A PRIVATE company that is paid £3.6 billion a year by the taxpayer, Network Rail has continually struggled with the contradictions it inherited from privatisation.
Created in 2001 to take over ownership and upkeep of Britain's rail infrastructure from Railtrack, which was forced into administration by a catalogue of maintenance failings, it has had some notable successes in driving up punctuality and train performance.
A key turning point was the decision to bring maintenance in-house in 2004, replacing the network of subcontracters. Safety standards appear to have improved but it has endured growing criticism over costs and its apparent lack of accountability.
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