Oral history interview with Donald Jary, conducted and recorded by David Wharton-Street at the interviewee's home in Carlisle on 18 September 2019. Duration: 2 hr. 43 min. 15 sec. Early career; rationalisation of divisions; sectorisation; liaising with Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) and Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive (MPTE); Greater Manchester Council (GMC); Lancashire Country Council; Cheshire County Council; Chris Stokes; John Edmonds; Provincial North West interfaces; Service Group Manager Northern Provincial Eastern; David Wharton-Street; Tyne & Wear Passenger Transport Executive; introduction of Pacers; problems led to low availability; reporting lines; station and service improvements; Maryport; Sellafield station funded by British Nuclear Fuels (BNF); Metrocentre; relationships with Cumbria County Council; reorganisation of London Midland Region Area Managers; proposed Settle & Carlisle line closure; relationships; Organising for Quality (OfQ); Total Quality Manager Regional Railways North West (RRNW); Chris Leah; Total Quality Management (TQM) Leadership 500; Leadership 5000; Occupational Health & Safety Act; Health & Safety at Work Act; Environmental Protection Act; implications of privatisation legislation on RRNW; creation of Train Operating Units (TOUs) from 1994; Railways (Safety Case) Regulations 1994; role as Policy Advisor to the TOU Director; Disabled Persons Protection Policy; interface with PTEs; Railtrack stations and station licenses; interfaces with other TOUs; Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC); member of British Railways Board (BRB) Safety Validation Panel; Terry Worrall (Director of Safety); joining Department for Transport (DfT)’s Advisory Group on Rail Accessibility; North West Trains (NWT); Great Western Holdings; trade union reactions; Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF); geographical and service changes after privatisation; Merseyrail Electrics; First Group purchase of Great Western Holdings; franchises contiguous with NWT; First Group and management of NWT; new roles; South Manchester modernisation scheme; industry co-operation; introduction of new rolling stock; re-alignment of franchises; franchise bids 2004; Abellio Northern Rail customer service improvements; combining North West and North East franchises into Northern Rail; TransPeninne; track access agreement; Abellio train service improvements; ticketing; ATOC; ticket gates; European Foundation for Quality Management; involvement in Abellio bidding teams; Stakeholder Manager; Publicity Officer Cumbria Railways Association; Director of Settle & Carlisle Development Company; benefits of sectorisation; alternatives to privatisation; experience of managers; infrastructure management; Railtrack/Network Rail project overruns

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.