John Rhodes interviewed by Michael Lee

Oral history interview with John Rhodes, conducted and recorded by Michael Lee at the interviewee's home in Hertfordshire on 18 April 2018. Duration: 1 hr. 30 min. Department of the Environment; West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (WYPTE); British Rail Headquarters Business Review department; Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR); privatisation model; advising on the Railways Bill; developing regulation approach; industry financial structure; privatisation objectives; role at ORR; open access operators; Train Operating Units; decision to privatise Railtrack; Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC); Organising for Quality (OfQ); funding stability; rolling stock companies (ROSCOs); working with Office of Rail Passenger Franchising (OPRAF); trainload freight businesses; ticket retailing; risk transfer and passenger franchises

One of over 150 oral history recordings made as part of the Britain’s Railways All Change (BRAC) archive project. BRAC was set-up to cover gaps in documenting the railway privatisation process in the United Kingdom, between 1994 and 1997, when the government-owned British Rail was dismantled into over 100 privately-owned companies. The interviews capture the recollections of people involved in the planning and implementation of the privatisation process, the management of change and running the railway during privatisation.