What's going on with Britain's rail network?

Britain's railways are certainly in a tumultuous time at the moment, with strikes, cuts and uncertainty beleaguering its recovery from the pandemic. But why is all of this happening, and what will we need to do to get back on track?


Discord:   / discord  


00:00 Introduction
00:44 1. British Rail
06:12 2. Privatisation
10:12 3. The Pandemic
12:06 4. The Present
24:19 Credits


Photography:
Barry Lewis, JThomas, Steve Eason, Hugh Llewelyn, Stephen Burton, PAUL FARMER, Ben Brooksbank, The Basingstoker, Jeremy Segrott, Gillett's Crossing, Steve Knight, Michael Pead, Graham Richardson, Stephen Craven, calflier001, Number 10, Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street, Hunter Desportes, Martin Addison, Ian Rob, citytransportinfo and Jaggery, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons

Business Live

https://committees.parliament.uk/writ...

https://www.orr.gov.uk/search-news/br....

Community Rail Lancashire

https://www.gov.uk/government/publica...

Smithdo43172, Mutney, IPLManagement, Chris McKenna (Thryduulf), Adam37, Absolutelypuremilk, Spudgun67, Geof Sheppard, G-13114, Vanillalatte1, Endim8, John Robert McPherson and Seth Whales, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., Nilfanion, via Wikimedia Commons

John Winder / "Stop HS2" poster

Ben Brooksbank / Dunford Bridge, new station and signalbox under construction

Ben Brooksbank / Steam at Manchester Victoria in 1953: two 2-6-4Ts and two 0-6-0s

LSE Library, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

Ben Brooksbank / Up electrically-hauled train of new motor-cars on WCML at Hartford Junction

Ben Brooksbank / Preston Station: locomotive at north end of Platform 5 by Fishergate Bridge,

Alan Murray Rust / Electric hauled train at Euston, 1966

Ben Brooksbank / Paddington Station, with holiday crowds

Chris McAndrew, Rept0n1x, Nick Clegg, Hitachi Rail, Tagishsimon, Richard Townshend, Cnbrb, Virgin Trains East Coast and David Woolfall, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons

Science Museum Group. Ernest Marples opens the M1 motorway. 1983-5236/31277Science Museum Group Collection Online. Accessed July 17, 2023.

https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup....

Cover Collecting

Network Rail

Rosser, Sharon Farmer, Hassocks5489 and Great Western Railway Magazine, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Peter Moore / Advie Station - long after Beeching's axe fell....

Earthbound

Oxana Maher / Memorial garden, Great Heck

Ben Brooksbank / Southall Rail Crash, 1997

Tom Leveson Gower, Office of Rail and Road and UK Government, OGL 3 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/do..., via Wikimedia Commons

Paul Miller, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons

Spitalfields Life

Roy Gray / Alton Station

UniSouth

RMT

Andrew Smithers

UK Parliament

UK Government

Simon Walker / HM Treasury





Music:
Can I tell you a Secret - TrackTribe

Side Steppin' - Otis McDonald

Hard Times Come Again No More - The Westerlies

Drop the Tapes - TrackTribe

The Trapezist - Quincas Moreira