David Blake interviewed by Brian Clementson

Oral history interview with David Blake conducted and recorded by Brian Clementson at the interviewee's home in Leicestershire on 9 April 2018. Duration: 45 min. 1 sec. Career overview; Chief Mechanical & Electrical Engineer British Rail: Southern Region; seconded to find £80 million cost savings; looking at possible privatisation of British Rail Engineering Ltd. (BREL); Doncaster Wagon Works sale; Director of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering (DM&EE) British Railways Board (BRB); safety; appointed to lead Vendor Unit; role of Vendor Unit; management buyout (MBO) teams; government timescale for privatisation; Franchising Director; restructuring industry outside of passenger businesses to sell; Rail Regulator; EU Directive 91/440 seperation of track from trains; underlying structure for privatisation constructed; discussions over which companies to sell first; British Rail Maintenance Ltd. (BRML); Meldon Quarry; European response to EC Directive 91/440; freight split into separate businesses but impossible to find bidders; impact of privatisation on personal life; negotiation participants and responsibilities; closure of Vendor Unit; retirement; successful sale process; tight timescale; benefits of privatisation

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.