BR in the 1980s

British Rail (BR) was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Between 1963 and 1970, closures owing the findings of the Reshaping of British Railways report came into effect. Passenger levels decreased steadily from 1962 to the late 1970s, and reached a low in 1982. In response to this, three passenger sectors were created: InterCity, operating principal express services; London & South East (renamed Network SouthEast in 1986) operating commuter services in the London area; and Provincial (renamed Regional Railways in 1989) responsible for all other passenger services. In this book, the author investigates the changes that took place across this decade and the impact they had on passengers and BR as a whole.