Editing Beeching cuts (section)

===''The Development of the Major Railway Trunk Routes'' (Beeching II)===
[[File:Beeching2.svg|thumb|upright=0.9|A map of Great Britain, showing "major lines" identified by Beeching II in bold.]]

On 16 February 1965, Beeching introduced the second stage of his reorganisation of the railways. In his report, ''The Development of the Major Railway Trunk Routes'', he set out his conclusion that of the {{convert|7500|mi|km}} of trunk railway only {{convert|3000|mi|km}} "should be selected for future development" and invested in.

This policy would result in long-distance traffic being routed along nine lines. Traffic to [[Coventry]], [[Birmingham]], [[Manchester]], [[Liverpool]] and [[Scotland]] would be routed through the [[West Coast Main Line]] to [[Carlisle railway station|Carlisle]] and [[Glasgow]]; traffic to the north-east of England would be concentrated through the [[East Coast Main Line]] as far as [[Newcastle railway station|Newcastle]]; and traffic to [[Wales]] and the [[West Country]] would go on the [[Great Western Main Line]] to [[Swansea]] and [[Plymouth]].

Underpinning Beeching's proposals was his belief that there was too much duplication in the railway network: "The real choice is between an excessive and increasingly un-economic system, with a corresponding tendency for the railways as a whole to fall into disrepute and decay, or the selective development and intensive utilisation of a more limited trunk route system".{{sfn|Beeching|1965|p=45}} Of the {{convert|7500|mi|km}} of trunk route, {{convert|3700|mi|km}} involves a choice between two routes, {{convert|700|mi|km}} a choice of three, and over a further {{convert|700|mi|km}} a choice of four.<ref>{{cite news |work=The Times |title=The Second Stage of Dr. Beeching's Reorganisation Proposals |date=17 February 1965 |page=8}}</ref> In Scotland, only the [[Central Belt]] routes and the lines via Fife and Perth to Aberdeen were selected for development, and none were selected in Wales, apart from the Great Western Main Line as far as Swansea.

Beeching's [[secondment]] from [[Imperial Chemical Industries|ICI]] ended early in June 1965 after [[Harold Wilson]]'s attempt to get him to produce a transport plan failed. It is a matter of debate whether Beeching left by mutual arrangement with the government or if he was sacked. [[Frank Cousins (British politician)|Frank Cousins]], the Labour [[Minister of Technology]], told the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] in November 1965 that Beeching had been dismissed by [[Tom Fraser]], then Minister of Transport.<ref>{{cite news |work=The Times |title=Mr. Cousins says 'We Sacked Beeching' |date=17 November 1965 |page=12}}</ref> Beeching denied this, pointing out that he had returned early to ICI as he would not have had enough time to undertake an in-depth transport study before the formal end of his secondment.<ref>{{cite news |work=The Times |title=Lord Beeching: 'I Was Not Sacked' |date=18 November 1965 |page=12}}</ref>