Work identity at the end of the line? Privatisation and culture change in the UK rail industry

Tim Strangleman, Palgrave Macmillan, 204 pages, hardback, £50.00

The privatisation of British Rail was a disaster in terms of safety, service to passengers and massive extra costs to taxpayers.

This book clearly shows how the break-up of BR affected workers and how their long-acquired skills and experience were not valued, with many thousands of redundancies leading up to privatisation, resulting in the many problems faced by the railways today.

Using accounts from workers and union officials, together with academic analysis, this book shows how managers were brought in from outside the industry in an attempt to change the "culture". However, this process led to the loss of the "railway sense" or knowledge and experience of the many workers who left the railways, while undermining the commitment to the industry and pride in the job among those who remained.