In
1839 Parliament passed legislation that attempted to regulate the
railway industry. This involved setting up a railway department at
the Board of Trade. After a couple of years
the Board of Trade inspectors who were responsible for supervising
the railway companies, began complaining that government regulations
were constantly being ignored.
In 1844 William Gladstone, the President
of the Board of Trade, proposed a new railway act. This legislation
made it possible for the government to take over a private company
which had not complied with the Board of Trade regulations. The 1844
Railway Act also required each company to run one passenger train
a day along the length of their line at the cheap rate of one penny
a mile (1.6 km). The carriages on this train had to be provided with
seats and protected from the weather. This legislation resulted in
a considerable improvement in the quality and availability of third-class
railway travel.
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