HISTORIC PRESS RELEASE : Strategic Rail Authority Welcomes Government Action on Railtrack [October 2001]

The press release issued by the Strategic Rail Authority on 8 October 2001.

The Strategic Rail Authority today welcomed the Government’s decisive action to establish that Railtrack could not continue to seek substantial additional state funding and to initiate a process of restructuring.

Chairman, Sir Alastair Morton, said:

“The rail industry needs restructuring, including the regulatory regimes. The SRA will evolve into a more appropriate role, and it must have the resources to be effective in that role.”

Mike Grant, Chief Executive, said:

“The SRA’s executive team will work closely with DTLR ministers and officials, the Office of the Rail Regulator, Railtrack’s administrators and the train operators for whom it is responsible. Together, we must take the network and its ability to serve passenger and freight users forward as strongly as possible in these difficult circumstances.”