Editing Rail Express Systems (section)

==History==
[[File:NAA 94335 at Plymouth.JPG|thumb|Rail Express Systems livery as carried by [[Propelling Control Vehicle]] no. 94335 stabled at [[Plymouth railway station|Plymouth]] on 29 August 2003]]

During the 1980s, [[British Rail]]'s senior management endeavoured to rejuvenate numerous aspects of its operations and to better fulfil customer demands.<ref name = "railmag"/> Under the policy of [[History_of_rail_transport_in_Great_Britain_1948%E2%80%931994#The_1980s:_Sectorisation|Sectorisation]], BR's entire rail-based mail operations were consolidated into their own business unit, Rail Express Systems (RES). This reorganisation under its own management team led to a new focus of its operations on the specific needs of its primary customer, the [[Royal Mail]] (RM).<ref name = "railmag"/>

During October 1991, RES was officially launched at [[Crewe Diesel TMD]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://archive.commercialmotor.com/article/17th-october-1991/12/new-br-division-hopes-for-whole-train-loads |title = New BR division hopes for whole train loads |publisher = [[Commercial Motor]] |date = 17 October 1991}}</ref> For this event, examples of [[British Rail Class 08|Class 08]], [[British Rail Class 47|47]], [[British Rail Class 86|86]] and [[British Rail Class 90|90]] locomotives were painted into a new livery of red, with a grey upper band, and light blue and grey flashes. The light blue and grey flashes represent a set of stylised eagle's wings.<ref>{{cite magazine |title = Launched with a burning resolve |magazine=[[The Railway Magazine]] |issue = 1088 |date = December 1991 |page = 902}}</ref>

The sector had maintenance depots at Crewe, [[Bristol Barton Hill TMD|Bristol Barton Hill]], [[Coldham Lane Depot|Cambridge]] and [[Euston Downside Carriage Maintenance Depot|Euston Downside]]. Rolling stock was also maintained by other sectors at [[Heaton TMD|Heaton]] and [[Edge Hill Intercity Depot|Liverpool Edge Hill]]. Amongst the more unusual duties that fell under RES' umbrella, was its responsibility for the haulage of the [[British Royal Train|Royal Train]] whenever required.<ref>{{cite magazine |title = Princes charming |magazine=[[Rail Magazine]] |issue = 253 |date = 24 May 1995 |page = 4}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title = Class 47s emerge as Royal Princes |magazine=[[The Railway Magazine]] |issue=1131 |date = July 1995 |page = 7}}</ref>

Seeking to rejuvenate rail mail, RES devised a £150 million strategy that focused on long-distance services that worked in conjunction with a central hub based in London at its heart, known as ''Railnet''.<ref name = "railmag"/> During late 1993, RES and RM had signed a 13-year deal with RES to operate the trains from this new hub, also referred to as the ''London Distribution Centre'' or the ''Princess Royal Distribution Centre'', at [[Stonebridge Park, London|Stonebridge Park]], near [[Wembley]]. Furthermore, RM commissioned [[ABB]] to manufacture 16 four-car [[British Rail Class 325]] electric multiple units, which were designed exclusively for the transport of mail.<ref name = "railmag">{{cite magazine |url = https://www.railmagazine.com/operations/franchises/mail-by-rail-still |title = Mail by rail - still |magazine=[[Rail Magazine]]|first = Stefanie |last = Foster |date = 5 February 2014}}</ref>

During RES's existence, there were numerous operational changes made in the use of Britain's railways in regards to the delivery of both mail and parcels. Throughout the 1990s, many smaller services were cut back, and mail services were removed from most passenger stations. Following the opening of the new London hub on 30 September 1996, British rail mail operations were drastically restructured, only dedicated mail trains were operated after this date and thus were no longer based at any main line stations, as it had been decided to centrally base all London mail trains at the hub instead. Accordingly, the final mail train services departed King's Cross, Euston, Liverpool Street and Paddington stations on 27 September 1996.<ref name = "railmag"/> In place of passenger stations, these services were directly to a number of mail hubs at strategic locations; these were: Shieldmuir ([[Motherwell]]), Low Fell ([[Gateshead]]), [[Warrington]], [[Doncaster]], [[Bristol Parkway railway station|Bristol Parkway]], [[Tonbridge]] and Wembley PRDC (London) as well as dedicated platforms at [[Stafford railway station|Stafford]].{{CN|date=January 2021}}

The restructuring of services, intended to enable the faster delivery of mail to distant destinations, necessitated the streamlining of both mail pick-ups and drop-offs, a policy which resulted in many intermediate locations seeing the permanently withdrawn of coverage by RES services.<ref name = "railmag"/> Instead, mail was to be transported by road to the 45 stations that would be served by the remaining mail trains. Despite this, the increasing efficiency of mechanical sorting in comparison to the hand sorting methods used onboard RES' fleet of [[travelling post office]]s (TPOs) meant that the latter was becoming increasingly uneconomic regardless of the structural changes being made.<ref name = "railmag"/>

[[File:NSA 80390 'Ernie Gosling' at Doncaster Works.JPG|thumb|[[British Rail]] [[Post Office sorting van|TPO vehicle]] NSA 80390 on display at [[Doncaster|Doncaster Works]] open day on 27 July 2003. This type of vehicle, based on the [[British Rail Mark 1]] coach, was the final design of TPO vehicle used in the [[United Kingdom]].]]

As part of the [[privatisation of British Rail]], RES was the first freight company put up for sale, with bids lodged by [[Freightliner Group|Freightliner]], a [[management buyout]], [[Serco]] and a [[Wisconsin Central Limited|Wisconsin Central]] led a consortium known as North and South railways.<ref>{{cite magazine |title = Wisconsin bid favourite for Res |magazine=[[Rail Magazine]]|issue = 267 |date = 6 December 1995 |page = 7}}</ref> The latter's bid was successful, the sale taking effect on 9 December 1995 with 164 locomotives and 677 wagons included.<ref>{{cite magazine |title = RES sold to North & South Railways |magazine=[[Rail Business Intelligence|Rail Privatisation News]] |issue = 20 |date = 14 December 1995 |page = 1}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title = Confirmed - Wisconsin Central buys Rail express systems |magazine=[[Rail Magazine]] |issue = 268 |date = 20 December 1995 |page = 9}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title = Royal Mail and Royal Train operator is sold to American railroad |magazine=[[The Railway Magazine]]|issue = 1138 |date = February 1996 |page = 6}}</ref> In 1996, the business was integrated into [[English, Welsh & Scottish|English Welsh & Scottish]] (EWS), ceasing to exist as a separate entity.<ref>{{cite magazine |title = Wisconsin unveils its new-look livery |magazine=[[Rail Magazine]]|issue = 268 |date = 8 May 1996 |page = 7}}</ref>

Rail-based mail traffic continued to decline following the integration. A further factor that negatively impacted such operations was the [[Hatfield rail crash]] during October 2000, which led to numerous restrictions being imposed upon TPOs, including new speed limitations and numerous cancellations across many routes.<ref name = "railmag"/><ref>{{cite book |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vCJniku2eJMC| title = Off the rails: Britain's great rail crisis : cause, consequences and cure| author = Andrew Murray| publisher = Verso|year = 2001 | isbn = 9781859846407| at = "Companies in trouble", pp. 124–129|via=Google Books}}</ref> There were also rising concerns over the safety of staff, as there was little consideration towards the crashworthiness or the wellbeing of the TPO's occupants in the event of a major accident.<ref name = "railmag"/> Furthermore, the Royal Mail had increasingly decided to make use of other means of transporting mail, including aircraft and road vehicles.<ref name = "railmag"/> Amid these various factors, during 2003, it was announced that Royal Mail had decided to suspend all transportation of mail by rail.<ref name="rm2003">[http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmtran/145/145web67.htm Written statement by Royal Mail] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629165847/http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmtran/145/145web67.htm |date=29 June 2011 }} (Document FOR 105), House of Commons [[Transport Select Committee]], September 2003.</ref>