Roger Ford is a British

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

specialising in

rail transport Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

. He is Industry and Technology Editor of the monthly trade and technical magazine ''

Modern Railways ''Modern Railways'' is a British monthly magazine covering the rail transport industry which was published by Ian Allan until March 2012, and Key Publishing since then. It has been published since 1962. The magazine was originally based in She ...

'', where he is probably best known for his authoritative 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 ''Rail Business Intelligence'' was a fortnightly subscription newsletter for senior managers, investors, lawyers, contractors, consultants, local authorities, trade unionists, manufacturers and service providers working in the United Kingdom's r ...

''.

Biography

Ford trained as a mechanical engineer with English Electric at

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

, specialising in prime movers, and on qualification joined the head office of the company’s Traction Division. While at English Electric Traction he was seconded to the Maintenance Division, spending time at

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...

and Stratford locomotive depots. He subsequently pursued a career in industrial publicity management, with

British Standards British Standards (BS) are the standards produced by the BSI Group which is incorporated under a royal charter and which is formally designated as the national standards body (NSB) for the UK. The BSI Group produces British Standards under the a ...

Chloride The chloride ion is the anion (negatively charged ion) Cl−. It is formed when the element chlorine (a halogen) gains an electron or when a compound such as hydrogen chloride is dissolved in water or other polar solvents. Chloride sa ...

and Fairey, before deciding to become a full-time writer in 1976, specialising in railways. In the 1980s he also edited the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 120,000 member ...

Railway Division's quarterly technical journal ''

Railway Engineer Railway engineering is a multi-faceted engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction and operation of all types of rail transport systems. It encompasses a wide range of engineering disciplines, including civil engineering, compu ...

'' and the

Railway Industry Association The Railway Industry Association (RIA) is the main industry trade group for railway equipment manufacturers in the United Kingdom. Eligibility for membership to RIA is simple in that it is open to all UK-based companies in the railway supply in ...

'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 The Director of Passenger Rail Franchising was a statutory office in the United Kingdom created in 1993 by the Railways Act 1993 and usually called the Franchising Director. It lasted from 5 November 1993 until 31 January 2001 when it was sup ...

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 The privatisation of British Rail was the process by which ownership and operation of the railways of Great Britain passed from government control into private hands. Begun in 1994, it had been completed by 1997. The deregulation of the indust ...

. 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

to reflect its ongoing role. To support his writing activities Roger Ford launched his own websit
Alycidon Rail
(named after the

British Rail Class 55 The British Rail Class 55, also known as a Deltic, or English Electric type 5, is a class of diesel locomotive built in 1961 and 1962 by English Electric for British Railways. They were designed for the high-speed express passenger services on t ...

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

, developments since the column went to press and a short blog.

Writing style and media appearances

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 The Transport Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the Committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Transport and its asso ...

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 ‘Never assume railways are rational organisations’ * Second Law ‘You can’t have too many spanners’ * Third Law ‘Always mistrust schedules based on the seasons’ * Fourth Law ‘When in doubt – build a demonstrator’ * Fifth Law ‘Any change to a prototype will be for the worst’ * Sixth Law ‘Don’t engage in joint ventures with the French’ * Seventh Law ‘The attractiveness of technology is directly proportional to the square of the distance of its factory of origin from London’ * Eighth Law ‘Nothing works out of the box’ * Ninth Law ‘Do not try to solve physical design shortcomings with software’ * Tenth Law ‘If something has to be claimed as declared “world-beating” it almost certainly isn’t’ *Eleventh Law ‘A claim that “safety is our first priority” or “safety is paramount” usually follows an event that proves it isn’t’

Awards

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 The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) is a professional body representing the transport and logistics industries worldwide. It is a membership-based organisation with over 30,000 members in over 30 countries. This i ...

in 2003. He is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Logistics & Transport and an Associate of the

Institution of Railway Signal Engineers The Institution of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE) is a worldwide professional body for all those engaged or interested in railway signalling and telecommunications (S&T) and allied disciplines. Local sections The IRSE is based in London, with ...

. Class 90 locomotive 90006 is named ''Roger Ford'' on one side, and ''

'' on the other.

External links

Alycidon Rail

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Roger Rail transport writers English magazine editors Living people Year of birth missing (living people)