Beeching. Was your local line amongst them?