2001: Tony Roche

Tony Roche 

116th President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers

Roche joined British Rail at the age of 16 as a ‘fitters boy’ at Stafford Road Shed, Wolverhampton. In 1967, he completed a seven-year-long apprenticeship, which had included work on both steam and diesel locomotives, and training and experience in specification, design, development, manufacture and maintenance of traction and rolling stock. At the same time, he graduated with a BSc in Mechanical Engineering.

The following 19 years were spent mainly with British Rail Engineering Limited, a subsidiary of the British Railways Board. The role of the company was to design and manufacture the majority of the railway traction and rolling stock vehicles operating on the UK heavy rail network.

In 1986, Roche joined BR Headquarters and was closely involved with the review of Manufacturing and Maintenance Policy for Traction and Rolling Stock. This review led to the privatization of the manufacturing activities of British Rail Engineering, and the formation of a new subsidiary, British Rail Maintenance Limited (BRML).

Other positions followed, as Director of Engineering for the Intercity Fleet, the Board’s Director of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Chief Executive of BRML and Deputy Managing Director of Network South-East.

Roche was also involved with the privatization of British Rail. He was the first Managing Director of one of the Rolling Stock Leasing Companies and was appointed by the Secretary of State for Transport as the Board Member for Engineering at British Rail. One of the major tasks facing him in this position was preparing more than 20 central service companies for sale and directing the sales process. These companies were not all engineering companies but included IT, medical services and a Training Establishment.

After working at British Rail for 39 years, Roche left and established a consultancy company advising on railway management and engineering matters.

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