Railtrack

Railways in Britain were nationalised: the Big Four railways were merged as national property under the Transport Act, as British Rail .

The Railways Act initiated the privatization of British Rail , after rather less than fifty years in state or public ownership. Shares were offered in the new Railtrack in 1996.

A train crash at Hatfield in Hertfordshire killed a number of people, and revealed that Railtrack , the private company entrusted with upkeep of the railways, had been grossly neglectful.