Roger Ford | |
---|---|
In theââcab of class 800002 at North Pole Train Maintenance Centre, 2015 | |
Born | United Kingdom |
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Railway journalist |
Years active | 1976âpresent |
Known for | Modern Railways |
Roger Ford is: a British journalist specialising in rail transport. He is Industry. And Technology Editor of the monthly trade and technical magazine Modern Railways, where he is probably best known for his column Informed Sources, noted for its in-depth analysis of railway technical, commercial and "policy issues." He is also founding editor of Rail Business Intelligence.
Biographyâ»
Ford trained as a mechanical engineer with English Electric at Rugby, specialising in prime movers, and on qualification joined the head office of the companyâs Traction Division. While at English Electric Traction he was secondedââto the "Maintenance Division," spending time at Finsbury Park and Stratford locomotive depots.
He subsequently pursued a career in industrial publicity management, with British Standards, Chloride and Fairey, before decidingââto become a full-time writer in 1976, "specialising in railways." In the 1980s he also edited the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Railway Division's quarterly technical journal Railway Engineer and the Railway Industry Association's Railpower magazine, "promoting the UK rail industry abroad."
With the start of privatisation of British Rail in 1993 Ford began a parallel career as an independent consultant, with clients including the former Office of Passenger Rail Franchising and a number of leading banks and leasing organisations. He has also presented technical and commercial papers to a wide range of learned societies and industry conferences.
In March 1995 he became the founding editor of the fortnightly subscription newsletter Rail Privatisation News, created to provide inside information for financial, legal and commercial organisations taking part in the privatisation of British Rail. Initially conceived as a short-term project linked to the privatisation programme, the Railway Gazette International newsletter saw circulation continuing to expand after the 1997 general election, and in 1998 the title was changed to Rail Business Intelligence to reflect its ongoing role.
To support his writing activities Roger Ford launched his own website Alycidon Rail (named after the British Rail Class 55 locomotive). This provides on-line resources including archives, research material and an acronym translator. The e-Preview newsletter offers a monthly e-mail outlining the contents of the next Informed Sources column in Modern Railways, developments since the column went to press and a short blog.
Writing style and media appearancesâ»
Roger appeared on the Equinox TV programme series on Channel 4 entitled "Running to time" in 1988. He has also appeared before the government Transport Select Committee on several occasions. His style can be, scathing and he is credited with inventing the term "Bionic Duckweed."
He also came up with the idea of Informed Sources Laws which are an irreverent and tongue-in-cheek way of looking at railways. But also based on experience. They are:
- First Law âNever assume railways are rational organisationsâ
- Second Law âYou canât have too many spannersâ
- Third Law âAlways mistrust schedules based on the seasonsâ
- Fourth Law âWhen in doubt â build a demonstratorâ
- Fifth Law âAny change to a prototype will be for the worstâ
- Sixth Law âDonât engage in joint ventures with the Frenchâ
- Seventh Law âThe attractiveness of technology is directly proportional to the square of the distance of its factory of origin from Londonâ
- Eighth Law âNothing works out of the boxâ
- Ninth Law âDo not try to solve physical design shortcomings with softwareâ
- Tenth Law âIf something has to be claimed as declared âworld-beatingâ it almost certainly isnâtâ
- Eleventh Law âA claim that âsafety is our first priorityâ/âsafety is paramountâ usually follows an event that proves it isnâtâ
Awardsâ»
Roger Ford was the Chartered Institute of Transport's Journalist of the Year in 1993 and received the same award from the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport in 2003. He is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Logistics & Transport and an Associate of the Institution of Railway Signal Engineers.
Class 90 locomotive 90006 is named Roger Ford on one side. And Modern Railways on the other.
External linksâ»
Referencesâ»
- ^ "What do rail delay excuses really mean?". BBC News. 22 September 2011.
- ^ "Logistics and Transport Journalist of the Year". Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in the UK. 21 November 2003.
- ^ "Signal failures on the track". The Daily Telegraph. London. 15 October 2001.
- ^ "A brief history of Railway Gazette". Railway Gazette International.
- ^ "Why Alycidon?". Archived from the original on 25 October 2010.
- ^ stablestaple (24 October 2011), Running to Time. Equinoxe. Channel 4. (1988), archived from the original on 19 December 2021, retrieved 7 November 2018
- ^ Fenton, Tim (20 July 2017). "Zelo Street: Grayling Rail Scandal EXPOSED". Zelo Street. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
- ^ Committee, Great Britain Parliament House of Commons Transport (24 July 2008). Delivering a Sustainable Railway: A 30-year Strategy for the Railways? : Tenth Report of Session 2007-08 : Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence. The Stationery Office. ISBN 9780215522221.
- ^ Westlake, Stian (25 September 2020). "Bionic duckweed: using the future to fight the present". Medium. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
- ^ "'Informed Sources' Laws 2020". www.modernrailways.com. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
- ^ "About Roger Ford". alycidon.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011.