| Administrative History | The British Transport Commission was established by the Transport Act of 1947 which nationalised the railways, long-distance road haulage and various other types of transport. The Commission was responsible to the Ministry of Transport for general transport policy, and was to oversee, via a network of executives, the operation of the various nationalised transport industries. These executives included the Docks and Inland Waterways Executive, the Hotels Executive, the Railway Executive, the Road Transport Executive, (later the Road Haulage Executive and the Road Passenger Executive), and the London Transport Executive.
Following a government white paper on transport policy in 1952, the Road Passenger Executive was abolished.
Under the Transport Act of 1953 the Docks and Inland Waterways Executive, the Hotels Executive and the Road Haulage Executive were also abolished and their powers assumed by the British Transport Commission itself. The London Transport Executive continued to function but the Railway Executive was abolished and reorganised under area boards for each of its six regions.
Under the Transport Act of 1962 the British Transport Commission was abolished and five new public authorities, answerable to the Minister of Transport, were established as responsible for the nationalized industries: the British Railways Board, the British Transport Docks Board, the British Waterways Board, the London Transport Board and the Transport Holding Company.
This information was taken from the National Archives' on-line catalogue of the records of the British Transport Commission. |