Interview with Kevin Beauchamp conducted by Richard Spoors on the 17th November 2021. Duration 01 hr. 18 min. 41 sec. Education; early career; Civil Engineer Training; Senior Technical officer; gained Chartered status with the institution of Civil Engineers; appointed Infrastructure manager Thames and Chiltern railway; Infrastructure manager Southeast in 1993; leadership 500; British Rail Infrastructure Services; personal feelings on his career; consultation with Trades Unions that lead to the creation of British Rail business units on Western region; privatisation of Chiltern lines track renewal service; Balfour Beatty awarded contract; British Rail Infrastructure Service (BRIS); creation of Railtrack; development of Infrastructure Maintenance Units (IMU) and Track Renewal Units (TRU); contracts with Railtrack; future managerial interests; future managerial Buy Outs (MBO); decision to become Infrastructure Manager of South West Infrastructure Maintenance Unit (SWIMU); RT1 contract management; development of skills; Railtrack zones that SWIMU managed; commercial contacts; RT1 flaws; unclear boundary between renewal and maintenance; financial loss/gain in train delays; golden assets concept; impact of Clapham disaster; engineering disciplines under the infrastructure manager; Improving productivity; Downsizing and voluntary redundancy; privatisation concerns relating to staffing; BR safety initiative; SWIMU purchased by Amec 1966; Amec Rail; Amec Rail concerns after derailment at Bexley Heath 1997; Response to Hatfield accident 2000; RT1a contract termination; purchase of French rail company Spie; Promotion to Managing Director of Amec Spie rail UK; Colas Rail acquires Amec Spie in 2007; Retired 2009; back to head of infrastructure for Interfleet; Engineering director for HS1; career highlights.

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.