Railtrack

British company responsible for the commercial operation of the railway network in Britain. In May 1996 it was privatized, and the 20 British Rail service companies that had previously provided Railtrack's infrastructure support functions were sold into the private sector. Railtrack did not operate train services, but was responsible for timetabling and signalling, and owned the freehold of stations. Fatal accidents at London in 1999 and at Hatfield in 2000 led to increased financial difficulties for the company, and it went bankrupt in October 2001, after the British government refused to hand out any more funds. The government planned to replace it with a non-profit organization.

Following privatization, passenger services were divided into 25 train-operating units to be franchised to private sector operators, enabling the private sector to eventually run completely new services. There are also three rolling stock companies (privatized in February 1996), which lease locomotives and passenger coaches; four freight service providers; seven infrastructure maintenance companies; and six track renewal companies.

An accident at Ladbroke Grove, outside Paddington railway station, London, in October 1999 left 31 people dead, and led to the implementation of a new automatic signalling system. An accident at Hatfield, Hertfordshire, in October 2000 caused by an old and faulty rail killed four people. It led to the massive disruption on the railways for several months as Railtrack imposed speed limits wherever track needed repair. The chief executive of Railtrack, Gerald Corbett, resigned in November 2000. The company paid £400 million in compensation to rail companies and spent £180 million replacing old track.

Railtrack was put into administration with debts of more than £3.3 billion, bringing to an end the most unpopular privatization yet attempted in the UK. Investors, indignant that compensation had not been promised, threatened the government with legal action.