UK rail chief quits after crashes

A top British railway executive has resigned after a series of rail accidents which forced an emergency repair programme, causing severe disruption.

Gerald Corbett offered to quit last month as chief executive of Railtrack, the private company running Britain's railway track, stations and signals.

His move came when the latest crash, in which four passengers were killed, was blamed on a broken rail.

But he withdrew his resignation until the start of a massive track repair programme, which is now underway.

Railtrack has warned timetables may not be back to normal until the new year.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service