Oral history interview with George Muir, conducted and recorded by Richard Malins at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, London on 1 June 2018. Duration: 50 min. 1 sec. Early career; Connex South Eastern; Director General Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC); lobbying and running schemes; train operating company (TOC) parent companies representation; inherited experience and knowledge from British Rail (BR); Rail Settlement Plan (RSP) challenge; BR legacy systems; policy tensions; TOCs and Railtrack; National Performance Task Force set-up; writing book; BR management analysis; prior experience of privatisation; Railtrack unrealistic objectives; politicians; media; rail users; safety; Ladbroke Grove accident; Grayrigg accident; Potters Bar accident; Hatfield accident; trade unions; reflections

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.