Not Beeching

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30630, 22 December 1964, Page 17

Not Beeching

(N.z. Press Assn.—copyright)

t rx oi LONDOfN, Dec. 21. The British Govern- , . , , . ment has abandoned any idea of appointing the head of British Railways, Dr. Richard Beeching, to prepare its long-promised plan for a co-ordinated

transport system, the “Guardian” reported today.

There has been conflict over the terms of reference offered to him and the amount of time he was prepared to devote to the job, the newspaper said.

The decision probably meant Dr. Beeching would return almost at once to Imperial Chemical Industries, which he left to become head of British Railways.

Dr. Beeching’s image as the

man who axed many railways j S still firmly imprinted on the n ? in( K of ’? any M ‘ nister ® and back-bench members of Parliament and the vision of the dreaded doctor wading into the whole fabric of Britain ’ s transport system with

the same axe and with added incentive from his own sixmonth deadline was too much for them, the “Guardian’s” correspondent said. Dr. Beeching was presented with a set of counter proposals but they appeared to be unacceptable to him, the correspondent said.