Maggie Simpson interviewed by Michael Robson

Oral history interview with Maggie Simpson, conducted and recorded by Michael Robson at the interviewee's office in Railfreight Group Offices, London on 23 May 2018. Duration: 1 hr. 02 min. 30 sec. Consultancy work with Arthur D. Little; Clapham accident; King’s Cross fire; Railtrack Safety Management Systems (SMS); Health and Safety at Work Act; safety advocacy; joining Office of Passenger Rail Franchising (OPRAF); Virgin West Coast (VWC) franchise contracts; London, Tilbury and Southend (LTS) franchise contracts; Class 220 Voyager; Class 390 Pendelino; comparison of OPRAF and train operating company (TOC) cultures; John O’Brien; LTS apologies to passengers; OPRAF structure; move to shadow Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) freight team; determining government role in relation to freight; differences between OPRAF and SRA; SRA freight outputs; Freight Grant scheme; investment; economic role of rail freight; move to Railfreight Group (RFG); 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.