British Rail in the 1980s

The 1980s was a time of great change and uncertainty on Britain’s railways. There was a pivotal and highly controversial move from British Rail’s large corporate structure with geographical regions to one organised around ‘business sectors’. The new sectors were Intercity, operating principal express services; Network SouthEast, handling commuter services in the London area; and Provincial (later named Regional Railways), responsible for all other passenger services. This led to a veritable explosion of colour schemes on locomotives, stock and even station signage, as each sector created their own identity and the previous blue/grey colour schemes steadily disappeared. But while colour schemes were on the rise, government funding for public subsidies was severely cut, leading to rising ticket prices and a public discontent still present today. This book covers the transition period of liveries, the phasing out and replacement of stock, electrification as well as public reaction to these changes.