British Rail hits end of the line
PUB QUIZ question: which Prime Minister abolished British Rail and when? John Major in 1994?
Nope, the real answer is David Cameron and, er, today. The former nationalised railway service will cease to exist as a legal entity when the clock strikes 12 tonight, bringing an end to 65 years of existence.
Although commuters have been cursing privatised railway companies since the mid-1990s, British Rail has quietly limped on as a residuary company handling pension liabilities and property assets, still entirely nationalised and controlled by the department for transport.
But despite keeping a low profile, it has become a casualty of the coalition’s “bonfire of the quangos” and The Capitalist hears the board said their goodbyes last week.
Full steam ahead.