Railtrack shareholders consider their next move

Railtrack’s biggest shareholders were today considering their next move after Transport Secretary Stephen Byers failed to show them documents relating to his decision to put the company into administration.

The Railtrack Shareholders’ Action Group had given Mr Byers until yesterday to produce the documents which it has demanded to see before it decides what further action to take.

But Mr Byers sent a letter via the Treasury Solicitor to the group’s legal adviser Lovells saying he needed more time before he could respond to the shareholders’ request.

The group, which is made up of investors holding around 40% of Railtrack’s shares, is planning to meet later this week to decide what action to take.

It is thought to be considering setting a new deadline of January 15 for Mr Byers to produce the documents by, or even going to court and obtaining an order for disclosure.

The group is thought to want to see documents from meetings between Railtrack and Government officials over the summer, as well as ones relating to the advice the Government was given indicating Railtrack was insolvent.

The Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions today confirmed that Mr Byers had been unable to meet the shareholders’ request by the December 31 deadline.

A spokeswoman said: ‘‘Our solicitor has acknowledged the letter from their solicitor and we hope to be in a position to provide a substantial response in the first part of January.’’