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The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) refer to the reduction of route network and restructuring of the Railways in Great Britain outlined in two reports, ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the Major Railway Trunk Routes'' (1965), written by Dr Richard Beeching and published by the British Railways Board. The first report identified 2,363 stations and of railway line for closure, 55% of stations and 30% of route miles, with an objective of stemming the large losses being incurred during a period of increasing competition from road transport; the second identified a small number of major routes for significant investment. The 1963 report also recommended some less well publicised changes, including a switch to containerisation for rail freight. Protests resulted in the saving of some stations and lines, but the majority were closed as planned and Beeching's name remains associated with the mass closure of railways and the loss of many local services in the period that followed. A few of these routes have since reopened, some short sections have been preserved as Heritage Railways, while others been incorporated into the National Cycle Network or used for road schemes; with others now lost to construction, simply reverted to farm land, or remain derelict. ==Background== After growing rapidly in the 19th century during the Railway Mania, the British railway system reached its height in the years immediately before the First World War, with a network of .〔White, H.P. (1986) 'Forgotten Railways'', ISBN 0-946537-13-5〕 After the First World war the railways faced increasing competition from a growing road transport network, which led to the closure of some of passenger railway between 1923 and 1939.〔 Some of these lines had never been profitable and were not subject to loss of traffic in that period. The railways were busy during World War II, but at the end of the war they were in a poor state of repair, and were soon nationalised as British Railways. The "Branch Lines Committee" of the British Transport Commission (BTC) was formed in 1949 with a brief to close the least-used branch lines; of railway were closed between 1948 and 1962.〔 Closures in this period included the Charnwood Forest Railway, closed to passengers in 1931, the Harborne Line in Birmingham, closed to passengers in 1934, and the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway, closed in 1959. This period saw the beginning of a closures protest movement led by the Railway Development Association, whose most famous member was the poet John Betjeman. They went on to be a significant force resisting the Beeching proposals. Economic recovery and the end of petrol rationing led to rapid growth in car ownership and use. Vehicle mileage grew at a sustained annual rate of 10% between 1948 and 1964.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=TRA0101 (also TSGB0701) Road traffic (vehicle miles) by vehicle type in Great Britain, annual from 1949 )〕 In contrast, railway traffic remained steady during the 1950s〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Great Vanishing Railway )〕 but the economics steadily deteriorated, with labour costs rising faster than income〔〔 and fares and freight charges repeatedly frozen by the government to try to control inflation.〔 By 1955 income no longer covered operating costs, and things got steadily worse. The 1955 Modernisation Plan promised expenditure of over £1,240 million; steam locomotives would be replaced with diesel and electric locomotives, traffic levels would increase and the system was predicted to be back in profit by 1962.〔Wolmar, Christian (2005) ''On the wrong Line'', ISBN 1-85410-998-7〕 Instead losses mounted, from £68 million in 1960 to £87 million in 1961, and £104 million in 1962.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=British Railways Board history )〕 The BTC could no longer pay the interest on its loans. The government lost patience and looked for radical solutions. By 1961 losses were running at £300,000 a day;〔 since nationalisation in 1948 of line had been closed, railway staff numbers had fallen 26% from 648,000 to 474,000〔RB(1963a), page 50〕 and the number of railway wagons had fallen 29% from 1,200,000 to 848,000.〔RB(1963a), page 46〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Beeching cuts」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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