Anthony Smith interviewed by Chris Kinchin-Smith

Oral history interview with Anthony Smith, conducted and recorded by Chris Kinchin-Smith at the interviewee's office in Transport Focus office, London on 13 June 2019. Duration: 1 hr. 16 min. 49 sec. Early career; joining Central Rail Users’ Consultative Committee (CRUCC); training from Which? Magazine; Consumers International; evolution of passenger consultative committees; relationships; Strategic Rail Authority (SRA); Chris Austin; Alistair Moreton; Richard Bowker; passenger perceptions of privatised train operating companies (TOCs); lack of evidence base; National Rail Passenger Survey (NRPS); Rail Passenger’s Council (RPC) evolved into Passenger Focus; evolution of franchising model; meeting passenger needs; research before each new franchise; growth in passenger numbers; submissions to Williams Review; passenger satisfaction drivers; importance of punctuality and reliability; passenger views on industry structure; success of privatisation for passengers; Transport for London (TfL); achievements; passenger voice embedded in franchising process; penalty fares processes improved; environmental concerns effects; importance of staffing; British Rail (BR) management training quality

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.