Carol Bustard interviewed by Richard Malins

Oral history interview with Carol Bustard, conducted and recorded by Richard Malins at the interviewee's home in London on 11 February 2020. Duration: 58 min. 22 sec. Early career; joining British Transport Hotels; Campaigns Assistant British Railways Board (BRB); Passenger Sales Manager British Rail: Eastern Region; Tourism Manager Regional Railways; Network SouthEast (NSE) preparation for privatisation; joining Railtrack; negotiations with train operating companies (TOCs); sponsorship and project management; Project Submarine; re-franchising; working with Halcrow and Bechtel; experience of women in rail roles; cultural changes at privatisation; Network Rail Project Violet; performance regimes blame culture; reflections on career; arrival of French managers; record keeping

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.