Brian Clementson interviewed by Clifford Perry

Oral history interview with Brian Clementson, conducted and recorded by Clifford Perry at the Member's Centre of the Institution of Railway Engineers, London on 14 May 2018. Duration: 1 hr. 25 min. 39 sec. Career; setting-up InterCity train operating units (TOUs); management buyout (MBO); rolling stock companies (ROSCOs); maintenance specifications; Porterbrook; impact of British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) experience; preparation of ROSCO for sale; financing; Master Operating Lease (MOLA); British Rail Maintenance Limited (BRML) sale; external appointments; safety; overhaul schedules; managing Director Railtest; reflections on success of train leasing; Porterbrook sale arrangements; Tim Gilbert; publicity; second sale of Porterbrook; impact of politics on commercial realities; Railtest services; retirement; Virgin West Coast; West Coast Main Line (WCML); Chris Green joined as Managing Director; Hatfield accident; investigating gauge corner cracking (GCC) ; Wheel Rail Interface Systems Authority (WRISA); Network Rail; Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC); Rail Safety and Standards (RSSB); impact of privatisation on recruitment and training; impact of British Rail Research’s privatisation

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.