Richard Beeching

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Richard Beeching, Baron Beeching (born April 21, 1913 in Maidstone , † March 23, 1985 in East Grinstead , Mid Sussex ) was a British physicist and engineer who was best known for his work as chairman of the British Railways . To where implemented under his direction rationalization measures, the elimination of countless secondary lines, as counted Beeching cuts ( Beeching ax was known).

Life and accomplishments

1913 to 1960

Richard Beeching spent his childhood and youth in his native Maidstone, Kent . In the 1930s he began at Imperial College in London to study physics, which he was able to complete with a doctorate . In 1938 he married Ella Tiley.

After working for the company Mond Nickel Laboratories in Birmingham for several years , Beeching switched to weapons development at the British Ministry of Supply in 1943 . In 1946 he was appointed deputy chief engineer there. In 1948 Beeching left the ministry and took a position at the chemical company Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). From 1957 he was a technical director on the ICI board.

1960 to 1965: Chaired the British Transport Commission and the British Railways Board

In 1960 Beeching was appointed to the " Stedeford Group". This commission, chaired by the industrialist Sir Ivan Stedeford and on behalf of the then British Transport Minister Ernest Marples, examined the British Transport Commission (BTC) for possible savings. The loss-making BTC brought together all of Great Britain's state transport activities under its roof, including British Railways . Not least on the basis of the results of the Stedeford Commission, the British government decided in 1962 to dissolve BTC in favor of separate organizational structures for rail traffic, road transport and shipping. British Railways was thus constituted from January 1, 1963 as the British Railways Board, which came under the name British Railways and later British Rail.

The previous chairman of the BTC, Sir Brian Robertson , was due to retire in May 1961, so a successor was sought. The choice fell on Richard Beeching, who was released from his previous employer ICI for a period of five years. On June 1, 1961, he took over the chairmanship of BTC and, after its dissolution at the turn of the year 1962/1963, he took over the chairmanship of the British Railways Board .

Beeching commissioned a comprehensive analysis of British Railways while he was still working for BTC. Transport performance, profits and losses should be shown in detail for the individual routes and stations; furthermore, the traffic development for the coming decades should be forecast. The results of this study, conducted by Stanley Raymond, were published on March 27, 1963 in a 148-page report entitled "The Reshaping of British Railways". For example, the publication referred to as the "Beeching Report" by the public showed that half of British Railways' approximately 7,000 train stations only generated 2% of sales. Likewise, only 1% of the total transport volume (in passenger and tonne-kilometers) was provided on a third of the route network. The report therefore recommended extensive rationalization measures.

One of many “honors” from the administrator, here in Halwill , Devon

The implementation of the rationalization measures was started in 1963. Numerous British branch lines, but also smaller stations on routes still used, were closed. The length of the British Railways rail network was reduced from 27,329 km in late 1963 to 18,988 km in 1970. British Railways and Richard Beeching as its chairman were heavily criticized by parts of the public and the press as part of the route closures. In particular, it was criticized that, although radical closings took place, the modernization of the existing lines was only used half-heartedly. Beeching Ax was coined as a term for the radical downsizing of the rail network .

In addition to line closures, Beeching also had other changes made to British Railways. He recommended the construction of a container train system, which was implemented from 1965 under the name Freightliner . He also laid the foundation stone for the later British "Inter City" network in passenger transport and modernized coal transport. On February 16, 1965, Beeching presented a second report, "The Development of the Major Railway Trunk Routes", which set standards for the expansion of the main lines of the British railway system. In contrast to the "Beeching Report" of 1963, however, this report was hardly known to the British public.

After the general election in autumn 1964, the Labor Party was able to replace the Conservative Party , which had ruled for 13 years . In the course of the associated restructuring in the Ministry of Transport, Beeching decided at the end of 1964 to prematurely end his activity on the British Railways Board the following year. This step was announced on December 23, 1964 and implemented on May 31, 1965. He was succeeded by Stanley Raymond. There was speculation among the UK public that Beeching's resignation was voluntary. Transport Minister Frank Cousins (Labor) also reported to the British House of Commons in November 1964 that Beeching had been urged to resign. Beeching himself spoke of a voluntary resignation throughout his life.

1965 to 1985

Beeching returned to ICI and was vice chairman from 1965 to 1968. On July 7, 1965 he was awarded the title of Life Peer as Baron Beeching , of East Grinstead in the County of Sussex .

In 1966, while working for ICI, Beeching was asked by the British Justice Minister to chair a commission to reorganize the British judicial system. The result of this commission, published in 1969, is to this day a basis for the distribution of competences between the various levels of courts in the British judicial system.

Richard Beeching died on March 23, 1985 after a long illness.

Publications

  • The Reshaping of British Railways , HMSO 1963
  • The Development of the Major Trunk Routes , HMSO 1965

Others

From 1995 to 1997 the BBC aired a sitcom written by David Croft and Richard Spendlove called "Oh, Doctor Beeching!" on the impact of the Beeching Ax on a small rural train station.

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Beeching, Richard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Beeching, Richard Baron Beeching (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British physicist and engineer
DATE OF BIRTH April 21, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Maidstone
DATE OF DEATH March 23, 1985
Place of death East Grinstead