Partly (largely?) due to road haulage lobby.
And Transport Minister with family interest in motorway building.
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Posted 3 days ago #
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ChatGPT thinks so too:
The Woodhead railway route, which connected Manchester and Sheffield across the Pennines via the Woodhead Tunnel, was a major trans-Pennine line. Its passenger services were withdrawn in 1970, but its decline and effective closure began in the 1960s, influenced by a combination of economic, political, and strategic factors.
Here’s a breakdown of why it was closed, who was involved, and what their aims were.
Why was the Woodhead route closed?
Changing freight patterns:
The Woodhead route was heavily used for coal transport from Yorkshire to Lancashire and the Midlands.By the 1960s, coal traffic was declining due to the shift toward oil and gas, reducing the route's primary source of freight income.
Passenger use was relatively low:
Despite being a fast and scenic route, passenger numbers were modest compared to more direct or populous routes.Competing lines, such as the Hope Valley Line, provided more local service and were better integrated with population centers.
Electrification anomaly:
The Woodhead route was electrified in 1954, making it one of the first mainline electrified routes in the UK.However, it used a 1.5 kV DC system, which quickly became outdated when British Rail standardised on 25 kV AC.
Upgrading the system would have been expensive, and the government and British Rail did not see sufficient return on investment.
Beeching Report influence (1963):
Although not directly listed for closure in Dr. Richard Beeching's report "The Reshaping of British Railways", the Woodhead route's closure aligned with the report’s emphasis on eliminating underused and unprofitable routes.Focus shifted toward consolidating freight and passenger services on fewer trans-Pennine routes.
Authority figures and lobbying groups involved:
1. British Railways Board (BRB)
The BRB, under Beeching's leadership, played a central role in rationalizing the rail network.They prioritized cost-efficiency, and the Woodhead route was seen as redundant in a network with multiple east-west lines.
2. Government / Ministry of Transport
The government of the day supported rail cuts to reduce subsidies.They favored road investment, particularly in motorways, as part of a modern transport strategy.
The closure of the Woodhead route was consistent with central government policy favoring roads over rail.
3. Road lobby / road haulage interests
Influential groups like the Road Haulage Association and other motorway development advocates supported the shift from rail to road.The rise of motorway construction in the 1960s, especially the M62 (another trans-Pennine route), undermined the case for maintaining the Woodhead railway.
4. Regional/local opposition
Some local councils and rail advocacy groups did object to the closure, citing future strategic value.However, these efforts were unsuccessful, largely due to the lack of national political support and the dominance of the prevailing transport ideology.
Posted 3 days ago # -
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His period as Minister of Transport was controversial. He both oversaw significant road construction (he opened the first section of the M1 motorway) and the closure of a considerable portion of the national railway network with the Beeching cuts. His involvement in the road construction business Marples Ridgway, of which he had been managing director, led to concerns regarding conflict of interest. In later life, Marples was elevated to the peerage before fleeing to Monaco at very short notice to avoid prosecution for tax fraud.
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Posted 3 days ago # -
In the unlikely event that someone ever creates a wikipedia page on me, I promise it won't have subsections titled "Peerage", "Conflict of interest", "Use of prostitutes" and "Flight to Monaco".
Posted 3 days ago # -
Now that you've committed that to web, we can indeed have those sections on the wikipedia page, referencing your insistence here that they won't exist :)
Posted 3 days ago # -
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Train operator Lumo has been granted permission to extend its services further into Scotland.
The company is one of three East Coast Main Line train operators that have been given the green light to run additional services from December.
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Posted 2 days ago #
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