Oral history interview with Anton Valk, conducted and recorded by Michael Robson at the Science Museum, London on 11 September 2018. Duration: 1 hr. 18 min. 2 sec. Career and experience; setting-up Abellio; Meeting with Sir Alistair Morton; Strategic Rail Authority (SRA); South West bid with First Group; Hatfield accident; Brian Burdsall, join venture with Serco; Mersey Rail and Northern franchises; staff morale; stakeholder involvement; Transport Select Committee hearing; London Overground concession bid; European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM); change of name from Ned Rail to Abellio; Greater Anglia franchise bid; exchange of best practice; reflections on time in UK

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.