Last BR National railway timetable big book

[WesternLancer]

Hi all. Can anyone tell me which edition / year would the last British Rail branded National Timetable have been published before Railtrack took over publication and presumably branded them as Railtrack NRT?

And when would the first privatised TOCs have started being listed in it?

Thanks

 

[Haywain]

Hi all. Can anyone tell me which edition / year would the last British Rail branded National Timetable have been published before Railtrack took over publication and presumably branded them as Railtrack NRT?

And when would the first privatised TOCs have started being listed in it?

Thanks

I don’t think it was ever labelled as a Railtrack publication.

 

[Wandering Pom]

The last British Rail branded national timetable was winter 1993-94, dated 4 October 1993 to 28 May 1994. The summer 1994 timetable was published as "Great Britain Passenger Railway Timetable".

The first timetable that explicitly lists non-BR TOCs is the winter 1996-97 edition, where most of the TOCs are subtitled "A British Rail Subsidiary Company", so presumably those without the subtitle had been privatised by then: European Passenger Services, Gatwick Express, Great Western Trains, Intercity East Coast, LTS Rail, Midland Main Line, Network SouthCentral, Southwest Trains.

 

[jfollows]

All the timetables can be seen at https://timetableworld.com/product-category/national-rail-timetables-1974-2007/ and PDF versions can be purchased.

 

[Haywain]

It continued in publication as the National Rail Timetable until 2007.

 

[WesternLancer]

The last British Rail branded national timetable was winter 1993-94, dated 4 October 1993 to 28 May 1994. The summer 1994 timetable was published as "Great Britain Passenger Railway Timetable".

The first timetable that explicitly lists non-BR TOCs is the winter 1996-97 edition, where most of the TOCs are subtitled "A British Rail Subsidiary Company", so presumably those without the subtitle had been privatised by then: European Passenger Services, Gatwick Express, Great Western Trains, Intercity East Coast, LTS Rail, Midland Main Line, Network SouthCentral, Southwest Trains.

Thanks. V helpful

All the timetables can be seen at https://timetableworld.com/product-category/national-rail-timetables-1974-2007/ and PDF versions can be purchased.

Thanks. Am looking at an option to get a genuine hard copy original as it happens.

I don’t think it was ever labelled as a Railtrack publication.

Interesting point!

 

[Mollington St]

I have scans of the covers to help with identification and spare copies , all available on my website at Transport Past Times

 

[Mcr Warrior]

It continued in publication as the National Rail Timetable until 2007.

Was this edition, published by TSO (The Stationery Office) in late 2013, possibly the last ever "big book" GB Rail Timetable?


(Pic of front cover of GB Rail Timetable - Winter edition 2013 - 2014.)

 

[Mollington St]

Yes that what i have down as the last of them

 

[WesternLancer]

I have scans of the covers to help with identification and spare copies , all available on my website at Transport Past Times

Thanks - useful info

 

[greyman42]

It continued in publication as the National Rail Timetable until 2007.

Was there simply not enough demand for it after that, as to make the cost prohibitive?

 

[WesternLancer]

Was there simply not enough demand for it after that, as to make the cost prohibitive?

Network Rail didn't want to keep producing it in hard copy IIRC, but for a few years TSO (the Stationery Office) continued to publish it - but I guess could not make it profitable so stopped doing it. Middleton Press then took it on.

I think the nearest equivalent now is the hard copy European Timetable (former Thomas Cook continental timetable) - which of course is the best travel book in the world...

Back in the day vast numbers of the BR NRT were printed and sold - most large station WH smiths sold copies, some ticket offices sold it IIRC, larger public libraries had copies (my university library had at least 2 copies for reference and that was in the 1990s) - many travel agents that sold tickets had copies - including a larger format A4 one. At the student union travel centre at my university - where you could buy trains and coach tickets as well as flights etc - they had one of these A4 ones with each page in a ring binder - I'd go in there and consult it when planning a journey as it was quicker to do that than get through to the local BR telephone enquiry bureaux, and looking at printed timetables is much better than using a journey planner for certain trip planning (as we all know on this forum....!)

 

[greyman42]

some ticket offices sold it IIRC,

Yes, I used to buy mine from York ticket office.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Staff versions were also issued up to privatisation.