LONDON — The nonprofit company that owns Britain’s rail infrastructure on Monday said it has agreed to take over responsibility for maintaining a busy commuter section of the network, reports the Associated Press.
Network Rail said it had agreed “in principle” to take over maintenance work from Amey PLC for the Reading area west of London.
The area includes the commuter lines between Reading and London’s Paddington station, the main station linking the capital to the west of Britain.
In a statement, Network Rail said it would also consider taking over responsibility for maintenance in “one or two” other areas to help the “overall effectiveness of the infrastructure.” Britain’s rail network is split into 20 maintenance contract areas.
Network Rail was created last year to replace Railtrack, the private company that had overseen Britain’s rail infrastructure since the state railway system was sold off in the early 1990s.
Critics said Railtrack failed to invest enough money in the system and blamed it for safety problems, including deadly crashes.
Amey has issued two profit warnings in the past month and its chief executive, Brian Staples, has said he will resign at the end of February.
Amey’s maintenance contract for the Reading area, which began in 1994, expires in March.