Chris Kinchin-Smith interviewed by Clifford Perry

Oral history interview with Chris Kinchin-Smith, conducted and recorded by Clifford Perry at Milford House, Swindon on 4 May 2018. Duration: 1 hr. 40 min. 43 sec. Early career; business plan for Network SouthEast (NSE) South West division after privatisation; recruitment policy to encourage external candidates; London Tilbury and Southend (LTS) line; transforming performance; management buyout (MBO) bid; bid basis; fleet replacement; Touche-Ross (later Deloitte); 3i debt provider; presentations to banks and debt providers; Companie General des Eaux (CGE); Prism; workload; safety case; track access agreements; fleet leasing agreements; made bid management and employee buyout (MEBO); secrecy; public relations strategy; Sharesave scheme; driver only operation (DOO); Colin Andrews (Commercial Director); financial basis of bid; bid submitted to Office of Passenger Franchising (OPRAF); motivation of team; public service; collapse of bid; resignations and investigations; description of fraud; organisational culture; franchising model; separation of track and trains; personal impact of privatisation; consultancy

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.