Oral history interview with John Smith, conducted and recorded by Michael Robson (session 1) at the interviewee's office at GB Railfreight, London on 28 June 2019. Duration: 56 min. 16 sec. Career overview; shadow Anglia franchise; Hull Trains; GB Railfreight; challenges compared to working for British Rail (BR); cultural differences between GB Railways and BR; Master Operating Lease Agreement (MOLA); Class 170; rolling stock costs; open access; Hull Trains; GB Railfreight (GBRf) contract for Railtrack infrastructure services; intermodal freight; Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC); English, Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS); GBRf principles; intermodal productivity; Class 66 maintenance; reflections on post-privatisation industry

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.