Railtrack chief quits

The Chief Executive of Railtrack, Gerald Corbett, has resigned in the wake of the fatal Hatfield and Ladbroke Grove crashes.

The Railtrack board said "with regret" it had accepted Mr Corbett's resignation and that Steven Marshall, currently finance director, had been appointed chief executive with immediate effect.

It is quite right that the company should now look forward and draw a line in the sand

Gerald Corbett

It is the second time Mr Corbett has announced his departure - his first attempt was rejected so he could put a national recovery plan in place.

But Gwyneth Dunwoody, the Labour MP who chairs the House of Commons transport sub-committee, said Railtrack's problems would not end with his departure.

"Frankly I think that Mr Corbett is only a part of the problem.

"Because unless Railtrack itself now begins to focus, and focus very, very urgently on safety ... then there will be very real trouble ahead."

It "simply wouldn't be acceptable", she told Channel 4 News, for the firm to regard Mr Corbett as a scapegoat and then continue as it had before.

Mr Corbett said he felt "the time was now right for someone fresh to lead the company forward".

Railtrack also announced that its chairman, Sir Philip Beck, will stand down, next summer.

Steven Marshall': Paddington victims worried about his background

Mr Corbett said he was leaving the job because "in the last few weeks my own profile has been far too high for my own good, my family's good and also for the company's good".

He added it was "quite right that the company should now look forward and draw a line in the sand".

He is expected to receive a six-figure severance payment.

'Time to renationalise'

In a statement, Sir Philip said: "The directors would like to thank Gerald for his enormous contribution to the company, through his leadership, energy and enthusiasm the company has made major steps forward."

Mr Corbett, 49, first offered to stand down from the £377,000 a year post on 18 October, a day after the derailment, in which four passengers were killed.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said the choice of chief executive was a matter for the Railtrack board but it was important to maintain stability.

Mixed response

Mr Corbett's decision has drawn a mixed response from unions and passengers' representatives.

Solicitor Louise Christian, representing the victims of the Paddington and Southall train crashes, said they were concerned that Mr Corbett was to be replaced by a finance director.

"More people who know about railways are needed on the board at Railtrack," she said.

Mr Corbett's replacement is former chief executive of television rentals group Thorn.

Before that Mr Marshall, 43, worked in the finance department of Grand Metropolitan alongside Mr Corbett.

Mr Corbett first offered to resign after the Hatfield crash

Train drivers union Aslef approved of Mr Corbett's decision, but also called for Railtrack to be renationalised.

Assistant general secretary of the rail union RMT Vernon Hince said: "It would have been an ideal time for the government to rethink their attitude and take back over the responsibility of Railtrack," he said.

However, Anthony Smith from the Rail Passengers' Council said he was disappointed Mr Corbett had resigned.

'Crassly insensitive'

"Our concern is that the network is going to enter a period of instability and that can't be good for passengers," he said.

Labour MP Brian Donohoe, who sits on the Commons transport sub-committee, called for the whole Railtrack board to be replaced.

Asked on BBC2's Newsnight programme whether Mr Corbett's resignation was sufficient he replied: "No it's not."

"I believe that the whole board of Railtrack should resign and at the very least we should see some technical ability in the board of Railtrack."

Mr Donohoe said Mr Marshall's background "does not demonstrate any efficiency to me as far as the ability to deliver a railway that the train operating companies can run on".