16 March 2001
A collision between two commuter trains at Hither Green in south London raised new safety fears as Railtrack was forced to admit that the reconstruction of the railways was 'just too big a job for a medium-sized company'.
The SRA, which on February 1 took over responsibility for the railways, has produced a £60bn strategic agenda for the next ten years to improve the system. It aims to cater for and encourage 50% passenger growth and 80% freight growth, and to provide for better staff training and more passenger information.
Railtrack will still own and operate the entire network under the plan, but the SRA is insisting on bringing in new companies to fund and manage major projects, a move initially rejected by the company.
'Railtrack has an essential and irreplaceable role to play in the development of the rail network, but we cannot and will not try to do it on our own,' said Steve Marshall, Railtrack's new chief executive.
Railtrack is already facing financial problems over emergency engineering and train operator compensation. It is asking for £1bn of government subsidies due by 2006 to be paid this summer.
A spokesman from the SRA told Public Finance: 'Railtrack doesn't have the resources to produce the enhancements the network needed single-handedly over ten years, and so the solution was to get other private sector companies involved.'
PFmar2001
