Nationalisation, Centenary and Sale
On 1 January 1948, the LMS was nationalised and passed to the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission. The NCC became known as the Railway Executive (NCC) and was operationally part of the London Midland Region of British Railways.
The NCC celebrated the centenary of the opening of the Belfast and Ballymena Railway on 11 April 1948 with a minor flourish. An illustrated booklet was printed and distributed to customers and staff. It included a chronology of the NCC and its predecessors, a history of the steamer services, a route description of the Main Line and a map of the system. The BBC Northern Ireland Home Service broadcast a centenary programme on 12 April; it was narrated by John D. Stewart, the writer and dramatist.
Under the provisions of The Transport Act (Northern Ireland) 1948, the Northern Ireland Government purchased the NCC in 1949 for £2,668,000, and the NCC became part of the Ulster Transport Authority from 1 April 1949.
Today (2007) the former NCC main line from Belfast to Londonderry, the Larne line and the Portrush branch remain open and are operated by Northern Ireland Railways.
The upgrading of the Belfast to Londonderry by Northern Ireland Railways will give faster more frequent trains with better permanent way and signalling as part of the strategic investment in the network.
Read more about this topic: Northern Counties Committee
Famous quotes containing the word sale:
“People buy their necessities in shops and have to pay dearly for them because they have to assist in paying for what is also on sale there but only rarely finds purchasers: the luxury and amusement goods. So it is that luxury continually imposes a tax on the simple people who have to do without it.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)