Clifford Perry interviewed by Brian Clementson

Oral history interview with Clifford Perry, conducted and recorded by Brian Clementson at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Birdcage Walk, London on 14 May 2018. Duration: 1 hr. 46 min. 11 sec. Career overview; attitude to privatisation; technical and people issues arising from privatisation; staff concerns; papers delivered to Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMECHE); necessary expertise existing; future commercial opportunities; transition management; safety issues critical; Clapham accident response; new attitudes to risk; safety cases; national incident record; maintenance schedules efficiencies; Managing risk versus costs in British Rail (BR) role; new rolling stock introduction safety; Class 165 issues; clear contractual arrangements between companies responsibilities for wheel and rail post-privatisation; more rigorous risk management; rolling stock companies (ROSCOs); personal impact of privatisation; railway running through process; intellectual property ownership; different approaches required due to franchise turnover; safety implications; setting-up ROSCO exciting; dealing with lawyers/banks/insurance companies; Angel Trains; culture change over time; involvement of banks and asset values; supply chain and their readiness for privatised railway; reflections on 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.