‘The Chris Green Story’, by Chris Green, 7th July 2026
7th July 2026 Meeting.
At the Greatest Gathering last year and at the RCTS AGM, Chris Green gave a presentation recounting his life and career on the railway. On those occasions he was under a time restraint, but we at Watford were privileged to get the full 2-hour version!
Chris started on the railway in 1965, a time when everything seemed in decline, so he told us his mother broke down and cried as she saw no future for her son in this! To gain experience, Chris moved around various managerial posts in the Birmingham area, Banbury, The Midlands (where he oversaw the opening of Alfreton & Mansfield Parkway) and then was Area Manager in Hull. Then followed his famous move to a run-down Scotland, where under the ScotRail banner he completely transformed services. His "reward" for doing this was Bob Reid telling him to go and do the same thing in London, and thus the highly successful Network SouthEast was born. All came to an end with privatisation and Chris joined the InterCity sector. When this was to be split up into different companies, he decided it was time to retire. However, a couple of years later Richard Branson called him back to manage Virgin. Since then until 2023, he has been involved various major Executive (frustrating as no power) and Consultancy (far more rewarding) railway projects. He is now President of The Bluebell Railway.
A thoroughly well illustrated and professionally compiled presentation much appreciated by our members, despite the heat!
Rob Freeman, Branch Committee Member