Railway Executive Committee

The Railway Executive Committee (REC) was a government body which controlled the operation of Britain's railways during World War I and World War II. It should not be confused with the Railway Executive which was a division of the British Transport Commission.

In both cases, this period of government control was followed by a major re-organisation of the railways.

The Railway Executive Committee (REC) was formed in 1912 to act as an intermediary between the War Office and the various British railway companies. The companies were already involved in the transport of many thousands of troops during annual manoeuvres and it was realised that better coordination and planning would be required if the United Kingdom were to enter into a future European war. In 1911, the companies began to plan for the movement of troops, horses and equipment to the embarkation ports, chiefly Southampton, in case of mobilisation; the main role of the REC was to oversee this work. When completed, the orders for this complicated plan that were issued to the various railways were known as the "War Book".

Using legislation that had been enacted in 1871, the REC took control of the national rail network on 4 August 1914, the day that war was declared and mobilisation began.Alexander Kaye Butterworth was appointed chairman. REC control lasted from 1914 to 1921. It was followed by the Railways Act 1921 which led to the creation of the Big Four British railway companies in 1923. Herbert Ashcombe Walker was acting chairman of the REC in January 1917.

The REC was re-formed on 24 September 1938 with a remit to run the British railways if war broke out. The railways would later be brought under government control through the REC under the direction of the Ministry of Transport.

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