Christopher Bolt interviewed by Christopher Austin

Oral history interview with Christopher Bolt, conducted and recorded by Christopher Austin on 3 July 2018. Duration: 1 hr. 19 min. 43 sec. Early career; founding of Office of the Rail Regulator (ORR); regulation; privatisation model shortcomings; Railtrack shortcomings; franchising; roles of the Regulator; incentive models; Subsidies; political influence on ORR; John Swift (Rail Regulator); public sector collaboration; Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) shortcomings; ORR management structure; Chief Economist responsibilities; time as Interim Regulator; Tom Winsor; Informed Traveller project; Adviser to Transport Select Committee; Gwyneth Dunwoody (Member of Parliament); Railtrack collapse; Metronet collapse; Passenger Upgrade 2 (PUG 2); Network Rail; rebrand to Office of Rail Regulation (ORR); resolution of T-12 problem; effects of unexpected industry growth; rail freight problems; Network Rail asset management shortcomings; rail safety responsibilities; Greyrigg accident

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.