LEST WE FORGET
From the outset, Britain’s railways were to be a key backbone of Operation Overlord, or D-Day, the Allied liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe. The railways proved vital in transporting troops, military hardware and equipment en masse to ports on the southern coast on England in readiness for the largest seaborne invasion in world history.
It began shortly after midnight on the morning of June 6 with extensive aerial and naval bombardment, after an armada of 3000 landing craft, 2500 other ships, and 500 naval vessels, escorts and bombardment ships had begun to leave the English ports the day before.
Under conditions of utmost secrecy, UK railway companies had been preparing well in advance for the day. Restaurant cars were withdrawn from service on April 5,1944, as part of the build-up to D-Day and stayed sidelined for the rest of the war. By the end of May 1944,264,000 train miles were cut from the timetables as the tracks were cleared for Operation Overlord. Overcrowding on services remained until restrictions were relaxed that October.
Eighty years on, the bravery of the Allied troops who played their part
