Interview with Michael Schabas conducted by Frank Paterson on the 9th May 2022. Duration 01hr 44min 38 Sec.

Early Career; Olympia &York (O&Y) developments; British rail Contacts; Channel Tunnel Rail Link involvement; Development of St Pancras; involvement in the Jubilee Line Cross Rail; Privatisation opportunities; Founding GB Railways (GBR); Bids for franchises; discussion with OPRAF; Analysis of long form data; bids for Anglia; Awarded £7m guarantee; management retained; sale Class 73 locomotives; GH Railfreight launch and operation; Railtrack relationships First Group purchase of GBR; Consultancy work; First Class Partnerships; attitude to 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.