Christopher Wesley Bolt CB (born 1953) is a British

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

who was the non-executive chairman of the Office of Rail Regulation, the national economic and safety regulatory authority for Britain's railways.

Background

Christopher Bolt born 1953 in Plymouth, Devon. He attended Plymouth College and Gonville and Caius College at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, where he graduated with a First Class Honours in Economics in 1975. He then obtained an MSc from

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

.Appointment of Chairman of the Guernsey Competition and Regulation Authority
Committee for Economic Development,

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

, 2020 He entered the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

in 1975, where he worked in various economic roles, including at the Finance Ministry,

Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...

, and Department for the Environment. Following water privatisation in 1989, he became the Head of Economic Regulation at the newly-formed Office of Water Services (Ofwat).

Railways

In 1994, Bolt moved to the Office of the Rail Regulator to take up appointment as Chief Economist.

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

John Prescott John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott (31 May 1938 – 20 November 2024) was a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and as First Secretary of State from 2001 to 2007. A member of the ...

MP decided not to reappoint John Swift QC as Rail Regulator in 1998, so Bolt was given a seven-month contract as Rail Regulator. Prescott appointed Tom Winsor permanently to the role from 5 July 1999. In July 1999, Bolt left the Office of the Rail Regulator and joined Transco plc, the company which owns and operates the majority of Great Britain's gas transportation system, as regulation and corporate affairs director. He was appointed to a new role of group director, regulation and public policy in Transco's parent company,

Lattice Group Lattice Group plc was a leading British gas transmission business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History The Company was established in 2000 when BG Group demerged its UK gas transmiss ...

plc, in November 2001. He left Lattice in October 2002 on completion of its merger with National Grid Group plc. From 5 July 2004, Bolt became chairman of the Office of Rail Regulation, until succeeded by Anna Walker in July 2009.

London Underground arbiter

In December 2002, Bolt was appointed Arbiter for the public-private partnership for the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

. The role of PPP Arbiter was established by the Greater London Authority Act 1999 (GLA Act). The

Secretary of State for Transport The secretary of state for transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Departm ...

appointed Chris Bolt as the first PPP Arbiter for a four-year term from 31 December 2002, the date of commencement of the Tube Lines contract. This term was extended on 18 May 2006 for a further four years to December 2010. Bolt was appointed Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

(CB) in the 2010 New Year Honours.

Other roles

Bolt was appointed chairman of the Guernsey Competition and Regulation Authority in 2020.

References

External links

Chris Bolt is to step down as chairman of the Office of Rail Regulation for July 2009
*Bolt, Chris (2005) :
Railway Privatisation and Regulation in Great Britain
', CESifo DICE Report, ISSN 1613-6373, ifo Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung an der Universität München, München, Vol. 03, Iss. 4, pp. 16–20 *Bolt, Chris (2008):
Regulating Rail: For Whom Should Regulation Work?
',

Politeia ''Politeia'' ( πολιτεία) is an ancient Greek word used in Greek political thought, especially that of Plato and Aristotle. Derived from the word '' polis'' ("city-state"), it has a range of meanings from " the rights of citizens" to a " ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolt, Chris Members of HM Government Economic Service People working in public safety Civil servants in HM Treasury Civil servants in the Home Office Civil servants in the Department of the Environment Living people Companions of the Order of the Bath Civil servants in the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions 1953 births