The Railways Act, 1993 was the legislation introduced by John Major's Conservative government which led to the break-up of British Rail, the handover of train services to various private companies including Virgin, Connex and the coach companies Stagecoach and National Express, and the handover of the railway infrastructure to Railtrack, with track maintenance being contracted to private companies. The latter organisation has been replaced by Network Rail, and the privatisation process has begun to reverse, with Network Rail taking all track maintenance in house.
British Railways (BR), later rebranded as British Rail, ran the British railway system, between the nationalisation of the 'Big Four' British railway companies in 1948 until it was privatised in stages between 1994 and 1997.
The British Railways Board was created in the early 1960s, taking over from the former British Transport Commission which, in addition to the railway, was also responsible for the waterways (canals) and road freight transport.
When the Labour Government gained office in May 1997, it charged BR with providing advice on railway policy, in particular to improve public control and accountability, and to identify ways in which the railway can serve modern transport needs and be integrated with other modes.
The act stipulated that only vessels that were at least 75 percent British-owned could fish in British waters.
In 1990 the Broadcasting Act was passed in an attempt to guarantee standards of decency, accuracy in news coverage, and balanced presentations of controversial topics, while encouraging more competition in television and radio.
The Broadcasting Act passed in 1996 addressed the new digital technologies in broadcasting that would allow for more radio and television services to be made available to the public.
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