A peek into the glitzy world of showbiz. Railtrack was set up with taxpayers' money and has failed the public, over and over again. The Tories failed to look after Joe Public's interest, selling it off for 3.80 a share. Tory fat cats took the rewards at 17.68 a share and bailed out when the going got tough. When passenger safety, not company profit, was put to the forefront, Railtrack was left wanting.
Board members come and go with huge pay-offs and bonuses no matter how successful.
Well done Stephen Byers, Railtrack should be a non profit making organisation. I feel sorry for those who have seen their money disappear in Railtrack, I don't see why the nation should stand their losses. When a publicly quoted company goes into receivership there is an established system of payment for creditors, which applies equally to Railtrack. Since the rail infrastructure network was privatised, those that administered it have systematically milked the monopoly with unwarranted bonuses and inflated salaries. Dividends paid to shareholders were an additional loss of revenue for essential track and signal maintenance, which have suffered accordingly.