Railtrack announces big losses

Railtrack has announced pre-tax losses of £534m after the Hatfield accident in which four people died and the costly programme of track repairs which followed it.

The company was driven further into the red by the huge compensation package of up to £700m it was forced to pay train companies for delays.

The losses for the 12 months to March 31 compare with a profit of £360m in the preceeding year. Analysts had been expecting Railtrack to announce losses of around £400m.

To ease its difficulties, Railtrack has been awarded early payment of £1.5bn from public funds that had not been due until 2006.

The company has seen its share price nosedive in recent months.

So severe has been the disruption to the national network following Hatfield that rail services have only just returned to their levels before the derailment.

Last week, Railtrack ended a long search for a new chairman when it announced that senior industrialist John Robinson would take over the post when Sir Philip Beck stands down in July.

Mr Robinson said his priority would be to make the network "safe and reliable" and win back the confidence of the City and the Government.

But he warned that it would take another decade to create a "world class railway".